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Should You Use an Ovulation Predictor Kit?

Pros and Cons of the OPK

By Kelly Burgess

Another feature that most people may see as convenient is one that Lisa* of Laramie, Wyo., dislikes: the fact that she has to pee on a stick. A new type of monitor that measures hormone levels through the skin can eliminate the need for urine sampling. Otherwise, she says she finds OPKs very easy to use and to interpret.

That's not true for everyone. Clarke says that her greatest number of questions and complaints are about deciphering the results. Most tests have two side-by-side lines, and one line has to be read in comparison to the other. Dr. Beltsos agrees that this can be extremely confusing when the line is not definitive, and she often hears from couples who, even when working together, can't decide if it's positive or not. Dr. Beltsos' solution is to retest.

Clarke turned to the Web. A section on her Web site consists of photos of several months of her testing, including while she was nursing and thus in a period of time where she wasn't ovulating. She posted every single day, including the positive tests once she begin to ovulate. Tracking her visual progress can be a great help to couples looking to solve the puzzle of whether or not a test is positive.

"OPKs can be a great help, but there's definitely room for improvement," Clarke says. "Ideally, there would be an absolute, definitive sign for positive, but they haven't been on the market long. Hopefully, the companies that make these are listening to the problems and complaints their users have and are working on those improvements."

* Last name withheld to protect privacy. Tips for Using Your OPK

• Figure out the best time of the month to test. To do this, take the number of days in your shortest cycle and count backwards by 14 to 16 days. That is the day to start testing.
• Test between noon and 8 p.m. Do not use first morning urine.
• Do not test after drinking large amounts of liquid; hydration can affect the results.
• Once you get a positive test, there is no need to retest.
• Women with PCOS often get false positives. If you suspect that there is a problem, contact your doctor.
• Women who have irregular cycles or plan to use ovulation testing long-term for birth control may want to consider investing in a computerized monitor, which tends to be easier to interpret and may save money in the long run.

Want to see more?

• All About Ovulation: The Inside Story to Help You Conceive
• The Power of Prediction: How Ovulation Tests Can Help You Conceive
• Ovulation Calculator: What Day Do You Ovulate?
• Trying to Conceive with Irregular Cycles: Why Irregular Cycles Happen and What You Can Do to Help
• Predicting Ovulation Using Saliva: A Review of the Ovulite Fertility Test
• Join the discussion on our Family.com community!