Calling all you intelligent ladies.

[ascott]

I thought I would say that so everyone would post me some advice. Tell me what OPK is the best. How do they work? I have never charted, nor used an OPK. DH and I are going to try natural this month until we can start our new IVF cycle. Does it matter that I had a D&C on Friday. Will I even ovulate.

[Latrice414]

you should continue to have a positive as long as your surge is strong. For example, yesterday and day b4 i had a light positive. Today it was dark, my surge will stay strong for about 2-3 days, then it drops, where i dont even get a faint line anymore. Bcuz everywoman body is different, it depends on how your body is. The only way to determine that is to test, and when you get a positive keep testing until you dont get a positive(thats just to learn how your body functions) I have a 28 day cycle, get positive on cd15 put actually ovulates on cd16 (from the pains i get it happens late that evening anywhere from 9pm-12am) I use all type of opk's, they all gave me the same result on the same day.(i use to buy the ones from the dollar store, but for some reason, here in wisconsin the only sell them in the winter time, lol

[ascott]

Ok, I'm off to the drug store. Just to make sure. You test with the sticks first, then when you get to lines you test with the digital. My cycles are usually 26-28 day. Will they give you + on the day you ovulate, or just 36 hours before? Sorry for all the questions.

[tina1111]

I have a monitor, too. You can see it in my pics. The biggest drawback with the monitor is that you can only test within the time window and only once a day. If you have short surges or late day surges, it can be easily missed. The monitor itself runs about $100 new on ebay. The sticks are $$$ at $50. If you have long cycles, they don't work well either. They only test for so long b4 they quit asking for sticks and you can't make it take one.

The CBE comes in both styles. The digis are the smiley faced ones(also in my photos) they run $40 for a box of 7.

The little stick one with the purple handle is the Answer brand. They all come with really easy to follow instructions :)

[ascott]

So the CBE do these come in digital? Digital's are so much easier for me to read. Do these things come with easy reading instructions.

Kiki- Can you explain to me a little bit about the monitor and the OPK?

I need the most easy but best one to use. I go to the drug store, and stare at them all. I notice some are more expensive than others. I think is this because they are better. We are going to try natural this month, since  I have to wait a full AF before we can begin to try IVF again. I also am considering changing RE's so this will help us utilize time. My DH will be excited about the natural cycle seeing it's been over 2 months. He doesn't like the timed sex part. He says he feels used. OH WELL, he'll get over it.

[Glenda306]

I had a D&C in March, waited 1 mo., and then started with the OPKs after my 1st AF.  I used a lot of 1st Response OPKs, but I was having a hard time telling if the lines were = or not for the 1st 3 months of testing.  During the 3rd and 4th months, I switched to CBE.  I still had trouble determining whether the lines were = or not during the 3rd month, but on the 4th it was quite obvious with the CBE.  I don't think either test had a problem, I think I just wasn't getting a strong surge those 1st 3 months and did the 4th.  I got a BFP on the 4th month too, so that supports my theory....

[kikicoates78]

I always bought cheapies, cuz I also use the CBE fertility monitor, well my RE suggested we use CBE smiley digis to back up my monitor, which was reading very screwy! anyhoo My monitor was reading me at low, and when I did my Smiley POSITIVE, we confirmed O with U/S. So I was actually "O"ing earlier than anything but the smiley caught, And even though I griped about the 40 freaking bucks they cost, it got me my BFP! And saved a ton considering we were also talking IVF. Well anyways I am of course super big on the SMILEYs now, plus its always nice to see that smiley face lokking at you! LOL

[lmcrt]

The clear blue easy digital ones are the most reliable.

[tina1111]

I o'd 19days after my d&c at 12wks. That was about a wk after my Hcg hit 0.

I have used many, many brands of OPKs and they are all very different. Not all work for all women either :(  Some are more sensitive or less. I get a pretty strong surge, so a more sensitive one will give me a pos b4 it is really pos. (I hope I am not confusing)

Price is always on my mind, being a compulsive poas-aholic. That is the main reason I buy the Answer 20pack tube o sticks. It runs about $19. But, I also buy the CBE digis. When I get a pos on the Answer stick, I do a smiley digi with the same urine and see if it is pos, too. It usually is, but I have had a couple very convincing Answers that the digis said was not pos. Like I said though, I am OCD, lol.

I will say the worst rated by Consumer Reports is the First Response. Their hpts are the best, but opks the worst.

[bny807]

I think most people still ovulate the month after a D&C, but not always... i had my mc (but no D&C) and ovulated about 2 weeks after the main part of the mc... i hear a lot of people get preg before the first AF even appears after a mc, since your body might be more fertile during that time!!!      i want to say i used clear blue OPKS (its been a while since i have PCOS they aren't very reliable- false postiives) i had a 30 day cycle and initially started testing around day 12 until i got a positive which was, for me, around day 17, then you should O arond 36 hours later! : )   they say to take the tests in the afternoon, since your actual LH surge is in the morning, but it takes that long for the hormone to actually be excreted in your urine!  GOOD LUCK!!!! : )