OPKs

On all three Clomid cycles, I saw a positive OPK (ovulation predictor kit) at cycle day 15, meaning that ovulation would come approximately 24-48 hours later.

With this being a natural cycle, I had no idea if I would ovulate or not. Since I don't think I ovulated at all before the Clomid, I wouldn't have been surprised if this cycle was the same.

But, I was testing, hoping to see a positive the last few days or so, and today, on cycle day 15, I got it!

Being able to tell if an OPK is positive or not can be really tricky. With HCG, or pregnancy tests, just the presence of a second line indicates a positive. With OPKs, there is always a second line, the test line, and it has to be as dark or darker than the control line. You could see where the confusion would come in.

Luckily, some smart person invented a digital OPK to make it simple.

If there is a smiley face, it's positive! I have to get the simple ones, because I would make myself go crazy having to judge the lines myself. I do get some practice, though, because there is a stick that you can use to still see the lines with the digital tests. (You can't do this with digital pregnancy tests! There will always be a second line with those, even if it's negative). So I know what a smiley face line looks like:

The first line is the test line, and the second is the control.

Well, I hope I helped educate on OPKs a little bit!