https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Fri, 22 May 2026 05:26:41 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2592933 Tue, 26 Jul 2016 12:51:14 +0000 DesertDreams88 2592933@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think you've gotten great advice above and I agree the chemical is probably affecting this cycle :bummed: </p> <p>My OPKs worked best when I tested often, saved for comparison, and didn't pee/drink water between 12-3:30 (then I would test at 3:30.) That kind of rigid schedule worked for me bc I'm a teacher. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2592928 Tue, 26 Jul 2016 12:38:12 +0000 winniebee 2592928@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@littleblessings: I see you just had a chemical - I'm wondering if the HCG is out of your system? I also had a really long cycle after my first chemical - it took me 6 weeks to get my period (and I didn't ovulate until 4 weeks post chemical). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2592911 Tue, 26 Jul 2016 12:25:14 +0000 littleblessings 2592911@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>What would cause the opks to go dark, not positive, lighten up and start getting darker again? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2588995 Wed, 20 Jul 2016 10:55:43 +0000 PeaceLily 2588995@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm sorry for your loss.</p> <p>I've had an awful time with OPKs these past few months. The first month I used wondfos and got what I'm assuming is a positive even though the test line was slightly lighter than the control line. Later that night it was negative again.</p> <p>The second month I used clear blue advanced digital (don't recommend!) and I never got a flashing smiley, but jumped straight from an open circle to a solid smiley. I used a wondfo when I got a solid smiley and it wasn't fully positive, but didn't try testing again that month after the solid smiley.</p> <p>This last month I used clear blue advanced again and ended up with 9 days in a row of flashing smiley faces and then gave up since I didn't get a peak reading (solid smiley) after 9 days. I'm hoping I just missed my LH surge since it seems to be really short, unless I didn't ovulate for some reason.</p> <p>I'm not using OPKs next month, they don't seem to work well for me. If I use them again I'd go with the clear blue digital, but not the advanced ones, they cause too much stress! I also don't like trying to decipher lines on wondfos.</p> <p>Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2588718 Tue, 19 Jul 2016 22:22:26 +0000 Iced Tea 2588718@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>And this is from this cycle, post chemical. It came close to positive on day 13, but not quite. </p> [attach=5302/16/oalg1f.450x600.image.jpeg] https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2588714 Tue, 19 Jul 2016 22:13:34 +0000 Iced Tea 2588714@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>These are from last cycle. Bottom one is clearly positive. </p> [attach=5302/16/oalfmm.450x600.image.jpeg] https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2588711 Tue, 19 Jul 2016 22:09:36 +0000 Iced Tea 2588711@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Personally, I don't see a positive opk there. </p> <p>Am I remembering right that you are just post a chemical recently? I am also on the cycle right after a chemical, and my opks did the same thing this cycle. They got darker, but I never got a positive, despite testing at least twice a day. I'm not sure if I didn't ovulate this cycle due to being sick (I got strep with a fever right when opk was getting darker) or if my cycle just isn't regulated yet. </p> <p>Last cycle my opks were blazing positive for two whole days. I will see if I can find some pics... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2588685 Tue, 19 Jul 2016 21:03:01 +0000 LCTBQE 2588685@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@littleblessings: lots of great tips here already. not to make your head spin, but I used both CBE digital (like periwinkle and simplyfelicty said, *not* the advanced kind) and wondfos. I know I was ovulating every month, but of the 4 cycles I was TTC, I only got the CBE smiley face two of those cycles (and I was testing twice a day, mid-morning and later afternoon, with concentrated urine). my wondfos similarly never got super dark, so I found it really helpful to line them up like you're doing, and I just made sure to have sex daily or every other day when I saw them starting to get darker. Just didn't want you to get frustrated if you saw that blank circle on the digital over and over--it doesn't necessarily mean you're not ovulating :) :heart: :goodluck: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2588642 Tue, 19 Jul 2016 18:42:30 +0000 periwinklebee 2588642@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Here's my example, the one that says 16 is positive. Usually my fade in and out pattern is a bit more rapid, but this is the only pic I have. </p> [attach=7370/16/oal5uu.600x337.20160410_083545.jpg] https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2588641 Tue, 19 Jul 2016 18:40:45 +0000 littleblessings 2588641@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@periwinklebee: thank you. ill have to get the digital next cycle. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2588640 Tue, 19 Jul 2016 18:37:20 +0000 periwinklebee 2588640@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>p.s. I also find it gets darker if I don't drink much for a few hours before taking it, so my pee is more concentrated. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2588636 Tue, 19 Jul 2016 18:35:40 +0000 periwinklebee 2588636@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'd say the 4th one? I found it helpful to get the digital kind, to confirm what a positive on the cheapie looked like for me for the first couple of months. It's kind of a waste because I think the pack comes with 20 and really I only needed a few to confirm that I was reading the wondfos right, but it definitely gave me peace of mind. If you have a short LH surge, you might not quite catch it at fully positive. </p> <p>For me, it's always super-faint, like your first one, except the evening of CD 13 (I can see the line w/o squinting, but it's still faint), them it comes in close to as dark as the control on the morning of the next day (when I can get a smiley face on the digital as well), then fades out to really faint by the next morning. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2588632 Tue, 19 Jul 2016 18:28:12 +0000 littleblessings 2588632@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p> [attach=4248/16/oal571.450x600.image.jpg] https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2588630 Tue, 19 Jul 2016 18:27:33 +0000 littleblessings 2588630@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am so confused right now. The test lines got darker but never fully positive. It's so frustrating. I just started saving them since Saturday taking two a day. Do you guys see anything close to a positive? </p> <p>@simplyfelicity: @YogiRunner: @periwinklebee: @pachamama: @Tionn3: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2584153 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 12:40:57 +0000 Tionn3 2584153@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm so sorry for your loss. I just started using the OPKs this cycle and I actually really liked them. I started testing on CD10 and I have between a 28 and 30 day cycle. I was testing 2 times a day, once after 10:00am and once when I got home from work at 6:00pm, because I had never used them before. I caught my test line starting to darken (by darken I mean it was darker than a faint positive, but not darker or the same shade as the control line) on CD 13 at 4:00pm. By CD 14 at 12:00pm it was a super dark line. Now that I know what to expect I will probably only test once a day between 12:00pm and 2:30pm. Make sure you don't dilute your urine by drinking too much. I bought the cheap ones on Amazon they were 20 $ for LH test strips and 20 HCG test strips. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2583706 Sun, 10 Jul 2016 10:40:13 +0000 pachamama 2583706@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I use them for 12 cycles with no success. They always showed a nice positive but I wasn't getting pregnant. I think they made me hyper aware and to be honest, crazy. The month I got pregnant I did not use them. I have vowed to never use them again because they made trying to conceive very stressful. That was just my experience! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2583703 Sun, 10 Jul 2016 10:30:01 +0000 simplyfelicity 2583703@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@YogiRunner: Thanks! I was afraid I was missing something...it's been a while! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2583697 Sun, 10 Jul 2016 10:18:36 +0000 periwinklebee 2583697@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think it depends on your cycle length, and how regular you suspect ovulation is, when to start testing. After a few months of using them to get to know my cycle, I always got a positive on CD14 and the surge seemed to last about a day. So I start testing in the early evening (when I get home from work) on CD11, and starting CD13 I'll test in the morning as well. I usually get a positive in the morning. Cheapies work fine for me, I can tell pretty easily when it's positive, but since I also bought a box of the clear blue digital ones, I'll use those to confirm a positive on the cheapies. It was honestly much easier than I was expecting initially, but I'm lucky to have a regular cycle.</p> <p>Best of luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2583692 Sun, 10 Jul 2016 09:58:49 +0000 YogiRunner 2583692@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@simplyfelicity: such a thorough answer! :happy: </p> <p>I would test twice a day, but not until about 10:30 or so (don't pee on the stick first thing). Then I'd test about 6 hours later. My surge was short so this ensured I caught it. Also I loved peeing on those sticks. If you want, you can save the peed-on sticks and tape them to a piece of paper with the time and the date to see the test line getting darker over a few days. </p> <p>I'd get the big pack of wondfos from Amazon so you don't feel guilty peeing on more than one a day for a few days or a week.</p> <p>Sending you lots of good TTC vibes :happy: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2583683 Sun, 10 Jul 2016 09:17:35 +0000 simplyfelicity 2583683@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm so sorry for your loss. :heart: </p> <p>It depends on your cycle length when you want to start. I have an (on average) 30 day cycle, so I started around cycle day 10. For a 28 day cycle, probably cd 8. </p> <p>A lot of women take them once daily in the afternoon. Evening can work, too. I usually took mine around 2:30. Some people have shorter surges and test more than once a day just in case they miss it. You typically ovulate 24-48 hours after a positive opk. An opk is positive when the test line is as dark as or darker than the control line. You can do a Google image search of positives for the brand you got. </p> <p>Personally, I tested with the cheapies until I thought I got a positive and would confirm with a clear blue easy digital (NOT the advanced.) </p> <p>So BD the day you get a positive and the next two days after that. It's important to have sex before you ovulate because the egg only lives for 12-24 hours after being released so you basically want the sperm "waiting" for it since they live much longer. </p> <p>Best of luck! :goodluck:<br /> @littleblessings: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-everything-about-opks#post-2583670 Sun, 10 Jul 2016 08:40:33 +0000 littleblessings 2583670@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>SO and I have decided to start trying for another. We just had a chemical so he had me order OPKs. They will be here Monday. How often do you test? Anything else I should know? </p>