how faint is too faint?!

[MrsSET]

Hi there,

My reason for posting in this forum rather than 'conception' is to see which other of you ladies experienced faint lines and then ended up being pregnant!

My cycles have flipped from 36 down to 23 days and but averaging 31/33 so basically I don't exactly know when my period would be due!

My last period was on 29 July and I ovulated on 14 Aug (so 15 days ago).

I assume my period would have been due this weekend and have done 2 tests with Internet cheap tests today and have had the faintest of faint lines on them (literally holding up to the light!). The one I did this morning dried slightly stronger but it says you should discard the result after 10 mins so I am not sure to believe this or not? The one just now is fainter.

But the weirder thing is that I don't feel ANY different at all - nothing. I have biggish boobs and would expect them to have changed?!

Anyway, will test again tomorrow AM but as you can imagine the wait is killing me so any guidance either way would be gratefully received!

Thanks!

[bibbitybobbityhat]

But ... what can anyone say?

I had a very faint line when pg with my ds but yes I was pg and he is nearly 8 years old now. I didn't test until several days after my period was due.

Does that help at all?

You just need to wait a few more days.

[MrsSET]

I just wanted to see how many faint lines had turned into something positive that's all.. If the general rule of thumb is that they do, then great :)

Thanks for letting me know what happened with you.

[woowa]

What time of day did you do the previous tests? When i had a VERY faint line with first baby it was because i'd been up to the loo in the night and it needed longer than that to build up enough HCG to make the line darker. So don't drink TOO much before bed so that you have to wee at night! Does your test stick have another line which goes darker just to show that the test is working? Is that one changing colour?

To answer the q, i think if you can see a line it's positive, but might be worth, if tomorrow is similar, buying a slightly less cheap stick and trying that?

(PS when this happened to me i read loads on the internet about evaporation lines. If you google "how pale can the line on a pregnancy test be" you'll get more info.

[RollingInTheAisles]

I got a v. faint BFP about six days ago and then it took another couple of days to get a positive digital one. I would try a digital first thing in the morning.

[nannyl]

i had the worlds feintest line (an ebay cheapy) at 3+3, 9 days after ovulation.
it was also an afternoon test, not a morning like it should be ideally.

For the first time in months i had NO pg symptoms.... (always had symoptoms and convinced myself i must be pregnant for several months before too)

you had to hold it under the light at a certain angle towards the window
it WAS there but at first glance you may not see it.

2 days later it was a proper BFP that you could see by just looking.

bump is now 38+1!

[Tangle]

It isn't impossible to get a false +ve but it is very rare (see here for more detail than you'd ever want to know!)

If you're getting a line within the time specified, however faint, then you are almost certainly pregnant so congratulations :o

[PamBeesly]

I had a very faint line, I had to squint to see it, but I tested on the day my period was due, a few days later it was more obvious, I did 6 tests, now I'm 14 weeks, good luck I hope you get the result you want :)

[lolajane2009]

I'd wait a few days and retest tbh. a cheapy should be fine to retest.

[yummymango]

Mine was so faint you could hardly see it, that was a couple of days before my period was due. I almost dismissed it, but we had been trying for ages so kept taking tests every few days and they gradually got darker. My period never came, and I am now 36 weeks!

[Alliwantisaroomsomewhere]

I also posted on these pages about a very feint line! I used First Response which has a test line which was dark and the actual line which was very very light! A digital Clear Response a few hours later that day flashed in neon lights that I was pregnant. Ten weeks today.

[MrsSET]

Wow. Thanks so much everyone, feel really touched you've all replied. I tested this morning and this evening. Both had feint lines so will test in the morning again and let you know.

If I am, what do you do next?! How quickly did you go and see the doctor? Any thoughts on if it is worth having a private scan?

We're off on holiday on Wed so will be lovely to have a few weeks away together and get excited about the future! Xx

[lovemybabyboy]

I had a very very faint line...so faint that DH said it was negative...said he couldnt see any line!....well I am now 32+2 weeks pregnant with DC2!

Congratulations

[Tangle]

If you can get an appointment with your Dr before you go it might help you to feel as though its "official" - but be aware that not much will happen for a few weeks. Given you're going away it might be worth checking with your surgery what the procedure is for booking in even if you can't see the Dr, just so that you're in the system.

You'll probably be referred to the MWs and told to make a "booking in" appointment (which is longer and gives them time to do all the paper work). At that point you'll usually be asked what hospital you plan to give birth at (so the MW knows what set of paperwork to start), you'll run through any obvious risk factors based on your/family medical history and you should be informed of how you can expect your maternity care to be provided. The MW will probably offer to book you in for a 12 week scan (dating and nuchal fold).

Note that whatever answer you give to the "where are you going to give birth" question you can change your mind at any time - either to a different hospital, to a stand-alone MW led unit or to home.

Note also that you do not have to have a 12 week scan, and if you do you do not have to have the nuchal measurements taken (most women do, but many are not given the information to consider what the results might mean - and some regret that they had the Downs screening at all).

Whether or not to have a private scan (presumably early?) is a very personal decision. It will most likely cost you about £50, and it may need to be done internally (the earlier you go, by development rather than absolute dates, the more likely this is).
On the plus side, it gives you a chance to establish that there is really something there (something I never believed until I saw the hear beating), it can be very reassuring and its always nice to see your baby.
On the down side, there is no research I'm aware of that looks at the safety of early scans, if you try and have the scan too early (and what "too early" is is hard to define) the heart may not yet have started beating leading to a lot of worry and (not trying to be pessimistic) a positive scan at 6 weeks is a very good sign but it does not give any guarantees that the pregnancy will progress smoothly.
Personally, DH and I decided to sit tight and wait for 12 weeks - but many women do choose to have an early scan and are very pleased they did. Its doing what's right for you.

Good luck, and I hope you have a nice holiday :)

[TheFantasticFixit]

Yes me too - had a very faint BFP at 4+3, and then did a digital one a couple of days later - am now 27 weeks pregnant! Fingers crossed for you :)

[MrsSET]

Thanks for all the advice Tangle, very kind of you to write out so much detail.

We're going to book in to see the GP when we're back from holiday and go from there.

Will update you in the AM :)

[MrBloomsNursery]

I got a faint line a week before period was due at 3 weeks. It got darker everyday. I was pregnant.

[MrsSET]

How sad am I! Here is the middle of the night update!

Just woke up needing the loo and thought it was better to test rather than waste the wee!

Definitely a stronger line.... Can't quite believe it in an amazing way :)

Am going to keep testing to be even more sure :)

[nannyl]

Congratulations on your pregnancy

[SoBroken]

IME, the internet cheapies produce quite faint lines even though they detect hgc sooner. I had v faint lines from about 9dpo, and then got a bfp on a first response aboud 13dpo. I had loads of the cheapies left so kept testing and they remained faint right up until a week after my missed period.

Now 39weeks and I say a line is a line. Something that helped (yes I was obsessive about ttc) was to scan the tests with my scanner and then turn up the contrast on my photo editing software. Could definitely see the lines weren't in my head then!

[KateeTheBump]

My first test was so faint (hairline) my DP didn't believe me, but it got gradually darker and darker over the course of about a week 33 weeks now, fingers crossed for you

[halohasslipped]

two faint lines and now 22 weeks.

[Onlymydogunderstandsme]

MrsSET - I know what you mean about re-testing, I got my first BFP last night, it was there but not really dark, did again this morning and a lot darker which made me feel a lot happier!

[JodieHarsh]

I always thought a false BPF was pretty much impossible, until I had one of my very own

The line was unquestionably there and I have photos to prove it, and after 18 months of not so much as a sniff of a BPF I was shaking with happiness.

TEsted against with another one - nothing. Tested again the next morning - nothing. Few days later - EPIC period.

Hope it's a deffo BFP for you but I think more women need to realise that you CAN get a false +ve. If I'd've known I wouldn't, for instance, have got my lovel DH excited

[Tangle]

Jodie - I'm really sorry you feel you had a false +ve.

I'm really hoping this won't make you feel worse, but my interpretation would be that you had a very early MC rather than a false +ve pregnancy test. Having had 3 MC's myself (2 within a few days of getting a BFP and one a week or so later) I've looked into this far more than I'd ever have dreamed and it really is incredibly hard to get a false +ve from a chemistry point of view as long as the results are read within the specified time window.

Its a sad fact that a significant proportion of pregnancies will end in MC - but no-one knows exactly how many as many women will never realise they were pregnant for a few days rather than "just" having a a period that was a day or two late or unusually heavy. I've seen estimates ranging from 25% to >50% .

The only conclusion I've been able to draw is that unless there is a medical need to know about a pregnancy as early as possible (such as to start treatment for an underlying condition or because there is a suspicion of a problem and the NHS will not usually investigate until there have been 3 MC's) I'd recommend waiting at least until a woman's period is due before starting to test - the longer a pregnancy survives the better its chances of going the distance, and so by waiting till 2 weeks post ovulation (when due for the "average" woman) you've already got a pregnancy with a much better chance of resulting in a live baby than if you identify a pregnancy at 1 week post ovulation with an ultra-early test (not that I'm suggesting that's what you did - but its certainly what I did on at least one of mine that didn't make it and I did regret it).

Once again, I'm sorry you were so disappointed, whatever the reason, and I hope you and your DH have a successful pregnancy :)

(And I'm sorry for the brief derailment )

[JodieHarsh]

Hello Tangle - how very kind of you to post, thank you :)

I actually am very tempted to agree with you. I have been trying for a very long time now - it will be 2 years come January - and we have had the requisite tests, and there appears to be nowt wrong with either of us other than that I tend to start spotting a very long time before my period actually starts. The GP and the acupuncturist I've seen have both wondered whether I am actually conceiving but it just doesn't 'stick'. ACtually, the time I did get the +ve I had already had my period but had been feeling so very unwell - faint and light-headed - that I thought the period had been a breakthrough bleed and I was 6 weeks pregnant (if my maths is correct!).

I used to be a shocking early tester but have long since given that up, not least since I can't blardy afford it anymore!

Anyway, thanks once again - it's lovely when people take a kind interest :)

Can I ask whether you have now had a successful pregnancy?

(And sorry to the OP from me, too!)