[cupcake_x0]

Okay so CD16 11am my OPK was 90% positive (line just a tiny tiny drop lighter) I couldn't hold out too long to test again bc it was so close - by 2pm it was 100% positive with the line darker than the control. Only a couple hours after the positive I began getting the crazy ovulation twinges and pains - That same night (the pains were stronger than ever) I decided to take a final test and low and behold it was very very negative. So a complete 360 in a matter of hours. .. So what does this mean? I know I was ovulating, the feeling is unmistakable ..Is it possible that the OPK would only read positive BEFORE you actually ovulate, and not exactly when it's happening? After all it is a predictor.. it says nothing about actually letting you know while it's happening.. Right?

I ended up having the IUI the next morning CD 17.. But the O pains lasted well into CD 17- CD 18.. So I really have no idea when I really O'd just that I did.. Grr I'm already planning next months IUI.

[bistro]

I am paranoid about timing too. I know it's hard not to obssess!

That being said, the OPK measures your LH surge. This hormone surges BEFORE you ovulate. Depending on where you read, it can turn up positive anywhere from 6-12 to 24-48 hours BEFORE ovulation. I tend to get 2 positive OPKs up to 24 hours apart. I guess it picks up the very beginning of the surge till the end or whatever. But anyway, as I understand it, it should be negative when you ovulate because it is measuring the hormone that SIGNALS that O is about to happen. Make sense??

This is from Wikepedia:
Ovulation predictor kit (LH kit)
The detection of the LH surge has become useful for people who want to know when ovulation occurs. LH can be detected by urinary ovulation predictor kits (OPK, also LH-kit) that are performed daily around the time ovulation may be expected.[6] The conversion from a negative to a positive reading would suggest that ovulation is about to occur within 24-48 hours, giving you two days to engage in sexual intercourse with the intentions of conceiving. Couples who plan to conceive would time intercourse accordingly.[7]
As sperm can stay viable in the woman for several days, such tests are not recommended for contraceptive practices. [note: photo shows "negative" results, i.e. no LH surge]