Fading OPK

CD 22 today, and after getting a + opk yesterday, today the line is still there but it's fading...which is normal...the luteinizing hormone surge is now over, but there are still remnants of it in my system, which is why it's being detected by the opk.

But now I'm confused when I compare the opk results with my chart - there was no O dip around the time when the opk said that I should have O'd - I was always under the impression that I had an O dip on day of O...or around there anyway...either way I usually always had a clear temp dip around time of O - which there wasn't one this time:

The program set my day of possible ovulation on CD 22 with the blue line, which it automatically put there because of the +opk I filled in for yesterday.  The only dip near to day of O is CD20 (day before +opk), but it's not any lower than previous dips that cycle, and usually it's pretty noticably lower, even if only by a little bit.  However, my temps have been lower this cycle compared to previous charts - I think it may have something to do with the weather becoming cooler.  SO, the thing to do now is to do opk's next cycle as well and compare the 2 cycle charts and opk readings...maybe I've been O'ing 2 days after the dip all along...

There was still no ferning today either...that's just weird.  I think I'll take another opk tomorrow, just to see what it says and whether it's fading even further.

I think I see a positive!!

A positive opk that is, not hpt, hehe!  But it's nonetheless exciting to see a positive, I'm almost as excited as I would be had I been looking at a postive hpt. :D  It's good to see some extra confirmation that I am indeed probably ovulating...this +opk combined with my charts would mean twice confirmed ovulation...so let's hope they're both as accurate as they claim to be! :D

CD 21, and this result came up probably in less than 2 minutes, but the photo was taken between 3 & 4 minutes I think....all well within the time limit!:  (and I'm sure it must be a positive!)

The lines were actually much darker than the photo shows - it's the flash's fault.

The line on the left is the control line, and the one on the right is the test line - which is the line you need to be looking at!  It looks pretty much the same shade (or even darker!) than the control line....which means that O is happening, probably within the next 12 hours or so (they say anything between 12 & 36 hours, so I'm going with 12 to be safe).

Wee hee!  At least this is one more thing working in my favour. :D  This is my first month of using opk's and so it's exciting to see my first positive of SOMETHING. :D

On a side note, my ovulation microscope shows no sign of any ferning at all, so that's odd - I would have thought it'd show something so soon before ovulation.  Oh well.

Waiting for O

TTC is a waiting game...waiting for O (ovulation) and then the driving-you-crazy 2WW (2 week wait between ovulation and period).

At the mo I'm waiting for O - today is CD (cycle day) 18 and from past charts I usually pretty much consistently O'd on CD 19/20.  Except for the last cycle it happened on CD 23 - I think the vitex agnus castus or increased B6 I've been taking has something to do with that.

Anyway, I've always only used BBT charting to monitor my fertility, but this cycle I decided to give opks (ovulation predictor kits) a try...just to see if they confirm when my charts tell me that I O'd.  So now I'm nervous 'cause I'm worried that the opks won't show any signs of O.

I've always relied on my bi-phasic charts as 100% confirmation that I am O'ing, because they say your temps are really very accurate in this regard, so I'm curious to see what the opk's will be telling me.

If you're not familiar with opk's, read HERE (point no. 3).

I've taken opks on CD 14, 16, 17 & 18 and they're all negative. Although today (CD 18) there was a really faint test line, so I'm wondering if that means that the LH surge is starting up and gearing for O?  Aparently some people get this kind of slow progression to a full positive O reading, and some don't. Anyhoo, time will tell, ish.

How to Monitor Your Fertility

There are some very simple and inexpensive ways to monitor your fertility at home - what this does is tell you, most importantly for ttc purposes, whether you're ovulating or not - some only confirm after the fact that you've ovulated (bbt charting - although sometimes if you've lucky, bbt charting tells you the day on which you ovulate as well), and some tell you in advance when you're about to ovulate (ovulation microscope and ovulation predictor tests).

I've posted some info about bbt charting and the ovulation microscope HERE.  I like these the most because they're very inexpensive, and they're very accurate as well - so I've read over and over in many different articles.  Bbt charting measures your daily temps, and besides letting you know what's cooking with your fertility, it also tells you a bit about your overall health - it's very useful.  As for the microscope, it's said to be 98% accurate.

The only equipment you need for bbt charting is a digital basal thermometer (a once-off cost of about R100) and bbt charts which you can google and print for free.  If you wish to use the ovulation microscope, you can get that for about R300 (at Dischem - also a once-off cost!), they're usually more expensive if you order them online.

So bbt charting and the ovulation microscope is a really good and very affordable way to monitor your fertility when you're just starting out.  Using fertility monitoring goodies can help you conceive quicker because you know how to time your baby-making sessions more accurately. :)

For more info on how these 2 goodies work and about what they can tell you about your fertility etc, see Monitoring your Fertility.