OPK's- are these a must have?

[Banana731]

I've no experience with them. What's your take on them? Are these a really helpful tool along with charting? Are there ones that are better than others?
Any experiences you'd like to share?

That's it

[millefleur]

I used them for a year and they can be helpful, but I wouldn't say they are a necessity. As long as you are familiar with the rest of your fertility signals, you can get away with not having them. That said, if you want to use them, you can get a ton on the internet for super cheap. Good luck!

[rcr]

I really like them, because sometimes I give up on charting when I get really sick of it, and sometimes my charting sucks because I am nursing and I wake up a lot to BF at night. I just get the cheap ones online too.

[finnegansmom]

I like OPKs, I think they can be a useful took especially for someone with irregular cycles or lack of fertile CM around ovulation. But, it's easy to become too dependent on them and ignore your body's own signs. I use them and have found that sometimes they don't match up to my temp and it can be frustrating. I've also gotten clear positives and not ovulated. They are great as an added tool but I wouldn't use them primarily in lieu of tracking temps and CM.

I have bought them in big packs on amazon. I've had good luck with the Wondfo brand.
I "weaned" myself off of them this cycle and only bought a few $ trees (which work great as well).

Good luck!

[MaerynPearl]

I used them one cycle... to confirm that my temps showed ovulation. My temps worked fine so I didn't use them anymore after that.

[Mama~Love]

Originally Posted by rcr

I really like them, because sometimes I give up on charting when I get really sick of it, and sometimes my charting sucks because I am nursing and I wake up a lot to BF at night. I just get the cheap ones online too.

: except I'm not nursing, but have a toddler in the bed with us.

I find they are really useful to help determine O time. They are very cheap to order online as well.

[Mosaic]

I've never used them because temps and CM tell me everything! Just from my experience reading threads on here, it seems like OPKs cause more questions than they answer: is it positive, why isn't it positive, it was positive but I didn't O, etc.

My vote? Just chart and save yourself the OPK confusion.

[samy23]

Yes I think you need them because otherwise you don't know when to expect ovulation. -when it is positive you should O within 24-48 hours, so at least you can time sex better. Even with temping you only know AFTER you have ovulated. And with EWCM I can get it anytime really.

I don't like the internet cheap OPKs that I use though because only one side edge of the line goes darker, instead of the whole line, so it can be very difficult to judge. I should look into better ones really.

[CLH_X3]

I wouldnt say they a essential for everyone, but I love them!

I have two different kinds, the cheapys which I use about 3-4 a day when the line start getting darker.. and when I get a + on a cheap opk I then use my Clearblue Ovulation digital tests to confirm that its a + ..Love seeing that smile

and like samy23 said it gives you notice on when your going to O, and I dont have tons of EWCM so thats a good thing for me, and i just like backing up my temps

I also take them until my temp jumps as well to confirm O or I take them til there really - but thats just me!