How do you know when you ovulate?

[moozle]

Hi, I'm new to TTC and have read posts about products and things you can use to work out when you are ovulating. Can anyone tell me anything about these, which are best and where you get them from?

[overitand36]

ebay opk's work perfectly well and will not send you broke

plenty of information on google about how to use etc pretty simply really

[Opinionated]

I get ovulation pain and fertile cervical mucous. I generally expect to ovulate between day 12 and day 15. I have used an opk just to confirm what I already know. I got my OPK's off ebay.

[Luv2BaMummy]

I get ov pain (have it right now, actually!) and I keep a check on my temp each morning. The morning it spikes (goes up) I usually ovulate soon after. Have also done OPKs but my LH surge comes up as positive for like, 3 days in a row...so that's not very helpful.

hope this helps..good luck witH ttc. :)

[moozle]

Thanks for that info. I'll look into the opk's!

I know when I ovulate when I actually am lol but I want to be able to predict the exact time... we are hoping to conceive a girl this time and my cycle is and has always been all over the place so I'm going to study the patterns if there are any for a while before we try.

[moozle]

Can anyone explain how the OPK's work? What is the link with temperature. I really have no idea about this stuff we just got lucky the first time :laughing:

[EquineMum]

OPK's register the level of lutenising hormone (LH) in your urine. When a follicle on your ovary is preparing to ovulate, it swells and matures to get ready to release the egg. When the levels of lutenising hormone rise high enough, they will signal the follicle to release the egg. The ruptured follicle is then referred to as the corpus luteum (hence the name 'lutenising' hormone because it causes the corpus luteum). It releases progesterone to 'tell' your body not to shed the uterine lining in preparation for conception and implantation, and only when the progesterone levels drop will the lining start to shed and you will get your AF.

In your follicular phase (pre O), the levels of progesterone are relatively low and so is your temp. After O (the luteal phase), when the progesterone levels rise, it causes your temp to rise. This is how you can tell you have O'd - because you will see a sustained shift in your temps - they should be clearly higher and remain so after O, until the progesterone levels fall again, the temp will dip, and AF will arrive (if conception hasn't occurred).

If conception does occur, the embryo will start producing HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadatrophin) after it implants, and this signals the corpus luteum to keep making progesterone and continue nourishing the uterine lining. With the constant presence of progesterone, your temp will stay higher and this is often the first sign many women get that they are PG :yes:


Soooo - OPK's give you advanced warning that O is about to occur (usually you will O within 36 hours from a +ve OPK), whereas temps tell you AFTER you have O'd - you need to wait for the sustained shift in temps (sustained because just one or two high temps does not mean you have O'd - you really should have at least 3-4 constant days of high temps before you can confirm a definite shift and rise).

Hope that helps! :thumbsup:

[delirium]

Have you looked at fertility friend? That's a good place to store info and have the program assess when you are ovulating (it bases it on temps).

Have you considered the Billings method? It says that if you want a girl you BD three days before O, then for a boy, right on O. It worked for us :D

[moozle]

Thanks Equinemum!! Very helpful. You're just a little ovulation encyclopedia, aren't you?! :p :laughing:

delirium - what is fertility friend? I've heard about the billings method. That is why I am trying to work out when I O :)

[babydreaming2009]

Hi Moozle,

If you check out www.fertilityfriend.com (http://www.fertilityfriend.com) you will get heaps of information about how to monitor your fertile window.

Fertility Friend also has free online tutorials to educate you about all this stuff!

Good luck!

[EquineMum]

Thanks Equinemum!! Very helpful. You're just a little ovulation encyclopedia, aren't you?! :p :laughing:



LOL! :laughing: Not quite - but we do breed horses - and to be any good at it, I have to know LOTS about ovulation cycles otherwise people would pay me money and their mares would never get pregnant! :detective:

[delirium]

Thanks Equinemum!! Very helpful. You're just a little ovulation encyclopedia, aren't you?! :p :laughing:

delirium - what is fertility friend? I've heard about the billings method. That is why I am trying to work out when I O :)

Fertility friend is a site where you can map your cycle using temps, changes in cervical mucus, moods. Using temps it will help pinpoint O day. Someone else said that with temps you only know AFTER it's happened and that's true. But if you really want one gender I would suggest you spend even 2 cycles mapping your cycle so you can get it that you are 2 to 3 days before ovulation to get the girl.

here it is (http://www.fertilityfriend.com/)

[moozle]

You girls are fantastic! Thanks :)

[m3l154]

hi all.. i would like to drop a question..

I was predicted to ovulate in these few days, I checked using OPK and I got a faint line (not too faint) but not as thick as the control line - does that mean I am O? or do I hv to get both line in the same thickness?

[moozle]

Sorry, I have no idea but just thought I'd bump this up for you :)

[Baby Things]

I've heard of a product called Maybe Baby. Does that help map out cycles?