@aster302516 Lol omg yes! Totally undermines my whole point - edited, thanks!
Study of fertility signs finds that only 10% of BBT rises occur the day after ovulation
- Thread starter kristeen
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- fyi trying for a baby
@jaikyuveh They're measuring off peak blood LH level.
@timingham No, you're right - "peak" only matters with the Clear Blue Advanced Digitals, where they also measure estrogen levels and peak means LH has started to surge. But for regular OPKs (the cheap dipsticks), it only matters when you got your first positive, and it doesn't make a difference if you don't have a positive that's significantly darker than the rest.
This is why a lot of us who have been around for a while are not at all keen on the Premom app - all of the privacy issues aside, it focuses on the wrong things and gives a lot of misleading info, and as a result a lot of people who use it wind up worried they're not ovulating or second-guessing themselves. In reality they're just fine but the app is obsessed with arbitrary numbers and designations that don't matter in the slightest, and it causes people so much unnecessary stress.
This is why a lot of us who have been around for a while are not at all keen on the Premom app - all of the privacy issues aside, it focuses on the wrong things and gives a lot of misleading info, and as a result a lot of people who use it wind up worried they're not ovulating or second-guessing themselves. In reality they're just fine but the app is obsessed with arbitrary numbers and designations that don't matter in the slightest, and it causes people so much unnecessary stress.
@lc627 And this is honestly one of the biggest problems with it! I do photography as a hobby; not too often and I'm not some fantastic photographer or anything, but it's taught me enough to know that an app like Premom is inherently extremely flawed and cannot work with any real accuracy. To get accurate results, you'd need to perfectly replicate the exact environment every single time you took a pic of an OPK - exact same lighting, exact same angle, OPK in the exact same spot, phone held the exact same distance, exact same focus, etc.
And it's just impossible to do that with a phone camera. Add to that that the app is reading a compressed JPG photo, means there's going to be all sorts of artifacting in the photo which will impact the readings. And then you have to contend with things like having a marble counter can cause extra reflections that interfere with how light or dark the lines look, maybe you accidentally got a smudge on the lens, there's a random piece of cat hair or water droplet on the counter your camera decides to focus on for some unknown reason (autofocus can be on drugs sometimes)...even if something looks mostly the same when glancing at it on your phone, it's not, and the app can't account for all of these little differences that actually can be massive.
The app just cannot accurately do what it claims to do, and it's honestly actively harmful in a lot of ways. I have a major chip on my shoulder when it comes to TTC-related products that prey on people's fears and makes false claims, though.
And it's just impossible to do that with a phone camera. Add to that that the app is reading a compressed JPG photo, means there's going to be all sorts of artifacting in the photo which will impact the readings. And then you have to contend with things like having a marble counter can cause extra reflections that interfere with how light or dark the lines look, maybe you accidentally got a smudge on the lens, there's a random piece of cat hair or water droplet on the counter your camera decides to focus on for some unknown reason (autofocus can be on drugs sometimes)...even if something looks mostly the same when glancing at it on your phone, it's not, and the app can't account for all of these little differences that actually can be massive.
The app just cannot accurately do what it claims to do, and it's honestly actively harmful in a lot of ways. I have a major chip on my shoulder when it comes to TTC-related products that prey on people's fears and makes false claims, though.
amandahorselover
New member
@amandahorselover The OPKs themselves are fine, as far as I know. They're just easy@home with a new name on it and e@h has been a reliable brand for years. But there's a bunch of good brands - wondfo has been the most popular for years, pregmate is really popular lately, I usually used clinical guard which is a bit less sensitive (so good if you get lots of positives/really dark tests), etc.
@ariel2420 If it helps at all the way I've been thinking about it is that if you're hitting your fertile window in general, odds are you're hitting the right date. So if you ever worry about a delayed temp rise or missing what you think is O-1, well, there's a chance you're just fine.
michalrobartabrax
New member
@michalrobartabrax I really hope you don't have to get to a point where you have as thorough and obsessive a knowledge about this as me and a lot of the others here, haha. But if you spend a few cycles around and reading you'll figure it out, I promise! Good luck!!
carolvo1996
New member
@michalrobartabrax I’d suggest using one of those apps to predict ovulation at first (I use Flo). They are not precisely accurate, but it’s good to visualize how your cycle works and gives tips on symptoms. It predicts my period perfectly so at least it’s useful for that!