Positive OPK might mean pregnant...?

Question

Ok, for a little background. Husband and I have been trying to conceive for about 3 months or so. We have been using OPKs to figure out ovulation times. Last Monday the OPK stick turned up positive, so of course we had sex. Tuesday it came up positive again - sex again. From then on it has been completely negative.. not even a faint line. I'm not sure why I have continued testing, but just case I have been checking everyday. Today it showed up REALLY positive - the test line was much darker than the comparison line. After doing a little research, I learned that OPK can always predict pregnancy and that they will be positive if they detect hCG levels. What do y'all think?

Answer 1

I think you should take a standard pregnancy test designed to test HGC levels, if that is positive call your doctor

Answer 2

It seems a little early for implantation and hcg levels to rise. It would be amazing to have a pregnancy test work that early. I think a lot of people would be peeing on opks instead of freds

Answer 3

OPK's as HPT's:
using an ovulation test to confirm pregnancy



Overall-- yes, it can be done. Ovulation predictor tests (known as OPK's because they are normally sold in a set of tests known as a "kit," thus the K) will show a positive result when a woman is pregnant, as well as when she's ovulating.

Specifically-- while it works most of the time, there are good reasons to avoid using an OPK as an HPT for diagnostic purposes. If you want to pee on any stick that will stand still after you know you're pregnant, just for fun, have at it. But I would not recommend using an OPK in place of an HPT overall.

Reasoning-- OPK's detect LH (luteinizing hormone) which is the hormone associated with ovulation. Pregnancy tests detect hCG, the hormone associated with pregnancy. LH and hCG are, at a molecular level, nearly identical. hCG has a beta subunit, meaning it has an extra little "doodad." To use a stupid but easy to understand example, LH and hCG are identical twins, except that hCG wears a funny hat.





An OPK tests only for the part of the molecule that LH and hCG have in common (the "face" or "body" of the identical twins.) Essentially an OPK is saying:




So an OPK will turn positive when it detects either of the "identical twins"-- ovulation or pregnancy hormone.

The reverse is not true, however, because an HPT tests for the part of the molecule that is unique to hCG (the "hat.") So an HPT would say:



Therefore, a pregnancy test will turn positive only in the presence of hCG, whereas an OPK will turn positive in the presence of hCG or LH.


Now, it's important to note that OPK's work differently than HPT's. A pregnancy test will develop 2 lines only if hCG (pregnancy hormone) is detected. Thus, "a line is a line" when determining a positive HPT. OPK's work differently. An OPK has a "control" line and a "test" line, just like an HPT. Unlike an HPT, however, the mere presence of a "test" line does not mean the test is positive. The test line must be as dark as, or darker than, the control line to be a positive result (meaning that a surge was detected, rather than the ordinary amount of LH usually found in your urine every day.)

This means that there is already some ambiguity involved in reading an OPK's results. Sometimes the line is almost as dark as the control line, but perhaps not quite as dark. Sometimes only the edge turns dark, or the top half of the line is darker than the bottom.

Additionally, OPK's are not as sensitive as a lot of HPT's are. This means that, if pregnant, you are likely to get a positive HPT earlier than you would get a positive OPK.

Elaboration: a lot of women e-mailed me expressing surprise at this. Keep in mind that HPT's are often more sensitive than advertised. First Response Early Result was found, in one recent clinical trial, to detect consistently as low as 12.5 mIU/mL of hCG, and sometimes as low as 4.5! OPK's are never more sensitive than advertised (they are detecting a hormone "surge"; if they are too sensitive they will turn positive from the normal all-the-time presence of LH in the female body.) The most sensitive OPK's on the market are 20 mIU, and some are sensitive to 30 or 40 mIU. OPK's may have a second line in the presence of less hormone-- the sensitivity refers to the threshold at which it turns positive.

So, if you are comparing a sensitive (20 mIU) OPK to some less-sensitive HPT's (sensitive to 25-50 mIU) then yes, it's true an OPK may turn positive before an HPT. However, the most sensitive HPT's available are more sensitive than the most sensitive OPK's available.


Most importantly, OPK's are not purified as well as HPT's are. Therefore, they are more prone to "errors" and positives do not always mean that either LH or hCG was detected. In other words . . . they're simply cheaper, shoddier tests.

Finally, research has shown there are actually different kinds of hCG. In some cases (most common in early pregnancy, or in pregnancies with chromosomal abnormalities) the hCG molecule may become "nicked" or "cleaved" (partially or completely separating into its alpha and beta units.) Ovulation tests may not recognize (cross-react) with all types of hCG molecules, and may be falsely negative during pregnancy. (An in-depth explanation of this is coming soon!)

At the end of the day, a positive result on an HPT means you are pregnant. A positive result on an OPK could mean you are near ovulation, pregnant, or the test is picking up an entirely different hormone or element. Or it may be negative even if a woman is pregnant. With a positive HPT there is no doubt; a positive OPK may provide a clue, but doesn't really give you an answer for sure.

So, my personal rule of thumb: use HPT's for pregnancy detection, and OPK's for ovulation.

If you already have your positive OPK and just want to "play" with tests, of course, that's something else entirely ;) So, for fun, ogle my OPK's. (They are Inverness brand cassette tests.) The one on the left is negative. It was taken at 9 DPO. I was pregnant, but my baby had not yet implanted (it was therefore too early for a positive test of any kind.) The one on the right was taken at 13 DPO, the day after I got a positive pregnancy test. The test line is clearly darker than the reference line, and is therefore positive.





Additionally . . . some women have experimented with the principle that an OPK, even if it's negative, will become increasingly darker if she is pregnant. (I did have a woman send me pics of this-- she took an OPK and HPT with the same urine during the "two week wait"-- 2WW-- and her OPK's did become increasingly dark. The HPT turned positive on the same day the OPK did. I am trying to find these pics because they were given to me before my old computer died . . . files are backed up, but not sure where! :-/ Anyway.) However, the question remains-- will an OPK always become increasingly dark if a woman is pregnant? Do increasingly dark OPK's always indicate pregnancy? In an effort to find out, I have been performing this experiment myself.

Remember: an OPK is only positive if both lines are equally dark (or if the TEST line is darker than the CONTROL line.) An OPK may show a faint test line in the presence of very little LH or hCG.

Answer 4

i would check with your doctor. cause with home test you can get a false positive. have blood work or something done to let you know if you are. if you are pregnant the CONGRATS.

Answer 5

I think you are going to have a baby....best wishes...call your doctor

Answer 6

congrats but you should still check with your doctor.

Answer 7

you proablly are, if you are congrtaulations