Help Decoding OPK results

[justthinkn]

Hi - could people with experience with OPKs, perhaps while also charting temps, etc., help me?

This is my first cycle with OPKs, and although I normally O around cd15 according to my charts, stress is delaying O this time. So I've had lots of clearly negative OPKs, barely there lines... Yesterday I had a MUCH more clear line, but still "negative" - not quite as dark as the control line. Today the line is still pretty clear, but not quite as dark as yesterday. Here's my chart - my temp is still down, cervix still soft and high...

So... How many days of darker but not quite dark enough lines are normal with OPKs?

How do +OPKs correlate with temp shifts? Is there a day or two in between?

Am I guaranteed a clear, blazing positive or - if I clearly O by my temps and that correlates with these darker-but-not-as-dark-as-control lines - can I count those as positives on the OPK?

[karmab]

there's no normal number of days of not-pos-but-have-a-line type thing- that varies all the time. we always have some lh floating around, so there's no telling.

usually a pos opk will precede an o by about 36 hours, but it ranges from immediate (rare) to 48 hours after the last pos.

and you cant count an "almost" pos as a pos, you will confuse yourself i promise.

im going to bump up another thread that i posted a lot of opk info on recently- look for it? it was titled something like "is this + or hopeful thinking?" im going to bump it now....

[justthinkn]

Thanks so much, that helps!

[karmab]

sorry it took me so long- i just bumped it...

[justthinkn]

Thanks again - I read through, and that really does help. I'm totally confident with charts, but OPKs are completely new! This is cycle 11 and we're trying SMEP. So I'm trying to stick with every other day until +OPK - but there's this part of me worried we'll miss it somehow, esp. since I'm already O'ing so much later than usual

[karmab]

i hear ya. but every other day will cover your bases anyway- it just can sometimes get a little tiring, especially in a long cycle! i think smep combined with charting is a really good strategy. good luck!!!!

[justthinkn]

Well, I never had a blaring, as-dark-as control line OPK, but 2 days of almost-dark-enough... Next cycle, I'll test 4-6 hours afterwards if I get the almost-positive... This time I think I caught the front and tail ends of the surge! Temps, fluid, cervical changes are all confirming O. 3 BDs starting from the first almost positive, so

[karmab]

that happened to me the first month i tried them too. you'll figure out a schedule that works. good luck!

[Lousli]

I ended up buying a bunch of cheap OPK's so that I could test multiple times a day and make sure I caught the surge. It kind of turned out I didn't need to because apparently I'm weird and my surge lasts several days. Anyway though, I still think it can be helpful when you're trying to figure out OPK's for the first few times to stock up at the Dollar Store or on internet cheapies. I also had good luck with the Answer and CVS brand ones that came in a pack of 20 for around $20.