Timing OPK

[Cassie R.]

I know the recommended time of day to take an OPK is late morning-mid afternoon. But if that is absolutely not possible, when is the second best time? There is no way I could do it at work, so my other options are 1st thing in the morning, late evening (6-7 o'clock) or before bed. I know you aren't suppose to use FMU, and I'm afraid I'd be inconsistent if I was doing them in the evening, since sometimes I have meetings after work or I pee right before leaving work, and don't need to go when I get home so I'm leaning towards doing them right before bed. Is there any reason why I wouldn't get accurate results then? Is consistency even that important? E.G. if I happened to be at home for lunch one day and took the test, the next day took it right before bed and the third day did it right when I got home, would my results show a reliable pattern? (In other words, am I obsessing over nothing )

[BC-DKNY]

cassie....i think one of the more important things would be to try and keep your test time as consistent as possible. testing one day in the morning and the next day before bed leaves too much margin for missing your window. that's a 36 hour difference or more. during that time you could surge, O, and completely miss your opportunity.

if you only plan on testing once a day, then try to keep the testing at 24 hour intervals or less. if you have to pee before you leave work, then i'd do it then. OPK's are small enough that you can keep them in your pocketbook.

if you feel you wouldn't be able to be consistent with that time each day, then i'd probably do it at bedtime and use that as your test time each day.

so in answer to your question, in this case, consitency is very important.

keep in mind that a pos OPK is indicative of O'ing within 12-36 hours. if you can't keep your test time (once a day) at a max of 24 hour intervals, then i'd bite the bullet and test 2x a day so at least you know you can be a little inconsistent, KWIM?

good luck!

[Cassie R.]

Thanks for the good advice. I have such unpredictable cycles, that it might take me a couple of weeks to get a positive OPK I think I will make it part of my bedtime routine, and if I get an almost positive, I might plan to do a follow-up the next day at work. (I use the dollar store tests that need you to pee in a cup then use the dropper to put a few drops on the test, so its not impossible to do it at work, but is terribly cumbersome!!!!)

[Jennie6308]

Cassie- Have you tried charting your BBT? That seems to help me - I didnt O last month til day 28, but my body tried to and I surged around day 14 - If I hadnt been checking my temps too, I wouldnt of know about CD 28

Good luck

And as far as OPKs go - Id do them as much as possible ... 2x day is good - check out poas.com for info on it

Originally Posted by Cassie R.

Thanks for the good advice. I have such unpredictable cycles, that it might take me a couple of weeks to get a positive OPK I think I will make it part of my bedtime routine, and if I get an almost positive, I might plan to do a follow-up the next day at work. (I use the dollar store tests that need you to pee in a cup then use the dropper to put a few drops on the test, so its not impossible to do it at work, but is terribly cumbersome!!!!)

[caridd]

if you could do it right when you get home from work that would probably be the best time. i think the LH usually surges in the middle of the day and then possibly goes back down in the evening so waiting till bed time might not be the best time to check it. I try to do them the same time every day so I can compare the darkness of the line to the previous day but it doesnt work if you dont do them at the same time.

[Cassie R.]

Maybe I will try to do it right when I get home from work -- I probably won't be able to hit the same time every single day, but I can probably be pretty consistent.

I do temp, which is how I know that I have O'd, but since temping doesn't confirm O until after the fact (i.e. once you see the consistent rise, O has already happened), it is too late to do any good re: timing BMS. And my cycles are pretty erratic, so I don't even know when to expect anything. For example, last month, I used OPKs on CD 22-34, never saw a positive, but finally saw a temp rise indicating O around CD 45. Since I'd kind of given up and written off the cycle as anovulatory, we weren't being as "disciplined" with BMS as we would have been if I'd known O was coming. So this month I'm planning to go out and buy about 30 tests, and keep at it until I see O!!!!!!!!

[BC-DKNY]

it doesn't have to be at *exactly* the same time each day...just within the general vicinity is good.

and knowing you're using tests with the dip method, i can understand not wanting to deal with that at work.

now i've got a visual of you rumaging through your pocketbook in the office bathroom trying to gather all your apparatus to do your test and sitting in there like a mad scientist with your cup and dropper, etc.