Why You Can’t Trust OPKs: The Truth About Ovulation Predictor Kit Accuracy
By Alira Roselani
If you’re here, I’m guessing you’re on a journey to conceive your own little bundle of joy. I’m also guessing you’ve read about Ovulation Predictor Kits (Lutotenizing Hormone [LH] Detector Strips) or maybe you have been recommended them by a friend or family member to help you pinpoint exactly when you’re ovulating. Can you trust ‘Ovulation Predictor Kit’s'?’ Unfortunately they are not as accurate as you’d think and I've seen a lot of women who are trying to conceive who rely soley on OPK’s without knowing the full picture
It is so incredibly important to get to know your body and learn the subtle and not-so-subtle signs and cues so that you can increase your chances of becoming pregnant drastically. I believe that every woman needs to be educated the workings of her own body, and it’s surprising how little majority of women know - this really ought to be taught in school!
Model Of The Female Reproductive System. Uterus, Ovaries, Birth Canal, Fibroids
Instead we are basically taught that it’s so easy to fall pregnant and you MUST prevent all year round (and take damaging drugs and artificial hormones to do so), when in reality, there really is only a very small timeframe each month that a pregnancy can occur. Now, that doesn’t mean that it should be hard to fall pregnant, it just can’t happen as often as you may have been lead to believe in school or by your parents (as in - all month like most of us used to think)
All that said, let’s get into why we can’t trust ovulation strips and hence why it’s super important to get to know your body instead or at the very least, in addition to using them to help you conceive naturally.
Ovulation Predictor Kit / Ovulation Test Kit
The truth about ovulation test kits (opk’s)
Ovulation Predictor Kids (OPK’s) only test for a surge of Luteinising Hormone (LH) that precedes ovulation. They DO NOT indicate whether a woman has actually ovulated after the surge. For instance, some women may have a condition called LUFS (luteinised unruptured follicle syndrome) where they have an LH surge but the egg is never actually released from the ovary.
A woman could miss her LH surge if her surge lasts less than 10 hours and she only checks once a day using the strips. She may be lead to believe that she’s not ovulating, when in fact, she has just missed her LH surge.
Some women's LH surge peak is below the threshold that the test can detect, again meaning that she may believe that she isn’t ovulating when she actually is.
A woman can experience false LH surges. She can have a mini-peak before the ACTUAL peak. The timing of intercourse may then be planned incorrectly —most likely too early for the sperm to survive long enough for the release of the egg. Women who have PCOS may continually produce misleading LH surges making OPK’s basically useless for her to use.
The kits do not take into account fertile cervical fluid which is essential to sperm travel. For one reason or another, sometimes a woman may not be producing healthy and suitable cerival fluid that acts as a necessary medium for the sperm to travel to the egg. Also, often by the time the kit detects an LH surge, otherwise healthy and suitable cervical fluid may be already drying up. Since healthy, fertile quality cervical fluid is necessary for a healthy and successful conception, that is something I help my clients to produce through targeted herbs, optimal diet and certain supplements.
Excessive heat during transport or storage of the kits can affect the accuracy of them.
The kits are only accurate if used around the time of ovulation. So for women with irregular cycles (the women who typically purchase the kits) there may not be enough strips to cover the range necessary to actually pinpoint ovulation. Most kits only come with 5-9 days worth of strips. For example, if a woman has cycles between 24-40 days, then her ovulation will occur between day 10 and 26 - a range of 16 days. Since kits have a maximum of 9 days worth of strips, it can be difficult for a woman with irregular cycles to know when to start testing so she doesn’t miss her LH surge.
Women with short luteal phases may start testing too early and therefore interpret the results to indicate anovulation (lack of ovulation) when in reality it may just not have occurred yet.
Some drugs can affect the results of the tests. For example: fertility drugs (especially those that contain HCG, FSH and LH), certain antibiotics (ones that contain tetracycline) and hormone therapy.
Women that are over 40 and approaching menopause can have elevated LH which does not indicate ovulation is near. A kit should show an LH surge on only ONE day — if it shows a surge on more than one day then it is likely invalid.
If you are pregnant already, the kits will show you are not ovulating. Which would be true, but it will not accurately demonstrate your fertility issues. For example, recurring miscarriage could be occurring but a woman may think she isn't ovulating at all due to the lack of LH surge detection.
Post-partum & breastfeeding women may have inaccurate results
I summarised this information summarized from the book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" (pg 190-193) by Toni Weschler (pg 190-193) —an incredible manual that all women should own and pass down to their children, grandchildren, nieces and hell even their nephews too! TCOYF.com
I highly recommend all women get in tune with their body by learning the Fertility Awareness Method (I teach my clients how to practice FAM in my 1:1 coaching). While there are other digital ovulation detectors that are a little more accurate than traditional OPK’s that I spoke of above, these technologies DO still have some of the same weaknesses. Tracking your basal body temperature and cervical fluid can give you comprehensive information every single day. It also helps to chart on either paper charts or on an app such as ‘Ova Graph’ so that the information that you recieve can be shared with your doctor, other healthcare provider of choice, or me so that we can work together pinpointing any issues and you can stop taking stabs in the dark at what the issue might be!Chances are that when we work through your personalised holistic fertility plan together, any issues that are apparent in your charts will resolve through my pre-conception cleanse programs and recommended nutrition and lifestyle changes. Not only that, but I take you through a complete soul shift, so that any mental, emotional and spiritual blocks can be completely obliterated too.
Charting your basal body temperature the ‘Fertility Awareness Method’ (FAM) way is an excellent way to get to know your body and gives valuable information every single day of your cycle.
YOUR NEXT STEP:
Download my FREE GUIDE to tracking your basal body temperature here to learn the basics on charting your BBT and to learn exactly what it can tell you.
I hope this blog has been helpful —please let me know in the comments below if it was, or message me on instagram with any questions you may have — I always love hearing from my audience and customers, so please don’t hesitate to contact me to chat ☺️
WITH LOVE & HOPE,
ALIRA X
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