Are OPKs accurate?

July 26, 2007

I am now on my second cycle of Clomid 50 mg and took it on CD 3-9. I am now on CD 13 and I'm also doing daily OPKs, temperature and mucus charting. My temperatures have been ranging from 97.2 to 97.8 since day 1 of my cycle. Yesterday, my temperature was 97.4, then this morning, it was 97.05. I tried to put the thermometer in my mouth again right away then it read 97.12. Could this temperature indicate that I am ovulating? My OPKs are still negative, and I still could not feel the egg-white mucus.

Are OPKs accurate in detecting ovulation? By the way, I am using a 4-digit basal thermometer. What should I do when it reads for example 97.59? Should I read that as 97.6 to round it off? Or just read it as 97.5? I am confused about that also. I am asking these questions because we do not want to miss the "egg" again. Last month when I was on my first cycle of Clomid, I ovulated on CD 21 (I took Clomid on days 5-9 back then). Should I just concentrate on my OPK results rather than the temperature and mucus? Thanks a lot in advance! :-)

July 26, 2007

Go ahead and round up or down appropriately for those temperature readings. If you're good at feeling ewcm, you may feel this a day or two prior to a positive OPK. I would however definately check OPKs over BBTs. You have to remember, by the time your temperature rises, you're egg is pretty much long gone and is a poor way of trying to get pregnant. OPKs however, will tell you that you will ovulate sometime the following day giving you time to "get to work" that night.

July 26, 2007

Thank you. My chart looks like a rocky mountain right now (hehe!) but I will take your advice not to rely on BBTs alone. So, I will concentrate on my OPKs. It has been 6 days since I took my last pill (Clomid). As I've mentioned, I ovulated on CD21 on my last cycle, but that was when I took the Clomid on CD 5-9. Is there a chance that I will ovulate sooner than last cycle since I took Clomid on CD 3-9 for this cycle? I have read that a woman will ovulate within 8-10 days after the last pill regardless of when you took it. Is that true? How come I ovulated really, really late last cycle? (12 days after my last pill).

I'm sorry for all these questions...I hope you are not getting tired of answering these types of questions yet. Thank you again for your patience.

July 26, 2007

If a woman is to ovulate on Clomid (and all of us REs have seen women still not be able to ovulate on Clomid) then 8-10 days afterwards the last pill is when most women would ovulate around that time period anyways, right? So guess what I'm trying to say is that there's little basis for that (especially when considering lots of women don't even ovulate while on Clomid). Guess that in a sense answers your question as to why you ovuated late last cycle, and clinically, don't think there's that much of a difference taking the clomid earlier. Although like I've stated in other commentaries, it makes a lot of sense to try and increase the number of follicles.

January 26, 2008

Lexie I am on CD15 and still haven'tgotten a positive opk but saw my dr. on friday to check my follicles and he said I should ovulated in the next 36 hours (I am on my first round of clomid 50mg, days 5-9). DId you end up getting a positive opk the month you conceived? How many rounds of clomid did it take? Also, my temp was REALLY low today as well but I just took my opk and it was negative (and I'm evne doing the digital ones since I find these things so subjective). Thanks!

January 26, 2008

OPK's are supposedly accurate as long as you do them correctly: hold your pee for like 4 hours, don't dilute urine with a ton of fluid, do it the same time every day.. etc. However, I got pregnant my first month using them, and I never got a positive OPK. I tested from CD 7-25ish. And I got pregnant around CD 13.

May 19, 2008

hanks for that Meghan, i have just started using o pk's this month and so far on day 17 no positive. not sure when to start worrying ? they have questioned pcos in the past?? Any advice greatly received

May 19, 2008

I recently read that an LH surge is usually at its peak in late morning, although I don't really know how practical is is to test at that time of day (given work schedules and having to hold it all morning, etc). I am wondering if Clomid can affect an OPK result. Before last month I didn't think it did but I got an OPK + on CD 10 (1 day after my last Clomid Pill). Since all other signs including when AF arrived seem to indicate that I ovulated on CD 15, my OPK reading doesn't make much sense. Has anyone heard about this type of thing happening?