I used cheapie OPKs back in the spring on-and-off. Now that my cycle is more normalized, I'd like to start again to see if I am ovulating (my temps say no). I got sort of burnt out on the OPKs last time because of all the instructions - not first thing in the morning, at least 4 hours since last peeing, don't drink too much for four hours beforehand. I was always forgetting and drinking or peeing at the wrong time, and I get home at all different times, so some days I'd test at 4 and other days not until 9. So my question is: is it worth doing OPKs if I'm only doing my best to get as close as I can to the instructions? Can I relax a bit about whether I've really been HMU and not drinking anything for four full hours?
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So, most important thing to have in mind is that your temping (if you're consistent about it) is always going to give you a more accurate set of information about your ovulation (or lack thereof) than the OPKs will. If you are not seeing a sustained temp shift each cycle, then as you said, you are not ovulating. It's actually possible that OPKs could give you a false lead by showing an LH surge each month that isn't actually being followed by ovulation. The temp shift is the only evidence that will tell you for sure that you're ovulating.
Having said that: you do not have to do your OPKs at the same time every day. The important thing is to inform yourself about what errors you're likely to see as a result of each departure from instructions. For example, I had a hard time doing a 4-hour urine hold every afternoon, so I switched to using FMU for my OPKs every day - as a result, I knew that it was possible my LH surge had already occurred the previous afternoon. So I just took that into account when I analyzed my data. If you pee on an OPK with less than a 4-hour hold (i.e. later in the day), that's fine, but be aware that you could see a false negative resulting from too-dilute urine.
I would suggest you start doing the OPKs whenever you happen to get home every evening. The time doesn't matter. Try to do at least a 3-hour hold before doing the test. One way to make this easier: start doing the OPKs with FMU early in your cycle, then when the OPKs start to darken a little bit, then you start pinpointing the exact day by switching to afternoon tests (or you can even do two tests a day if you want to - one FMU, one in the evening).
But, again, as I said before - I think that if your temps are not showing an ovulatory pattern, it's probably worth checking out with your doctor. The OPKs likely won't give you much more info than you already have.
Good luck!
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Everything @PawPrints: said!!
I OPKed after work at night and always just made sure to hold it a bit beforehand. I never focused on how long or anything specifically.
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@PawPrints: this is good info. Thank you!
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@lady baltimore: I use them totallly willy nilly - don't do a hold, when I am near a surge I do them with every pee, I don't do them in the morning because I can never remember, and I don't use a sterile cup or anything like that, and they work fine. They're way less sensitive then they say on the instructions.
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I do them every morning with FMU and then again when I get home from work. I've brought them to work before to do when I think I'm close to getting a positive. I think the most important thing to remember is they're a guide, but aren't 100% at pinpointing O.
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I always used fmu, but w/ temping & charting. Seemed to get a good indication of my surge using digitals.
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Thanks for all the feedback! I'd gotten the sense from reading around here that maybe I didn't have to stress too much about following the directions to the letter, and it's nice to hear that they can still be some value even without "perfect use".
I'm not a perfect charter, either, so I'm hoping that the combination of temps and OPK data will help to give me a more complete picture of what my body's doing. I really don't think I'm ovulating, even though my cycle has normalized somewhat. I'm headed to the OB after the first of the year for a "we've been trying for over a year" appointment, and I want to be as prepared as possible with all the information I can bring.
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@lady baltimore: when you visit your doctor he/she will be able to do a couple of things to confirm ovulation: a progesterone blood test around CD 21 (if your cycle is appx. 28 days) and ultrasounds to look at your ovaries to look for follicles and corpus luteum (ruptured follicles- meaning ones that released an egg!). Hope this helps! I just went to my doctor in August for the 1yr of TTC talk, so I know how you feel!
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I did an unplanned experiment with opks this month. I usually have two days of positives. On the second day, I forgot to hold and had a ton of water, but wanted to test anyway. It was super diluted and I still got a blazing positive. So now I'm not too worried about holding it and not drinking anything before. I mean, I'll still try my best, but I won't stress if it isn't perfect that day!
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