Help for the new girl? +OPK, -Ferning?

[mollsworth]

Hi all!

First of all, I should introduce myself. I have been lurking for ages, but haven't posted. I miscarried in February at 9 weeks. That time we got pregnant on the first well-timed try. Now we are just getting back in the swing. This is the first month I am doing anything more than using Period Tracker on my Android. Before the miscarriage my cycles were 27 days without fail, but it looks like I'm now about 30-31. So I have been thrown off a bit. 

I ordered some Preseed (love it!) which came with an Ovatel microscope and several free OPKs. I started playing around with saliva ferning when I got it in the mail around CD10. On CD10 and 11 it looked to me like I could have been transitional. Hard to tell since it was my first time looking at it. Then from CD12 to now (17) I have seen basically nothing resembling ferning. I should be ovulating today or tomorrow, so I was confused. Went ahead and took my first OPK for giggles, and it looks positive to me! Opinions???

Here are my pictures from today's saliva and my OPK: http://tinyurl.com/4x4nx7o

[Jaimee]

Welcome to MDC or at least welcome to posting!  And I'm sorry for your loss.

The pic of your OPK doesn't look positive to me... the control (on the right) is clearly darker than the result line.  To be positive it needs to be as dark or darker than the control.  This means your LH surge is building but hasn't peaked yet.  It's actually good b/c now you can watch it happen!  Take a test each day and watch it darken until your peak day(s). You generally ovulate 24-36 hours after your peak OPK+.   Hopefully you'll see some ferning as well (I'm no expert on this so hopefully someone else can weigh in).  With your now longer cycles it is highly likely that your ovulation is happening a bit later than it used to.  Have you considered temping and checking your cervical fluid as well?  Put all these things together and  you should get a very thorough picture of what your body is doing!  Good  luck and keep us posted!

[mollsworth]

Ahhhhh, it is so much clearer now! There were no instructions included with the OPK, I should have looked online. Didn't realize it had to be as dark or darker than the control. 

And I guess a day can make a difference; checked saliva again before dinner and I see the beginnings of ferns! Thats what I get for my impatience I suppose. :-D I still don't understand why I saw them last week and they went away, but I guess I'll just have to watch the pattern for a couple of months. Unless, of, course, I get pregnant. ;)

Thanks for your help!

[Jaimee]

No problem!  A lot of people think that OPK's are like HPT's and if the line is there it's positive- you're not alone!     And yes, a day can make a huge difference!  It's also not uncommon for your body to gear up to O and not succeed and gear up again later in your cycle with delayed O.  So you could get increasing ferning and darkening OPK's and not actually O. Only temping allows you to see if ovulation actually occurred.  If you run out and get a basal body thermometer today you should be able to catch your temp shift this cycle!  If you have questions about temping, just post! 

[mollsworth]

Interesting. I obviously still have a lot to learn. Not sure I'm ready to make the commitment to temping, but if I don't get pregnant in the next couple of cycles I may go for it. 

I just did another OPK and the line is now so light that I can barely see it. Still getting some ferning, about the same as yesterday I think. 

The timing would have been right for ovulation yesterday or today, but I guess I can't know for sure since I didn't temp, eh? You think it could have gone positive last night? Should I hurry up and get my lovely husband naked right this minute? ;-D We did make the best of last night though, so perhaps an egg will be caught!

[Jaimee]

Temping is way easier than what you're doing now!       All you do is pop the thermometer in your mouth when you wake up.  Try to get it around the same time each morning (within half an hour or so) and try to get it after a 3 hour block of sleep.  Everyone is different, so some women's temps are really sensitive to time changes and sleep deprivation and others are not.   You can go back to sleep afterward and the thermometer will remember your temp.  Record it when you get up.  You can use a free site like www.fertilityfriend.com to log your temps and cervical fluid observations online and share your chart with us so we can help you interpret.   Charting your CF and temps will give you a clearer picture of what is happening than your OPK's will.  OPK's can be a nice addition to a chart, but as you can see, they can be difficult to figure out and then you're left wondering if you missed the surge or if another surge is coming in a few days.   Some women find they almost constantly get positive OPK's and others find that they get positive OPK's well after ovulation- it can be frustrating.  I highly recommend temping; it will really help take the mystery out of where you are in your cycle!     Many things can delay O like illness, injury, travel, stress, strenuous exercise, etc.  A lot of women don't realize that when you O is not constant.  What is fairly constant (within 2 days usually) is the period between O and  AF called the luteal phase.  Again, you won't know how long your LP is until you temp.  The average is 12-14 days, but many women have shorter or longer ones (mine is 10 days on average).   I just think when you're first starting out that charting would be the most helpful.  You can add in the OPK's and saliva tests as secondary fertility signs to give you an even better picture.  In fact I would think that it would really help you to see when you ovulate in conjunction with what you're observing in your saliva to better learn how to interpret the saliva.  If you notice really consistent patterns over several cycles then you could better rely on the saliva alone (without temping) if you prefer it.  And yes, I would keep DTD through this period b/c you don't know if you O'd or if you're still going to O in a few days.

[JMJ]

I wish I knew more about the saliva microscopes.  Maybe one of these days (if I'm not pregnant very soon), I'll have to try getting one to try it out.  I know the theory, that you get ferning leading up to ovulation, but I'd love to hear your experiences with it if you get more than a month to play with it.  I know that some people find them to be quite helpful, but other people find them prone to errors.  I have less respect for OPK's because it's hard to tell.  I know so many people who have had positives no where near ovulation and people who have never gotten a positive throughout their whole cycle.  You have some LH in your body throughout different parts of your cycle, so it's possible to have a little bit show up on a test and then have it lighten out without having ovulation.  Without a positive OPK, I couldn't make any assumptions that you have ovulated, especially because you're now seeing a ferning pattern on your saliva microscope.  If I had to guess, I'd say you're getting ready to ovulate in the next few days, but again, I don't have enough experience/haven't done enough research to know for sure.  I would definitely assume that if you have any line on an OPK, or have any hint of ferning on the microscope, or have any other reason that you think ovulation might be approaching, it couldn't hurt to practice.

[mollsworth]

Thanks for your input! We do the lovely baby dance nearly every night, whether trying or not...so not sure ho wmuch more knowledge will impact that, but it is fun to learn about all of the things going on in my body.

If I have more than a month or two to play with the microscope I will definitely let you know what I've learned. So far not sure how I feel about the Ovatel specifically...haven't tried others obviously but this one doesn't have a way to focus so if you pull it back to focus, it is too far to be able to see the ferning. Also finding the right light to see everything clearly is very quirky. And taking pictures by holding it up to my cell phone lens has been an adventure. I know there are more expensive scopes that would resolve these qualms, so I guess it epends on how much you are able to invest. But so far I am enjoying the process.

I have a very strange job which has me up and working at different times every day, with a million other changing factors so temping would be do-able, but this is a much more consistent option for me. Confusing, maybe...requires some training, definitely....but enjoyable!

[JMJ]

You might also consider charting CM.  That works regardless of schedule.  Most women will notice clear, stretchy, slippery, like eggwhites, mucus when they wipe after going to the bathroom as they are approaching ovulation, and then, around the time they ovulate, it will suddenly dry up.

[Jaimee]

LOL!  I was just going to write that JMJ!  I was also going to say that pinpointing ovulation with temping (or CF if you can tell) really helps with that two week wait when TTC. Otherwise if you really don't know when you O'd you can make yourself pretty crazy thinking AF is late.  Plus, while I know every couple is totally different, I know for myself that I got pretty tired of DTD every night while TTC.  It started being more of a chore.  Confidently identifying your fertile window allows you the freedom to say, "not tonight honey" during other times, knowing that you aren't likely missing a conception opportunity.  At the same time, having fun with all this is so crucial.   So if temping and/or  tracking CF would make things stressful instead of fun then it's probably not worth it.

[mollsworth]

Just had to post on here, since you are the only ladies I have corresponded with so far... I think I just got a BFP!!!

Not totally sure, line is VERY faint but definitely there and definitely pink, not evap...Wish my phone had a camera that could focus better so I could get your thoughts.

Was feeling very "off" today. Super dizzy, bloated, foggy-brained so I went ahead and tested even though its evening and AF isn't due for a few more days. 

Cross fingers!!!

[JMJ]

Any line with any amount of pink is positive.  Congratulations, mama!!! 

[Jaimee]

Yep any pink line is a BFP!   Maybe take another one with FMU today or tomorrow?  It can be nice to see a darkening line.  Congrats!!!!

[TenzinsMama]

Wow, mollsworth!  You haven't been on here very long and it sounds like you caught your egg!  Looking forward to updates!  Congrats on getting that line, however faint... so exciting!

[mollsworth]

Thanks everyone!! A barely-there line is now a deep dark maroon. :-D I have joined the March DDC and hope I get to stay there to the end. 

TenzinsMama, hope you can join me in there!!

[Jaimee]

Yay!!!  That's so exciting!

[TenzinsMama]

mollsworth, even better news today for you!  So excited for you.  Thanks for the well wishes, it would be great to join you over in the March DDC.  Here's hoping!