OPK vs bloodwork / ultrasound

[Anonymous]

I'm doing IUI at Shady Grove and they leave it up to me whether to come in for bloodwork / ultrasound or to just monitor with an OPK. I've asked them if coming in for monitoring is more accurate and they just say whichever I prefer - OPK is definitely more convenient but if I knew that coming in would increase the odds of success I'd do that.

Has anyone else had a more detailed convo with their nurse/doc about this?

[Anonymous]

I did IUIs at GW. They monitored me. I'm glad they did. I credit them monitoring my bloodwork with figuring out my (small) issue and getting me pregnant.

[Anonymous]

I think monitoring and bloodwork is better because they can catch issues, but in terms of actually knowing when you O, I found OPKs to be just as accurate (but I know they work well for me).

[Anonymous]

Not sure if you are covered under insurance or paying out of pocket, but montioring costs more-which may be why they are giving you a choice.
I would probably get monitored (and I'm obsessive, so I would also OPK at home in afternoon/evenings-but I have a short LH surge).

[Anonymous]

I would say it depends on your diagnosis. OPKs can be inaccurate for women with PCOS, for example. I always had a short LH surge, so OPKs were hit or miss for me. I went through 6 medicated cycles (4 IUI, one cancelled, one TI) with SG before beginning IVF, and I was always monitored. This was very important to me, and actually led to my cancelled cycle, when ultrasound showed 7 mature or nearly mature follicles, off of a low-dose Clomid cycle. Needless to say, that was unexpected...OPKs wouldn't have given me that info.

[Anonymous]

We were 0 for 3 with OPKs and 1 for 1 with monitoring (miscarried in first trimester though). For us at least, the extra accuracy in timing seems to have helped, though it could just be luck. I like the monitoring because you can also see the uterine lining's thickness and the number/size of follicles. Knowing this stuff could allow SG to help solve any problems you see on the ultrasound.

[Anonymous]

Way better to do monitoring. The usual barrier is cost though. Adds over a grand to a cycle. But if you are covered, for sure pick that.

[Anonymous]

I liked monitoring better because I am really dumb when it comes to interpreting OPKs and I trusted the professionals to get it better than me. I also liked knowing what was going on follicle-wise, especially since I was taking meds (Letrozole/Femara) and my doctor wanted to make sure that I wasn't over-responding so as to not end up with triplets. FWIW, it worked for me on the second round of IUI but unfortunately I had a missed m/c at 7 weeks.