Hellobee Boards

My first OB that prescribed me the Clomid that led to our BFP said to use OPKs. They helped me a lot. Then again, I didn't have any clue when/if I ovulated!

I don't see cheapy opk strips breaking anyone's bank to be honest plus if you don't O the same day every month that could stress you out more... I need to know when I O to predict AF.

I think that advice depends on how much time and energy a couple has. There are couples that normally DTD every other day, but there are many more that don't. I don't see the harm in OPKs if you don't DTD as often and want the times you do to count.

I think after a couple of months after you do establish you ARE ovulating and the average time in your cycle then is say give them up too. I never got a real strong positive on opk the 3 months I used them and I'm now 12 weeks pregnant.
If you haven't yet established you are O then I'd see no problem in using them, the cheapies online are so cheap they wouldn't break anyone's bank.

I say if it makes you feel better do it. My own personal experience is that we 'guessed' my ovulation date & had zero luck TTC for 4 months. When I asked my 'first time lucky' friend for her tips & tricks she said she used an OPK so I bought one & the first month that we used it (& BD within 10 mins of that smiley face) - bingo! I don't know if this was a coincidence as I had been pretty accurate with my ovulation guesses. Also once you get that BFP it will help you to pin point the date you most likely conceived without all the guessing again. Totally a personal choice though!

I agree with @London Mama: @Mrs tartan: about using OPKs to establish average cycle length and O day. If you find a pattern, ditch them if you find OPKs add stress or make you more obsessive. I didn't take my own advice until my BFP cycle, but looking back I know they were not improving my mental health during TTC torment.

We never used OPKs, but rather did temping/charting with CM using the Creighton Method to predict and then confirm O. I am pretty sure OPKs would have stressed me out more precisely BECAUSE I never O at the same time each month. I don't regret not using them!

That being said, I do like to know when I O. That's why I found charting so helpful.

For me, right now just 3rd month off BC, my cycle is still irregular so if I'm just supposed to BD EOD, I'd be doing this for like 30 days! Also, if things come up and we don't BD as often, I'd like to know when it's okay to relax and let up a bit and when we really need to put the work in.

I use OPK for my own sanity and learning about my cycles more... I don't think I will need to always use them, I think they're very helpful for a beginners though.

With our busy and tiring schedules, using OPKs was so much better than having sex EOD. I didn't use OPKs with my first LO, but definitely found them useful the second time around.