Friday, July 14, 2006

DAY OMG

I just counted and it's day 50, folks. Yup, that's right, the big 5-0. O.M.G.
I am calling the homeopathic provera a bust, and going out to fill my provera and clomid prescriptions this aft. I am so very frustrated. I really had faith in the homeopathic route to bring on my period. It's very disappointing. I don't know why it hasn't worked... Is it becasue my body is so screwed up?
Really I would wait a bit longer, but this is my problem: I am going on vacation August 19-without The C. So let's say I take my provera like a good girl tomorrow, cd1 will probably be July 20. As per my dr's instructions, we are supposed to start our baby-making sex on day 11, and continue (on a specific scedule) until at least day 21.
(I know it is baffling that we are actually using s.e.x. as a method of conception, but let's not forget that my appointment with the RE is still 3.5 months away, and this is the best that my GYN can offer me at the moment.) But i digress. Back to the calculations.
So cd11 will be July 30, and cd21 will be August 9. This is all assuming that I O on or around day 14-20; and 2. that I actually O at all. (!!!!!) Man, this is getting to me. And I haven't even started at the clinic yet. In any event, should I actually conceive this month, the end of my 2ww (if I O around day 14, and we consider this a 28 day cycle, even if I don't get my period unless I take provera,) will be while I am on a cruise with my mother. Who doesn't know about our "efforts". What am I going to do? Take a pee stick on the cruise? What if I'm pregnant (From my mouth to Gd's ears.) What if I'm NOT?

Oh ya, and one other thing: about OPKs... Can you guys please help me out because I'm a moron. I want to know for certain (as certain as you can be with OPKs) that I am ovulating this month (or that I am not.) So I want to use some OPKs... I have looked in the drugstore and I don't see them on the shelf. WHERE DOES ONE FIND THEM? And what is your recommendation on them? Please for the love of all things holy, help me out!
Umm... Thanks.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, sorry the homeopathic route isn't going well, I gave up on everything except provera when I had long cycles, especially after the 81 day cycle.

You can find the OPKs at just about any drugstores, or Target, Meijer type stores. They are usually on the shelf right with the pregnancy tests. The packaging on the ovulation predictor kits usually look a lot like the packaging on pregnancy tests so you have to look specifically at the labels. At the drugstore by my house they are side by side with the preg. tests separated by brand so they are all over the shelf.

I have to add that I HATE those OPKs, so use them with caution. I only used them when my Dr. made me. When I had an annovulatory cycle they went from dark to light and back to dark and light over and over. I had to use several boxes and since my hormones were all screwed up they were useless. They worked better after I was on clomid, but I still hate them, they can be pretty frustrating.

I prefer temping and that usually tells me that I have or have not ovulated and has usually been pretty accurate. But unfortunately temping only tells you AFTER you have O'd and doesn't really tell you ahead of time.

Good luck with them.

P.S. My Dr. told me that the brand of OPK didn't matter and that the cheap ones work fine, I always prefer "Walgreens" store brand and thought that worked the best for me even over the first response. A lot of people buy them on line too and get them cheaper.

Lut C. said...

Don't forget that homeopathy is a controversial form of treatment. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy

S.e.x? Really, how quaint. I hear it works for some people.

Nico said...

I used the clearblue test sticks that come with the electronic fertility monitor (which you don't need, you can read the sticks by eye) - amazon has them for $37 for 30 sticks. I think there are also other brands that are cheaper as well. I didn't look in Target-like stores, but the drug stores only had them in packs of 5, which wasn't nearly enough for me considering I ovulated on CD42.

I know how frustrating non getting your period can be, I hope the provera / clomid work for you!

~r said...

Not the dreaded opk's!! (hate 'em).

Umm.. lots of other people love them. I find them hard to interpret. I used to end up with a week's worth of them lined up in my bathroom so I could compare to see if today looked darker than yesterday.

Seriously, tho, lots of people swear by 'em, so hopefully they'll be good to you, too. A few things I've learned (my assvice) - they can get very expensive if you have long cycles, and you may need to buy more than one pack of them. It's best to stick with one brand per cycle so you're not comparing apples and oranges. Unlike hpt's, opk's work better in the afternoon or evening, and from what I can tell, you should use them close to the same time every day. Most of all, I always found that charting made my opk's clearer - usually I figured the opk's out in hindsight when I had that "almost positive" right before my temp went up on my chart.

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

For some reason the OPK companies neglect to tell you that your LH surge begins in the morning so you might miss your surge on the OPK if you test with FMU. Like your other commenters I missed my surge the cycle I got pg (by sex, LOL!) with my daughter. While TTC #2 which turned into IVF twins, I learned that you should test with second urine of the day - 4-5 hours after not urinating and without drinking an excessive amount. Once I followed those guidelines I always caught my surge. Also I can't remember if you have PCO or not but in any case do not compare sticks day to day and in spite of a lot of misinformation out there also make sure you hava a line that is as dark or darker than the control line to consider it a true surge. I say this because many pco women have several false "surges" due to always ahving LH or excessive LH levels.
Hope this helps you and others!

Meg said...

Funnily though... all the time I used opks, I never got a line as dark as the control line. It was always either pale - during ovulation - or not there at all. It's all a little dubious, I tend to think.

Anonymous said...

http://www.early-pregnancy-tests.com/

This site has cheap tests and other products. Buying OPKs in a drug store is just not cost effective. (It's American though... Luna Fertility sells OPKS and they're a Canadian company... might get to us quicker although slightly more expensive)

Some months my OPKs are bang on, other times not so much. I've got lots if you want me to send you a few to get through.

Wouldn't that be a riot? OPKs through Canada Post?

Good luck Ms.C

PS-my longest cycle was 54 days long. Ug.

Angie said...

I buy my OPKs (when I use them) at CVS. I agree with Jennie, they look just like the pregnancy tests, which they are typically right next to each other, so it can be hard to see them.

I can't believe the provera is not helping!

Anonymous said...

My RE makes me use a specific brand, the Clear Blue Easy ones, when we're doing medicated cycles. They retail for about $15/box of 7 tests at Target. I don't trust the FMU directions either... what I do is pee at 10 am, then restrict fluids (usually just have one drink) and not pee again until closer to 2 pm. (This is much easier now that I'm working from home and have absolute control of my schedule and don't have to take lunch at a certain time.) I use the pee-in-a-cup method of collection. I think that's most accurate.

I used to order cheap OPKs from saveontests.com and they always worked too.

Good luck with Provera!

Anonymous said...

OPKs were too confusing for words. I couldn't discern a "surge" from a normal line to save my life. I finally turned to the Clear Blue Easy Fertility Monitor for help - got it on sale at http://www.early-pregnancy-tests.com/. Pricey, but finally conceived on month 3 of using it after trying for nearly a year the "regular way".