Say Cheese!

I don't usually test for my LH surge more than once in the morning but tonight I thought, "What the heck."  I just got done peeing (and waiting) and at 10:25pm I got my smilie!!  Naturally, my doctor only does insems the day after you get your smilie and they tell you to test in the morning because they only do insems in the morning, so tomorrow night is out.  I'll test again in the morning just to make sure it's still surging and then I'll call my nurse to schedule the insem!   I wish I could go tomorrow morning and Friday morning, but I'm pretty sure that's overkill and won't happen!

Photo of my +OPK: 3/9/11 10:25pm

For my followers who are not familiar with fertili-terms, I'll include a description of what it means for your LH to surge:

**At the beginning of the menstrual cycle, the body begins to produce follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). FSH facilitates the formation of a follicle on one of the ovaries. The follicle contains and nurtures the egg. When a follicle has adequately matured, a surge of Luteinizing Hormone (LH) causes the follicle to burst and release the egg into the fallopian tube - the moment of ovulation.

Throughout the menstrual cycle, a small amount of LH is produced - but during the middle of the cycle LH briefly and dramatically increases. Elevated quantities of luteinizing hormone facilitate ovulation - and OPKs detect this LH surge through anti-LH antibodies contained in the sensitive testing membrane of the test. The LH surge is, alas, very brief - and in order to detect the LH surge, a woman needs to test at the right time of the month - and the right time of day. As LH is produced by the body in the morning, mid-afternoon is considered the ideal time to test.

Once the LH surge has been detected, successful fertilization is most likely to take place one to three days following the LH surge - with peak fertility at 36 hours post-LH surge. Since this ovulation "window" only opens once per month (and the unfertilized egg has a short 24-hour life-span) predicting ovulation accurately is very helpful when trying to become pregnant.**