Millions of women use an OPK or home ovulation predictor test to increase their chance for pregnancy.
When could your OPK be wrong?
Stay tuned to find out
OPK stands for Ovulation Predictor Kit.
OPKs are also known as home ovulation tests.
The most common and affordable type of OPK uses test strips which you pee on or add urine to
To understand when an OPK could be wrong, you have to first understand a little about
how they work.
After an egg has matured in the ovary, it still has to be released into the fallopian tube
Ovulation, which is the release of the egg from the ovary, is triggered by a hormone
made in the pituitary gland called LH.
Normally, the LH level in a woman’s blood is low.
Just before the egg is released, the levels of LH in the blood increase by a huge amount.
This is called the LH surge.
When the LH in your blood goes through the kidneys, some of the LH will be filtered into the urine
So its possible to measure the amount of LH being produced by your body with a blood test
in the doctor’s office or by a urine test.
An OPK tests the amount of LH in the urine.
If the level of LH in urine is high, that turns the OPK positive and it usually means
that ovulation is going to occur in the next 24 hours.
But there are times when a positive OPK may not mean ovulation is near.
#1 Women who have PCOS PCOS is a problem which causes women not to ovulate
SOME women with PCOS have high LH levels all the time.
For those women with persistently high LH levels, an OPK could be positive all the time.
At IVF1, we recommend that women start testing with an OPK at least a few days BEFORE they
think ovulation might happen
Ideally, the first few days of testing should be negative and then TURN positive.
If the test is positive from the very first day, you should not rely on it to accurately
predict ovulation.
#2 Women taking some types of fertility medications Some injectable medications like Menopur contain
the hormone LH.
If your dose of these medications is high enough, it could turn your OPK positive without
indicating ovulation.
Oral medications like Clomid or Letrozole work by stimulating the pituitary gland to
produce more of the hormones that stimulate the ovaries.
It is possible, in the 1-2 days after taking these medications that the LH level could
be high enough to cause a positive OPK.
Again, be wary of an OPK that is positive the first day you test, especially if you
have just finished a dose of Clomid or Letrozole.
Another medication that can cause your LH to be temporarily increased is Lupron.
#3 You already ovulated The LH surge has three phases where the levels
of LH are increasing, steady and then decreasing.
The whole thing could take a few days and so your OPK could be positive for several days.
Ovulation occurs within 24 hours after the START of the LH surge.
If you started testing too late in your cycle, your might have ovulated some time in the past
Having intercourse more than a day after ovulation has a very poor chance for producing pregnancy
#4 Pregnancy and other sources of hCG LH is very similar to another hormone called
hCG which is the hormone produced during pregnancy.
Depending on the OPK you use, it is possible to see a positive result on your OPK from
having too much hCG in your blood.
This is also true if you are taking injections of hCG.
The higher the levels of hCG in your body, the greater the chance that it could cause
the OPK to be positive.
Some types of tumors can also produce hCG, but this is pretty rare
#5 Kidney problems OPKs measure LH in the urine.
Any kidney problems that affect how much LH is filtered into the urine could give you
a false positive result
#6 Menopause If a woman has passed the menopause, there are
no more viable eggs in the ovaries.
The pituitary gland produces higher amounts of two hormones: FSH and LH.
The high LH levels will cause a positive OPK. Post menopausal women cannot become pregnant on their own
#7 Surgery to remove the ovaries Just like the case of women who are in the menopause
if a woman had surgery to remove her ovaries, the pituitary gland will also
produce more FSH and LH
#8 Pituitary tumors Although they are pretty rare, some types
of tumors in the pituitary gland produce LH which would give a positive result on your OPK
#9 Dehydration When a woman becomes dehydrated, her body conserves fluid
As a result, she make less urine and the urine she does make is more concentrated.
If it is concentrated enough, it could cause an OPK to turn positive
An OPK is generally a highly accurate way to predict ovulation.
If you have a negative test that turns positive after a few days, it is highly likely you
are about to ovulate.
If your OPK is positive all of the time, then it is recommended that you be evaluated by
a fertility specialist
Looking for other tips to improve your chances for trying to conceive?
Check out this playlist for great TTC Tips
If you have a topic you would like us to cover in a future episode,
leave it in the comments.
If you liked this video, remember to "LIKE" this video
Subscribe now! InfertilityTV produces a new video each week
Its like having a fertility specialsit in your phone