Success with getting pg using OPK strip tests? Anyone?

[Batia]

Since I am new to using these I am full of questions! 

How many of you ladies have had success with achieving a pg using these? And how quickly? 1 month? 2 months? 3? or longer? 
Just curious?? Love those statistics! 

[Jaimee]

After hanging around this forum quite a bit I see more confusion surrounding OPK's than success.  I  highly recommend charting your temps and cervical fluid either instead of or in addition to OPK's.  OPK's will not tell you if you ovulated- they will only tell you when you're gearing up to ovulate, but your body can do that several times in a cycle.  Also, even using charts and OPK's, how long it takes you to get pregnant really depends on your combined fertility.  Sounds like you already have a few kiddos?  How long did it take to conceive them?  That will be a better way to estimate. 

If you'd like help getting going with charting just post your questions!  Good luck on your TTC journey.

[ValH]

I agree with the previous poster.  OPKs are a fantastic tool to use in TTC, but it's just one tool, and it's really more effective when used in combination with other things (i.e. temps, cervical mucous, etc.).  I did use OPKs when I was trying to conceive, for approximately seven months (I was TTC for 13 months).  But I did that in combination with charting.  And, in my case, the charting helped me pinpoint some issues in my cycle that were preventing me from getting pregnant that the OPKs alone may not have helped me see.  

Good luck to you! 

[Batia]

I am using the OPK's in combination with my clearblue fertility monitor. I am in my 2nd cycle since they returned at 11 1/2 mo. pp so I am not sure how long they are yet. I am keeping an eye on cervical mucous and also the pelvic pain that I always have when gearing up to ovulate and ovulation.. I am doing all of these things together.. 

[JMJ]

I'm one of the biggest OPK bashers here, but I would encourage you to go for it if that's what seems like it fits your style best.  Remember that the sample of women that you get in a TTC forum is biased towards those who have been trying longer because those who get pregnant on the first try leave while the ones who don't spend 2, 3, or 20 times more time here and tend to get more complicated.... and tend to think that others need to get more complicated as well.

The truth is that most women do not need to get that complicated in order to TTC, and you can find what is right for you.  With random, regular intercourse, you've got about a 25% chance of getting pregnant each month.  Anything you do to assist you in learning more about your fertility (including OPK's) can assist you in raising that number.  In most cases, sperm can live a few days, and an egg can live up to a day, so if you are BDing every few days, chances are, you would end up pregnant pretty quickly regardless of what charting you are doing.  If you want to use OPK's to give you an idea of when to shoot for, go for it.  If you're obsessive-compulsive about fertility (like me) there's several things that you can chart to help you know when your body is getting ready to ovulate and to let you know when you do actually ovulate and how healthy your cycle is and when your due date is, etc.

[SilaMarila]

I too HATE opks! They brought me much more frustration than good! We conceived DH just fine without them by charting my bbt, and monitoring cervical fluid and cervical position. I personally think these are much better methods at pinpointing ovulation. I started using opks recently TTC#2 when I wasn't sleeping as consistently and my temps weren't as consistent and I knew my body kept trying to ovulate and I was trying to see if it actually was. I wasted a lot of them. If you have regular cycles they may work better for you. I definitely recommend Taking Charge of Your Fertility to learn how to monitor your body's fertility signs!

[RosieL]

I second JMJ's post. I have a friend who used OPKs and got pregnant on her second cycle. I'm *guessing* that there are lots of women who use OPKs, never chart or learn charting signs, get pregnant in a few cycles, and never come back to TTC or never were here in the first place. In short, I'm guessing OPKs are helpful for lots of women. 

Others (like me), not so much.

[NANandAUBIE]

The only way to sure fire know you are ovulating is temping. Im using OPK's, CP, CM. The fertility monitor is great too, but there is no way to know you oed unless you temp.

I think your doing the right things to minimize your time trying, but adding temping might be even more helpful.