AIBU to feel like I'm going mad?

[TeddyBoy14]

Hello,

I posted a week or so ago asking whether I should take a pregnancy test, and this a continuation of that thread really.

Posting here for traffic as I could really do with handholding/reassurance.

Hello,

I'm looking for some advice really, or to hear from anyone who's been in a similar situation/heard of anything like this before.

I'll try and keep it as brief as possible.

• 23rd February, I gave birth to our little girl, three months prematurely.
• 25th May I start my first Postpartum period. It last roughly 5-6 days and is daily heavy as you'd expect.
• 1st June I got the Copper (non hormonal) IUD fitted.
• 22nd June Period lasting 5-6 days. First day is very very heavy; second day heavy; days 3 & 4 medium flow; days 5 & 6 spotting.
• 20th July Period lasting 5-6 days. First day is very very heavy; second day heavy; days 3 & 4 medium flow; days 5 & 6 spotting.
• 10th August IUD check. All looks as should be.
• 16th September Period starts.
• First day is light-medium.
• Second day is heavy, but nowhere as heavy as previous months.
• Rest of the days are medium tailing off to spotting.
• 23rd September I realise that my moods are terrible, I'm snappy, irritable and crying at the drop of a hat. Feels like the worst PMT, despite finishing my period days before.
• 25th September Take two HPTs- both negative.
• My mood doesn't improve over the week and on the 28th of September at 13:30 I take a Lloyd's Pharmacy 10 miu/ml test. The faintest of faint lines appears within the time frame. I take a second test at 22:30 and again, a very faint second line appears, but it's definitely more visible than the afternoon's test.
• 29th September Test taken at the Dr's comes up negative. Bloods drawn.

• Today, 2/10 Take three more Lloyd's tests. One with FMU comes up negative. Second test done at 13:00 shows a faint but visible second line. Third test done at 13:45 with the tiniest bit of urine and diluted with water comes up with a very clear but not massively dark second line.

I've also notice the following symptoms:

• Veins on boobs are more pronounced.

• Areolas darker.

• Increased libido.

• "Heavy" feeling in uterus that I've only experienced when pregnant.

• Ligament pains in groin.

• Increase in gas and bloating.

• Boobs are also prickly/tingly. Again, only every experienced this when pregnant/lactating. They're also fuller and sore when touched. This is a typical PMT symptom for me but I usually only get it a lot later in my cycle.

• Fluttering sensation very low down, reminds me of the very first movements I felt with both babies. Totally different to gassy sensations I get.

And now here's what I really can't understand: the blood test result came back this afternoon as "not pregnant". Didn't give me any numbers or levels, but I was told the next step is to get a face to face appointment with my GP to discuss.

Can anyone shed some light on this?

I wasn't looking for symptoms as I was totally not expecting to conceive given I've got the coil and our baby girl is only 7 months old (4 months corrected age). Still, I could understand some of the symptoms being in my head, but that doesn't explain the BFPs?

I'm now wondering if perhaps the period I had in September wasn't a "real" one and maybe I'm potentially further along in a pregnancy and that might explain the very light BFPs- i.e. the hCG has become too high to be readable by a home pregnancy test so it's showing false negatives.

I also thought maybe the first two tests were Evaps, but to get five of them?! That'd be seriously unlucky wouldn't it?

I've attached pictures of my tests for reference. So difficult to capture them on camera, but the lines are definitely there and more obvious in person. If anyone has any suggestions or has experienced this, I'd love to hear from you all as I honestly don't understand what's happening to me and feel like I'm losing my mind 😢.

Thank you in advance, and apologies it was such a lengthy one.

Not really any advice but I can definitely see some lines. Hopefully someone else can help. Very strange about the blood test.

I don't know much about the coil and if that can give a"phantom" pregnancy.but I do know doctors pregnancy test came back negative twice for me when home tests said yes and indeed was.

I can't see any lines other than the control lines? Blood tests are pretty accurate...

No experience or useful advice , OP, but bumping this for you so that more knowledgeable MNers can help.

How soon after taking the tests did the lines show?

I can see the lines but they could very well be evap lines. If they didnt come up within 10 minutes then they are negatives.

You need to totally disregard the one that you put water on.

Thanks all the replies, it's appreciated .

Jakeyboy1 - I don't know about the likeliness of the coil and phantom pregnancy, it's something I'd have wondered too if it weren't for the damn lines.

Hopefully- It was really difficult to try and photograph them, but they are there and much more visible in person. Interesting those that have TTC/had children are able to see them; those that haven't can't, I think they probably don't realise just how faint a positive test can look as in films and on TV it's always portrayed with a blazing line and pretty much a "you're pregnant" klaxon sounding 😄.

Triplesalchow and Thalia- thank you both, very kind 😊.

Pyongyang- All within ten minutes. The last one came up almost immediately. I think that brand is notorious for coming up slowly?

I diluted the last test with water due to reading about the Variant Hook Effect:

"At, or after, 5 weeks of pregnancy there can potentially be enough hcg that has broken down into incomplete parts in the urine that there is an abundance of hcg beta core fragments. These are a particular formation of the broken down hcg, and are only found in the urine. If someone for some reason has too many hcg beta core fragments they will saturate one of the antibodies used for hcg tests and are unable to bind to the other antibodies on the test, leaving a false negative".

I thought I'd give it a go, not really expecting anything, and kind of dismissing the idea, and then was surprised to find that test DID come up the strongest. Can't really explain that one?

Thanks again for your response!

I can see the lines. I think your best bet is to go to the doctors and explain it to them.

BeingA- Brilliant username, gave me a big smile!

Thanks so much, trying to get through to the surgery as I type. Usual: ring early in the morning along with eleventy million other people and see if you can get through by Christmas 😄.

Glad someone else can see the lines too 👍🏻.

blood tests are not always that accurate, i had + tests so docs did bloods, they came back negative yet the 20+ tests i had were positive yes i went a it pias mad those lines are now a hyper 6yr old

None of those look like true positives to me.

You have a copper coil and you had a period on September 16th.

You seem to have a regular 29 day cycle given previous dates, so are unlikely to have even ovulated by 28th September, let alone be pregnant and having high enough HCG levels to get a positive urine result.

The blood test was negative which means an HCG of less than 5 usually - unsurprising given that it was taken on day 14 of your cycle so even if you were pregnant (unlikely, as you would have had to conceive around day 7) it wouldn’t necessarily show.

I don’t think a GP appointment is really necessary and many of your “pregnancy” symptoms could be inconsequential.

I would suggest you wait and see if your next period comes when due (around the 14th by my calculations) and if not then test again.

Either way You need an ultrasound to rule in or out.

Thanks Teddy.

Our doctors is the same. They booked me in for 3 months later once. I’m fairly certain my illness will have gone by then...

Sidge- Thank you for replying! Don't get me wrong, I'm aware it doesn't make sense given I've got the coil in and the point in my cycle they were taken at, which was what made me wonder if the period in September wasn't a "true" period, and perhaps I conceived the cycle before?

The receptionist at the Doctor's surgery said it would be worth booking an appointment. Plus, if there IS something going on I'd like to address it as soon as possible as there's an increased risk of Ectopic Pregnancy with the coil.

Well there’s no way of knowing without a scan etc but from the sounds of it your September period was a real one. It lasted for 5? days and was of a normal volume. If you’d got pregnant in August then the blood test would have been positive.

Of course it’s better to be safe than sorry so seeing the GP is sensible, but I would stop testing so much and try and relax - easier said than done I know! Hope it all works out for you 😊

BeingA- it's pretty absurd isn't it? Shame you can't schedule illness to coincide with GP availability!!

That being said the receptionist I spoke to a moment ago and is getting today's duty Dr (my usual and very lovely) GP to call me back.

I would like to get an Ultrasound done, QuiteLikely, I just wouldn't want anyone thinking I was wasting NHS resources, but the additional reason I'm keen to get to the bottom of this is, along with increased risk of Ectopic Pregnancy, I actually have a serious health condition myself and if I am pregnant I'd need the necessary consultant led care put in place as soon as possible.

If I'm not pregnant then I'm going to look it very soon with the amount of Fry's Turkish Delight I'm consuming. Can't get enough of the stuff . I've actually listed that in my list of "symptoms".

Thanks Sidge, appreciate it. Actually, that's the thing, the September period wasn't normal volume really. The usual super heavy day was A LOT lighter. Nowhere light, just not filling a pad every two hours as usual. And then the rest of the period was medium to light flow whereas I usually have one of two more heavyish days before it starts to slow down.

Human bodies, eh? Wonderful when they work, and just a tiny bit sh*t when they start to go wrong for no apparent reason.

Easier said than done is right! 😬😬.

Yeah coils can do that, even copper coils.

Going through a pad in 2 hours isn’t really normal so lighter flow is more normal than your usual!

Enjoy your Turkish Delight, you don’t need a reason 😁

I'd speak with your GP - hopefully, they'll arrange a scan - if for nothing more than to put your mind at rest.

I'd also take a clear-blue test, the digital ones seem pretty accurate.

It could be an early missed miscarriage, in that perhaps you were pregnant before your September bleed but there's some lingering hormone... I can see positive lines though so I'd be going back to rule out the possibility of any pregnancy continuing with a coil in the equation.

Sidge- Brilliant, I'll crack on then. I've got 10 of the blighters stashed in the cupboard 😬😬😬😬😬.

How annoying if that's the case! They all pushed the Mirena, pretty much from the moment I pushed her out, but I was insistent that I didn't want hormonal contraception ever again as I just don't react well to it (I'm looking at you Implanon ). They insisted it was only a localised realease, it doesn't get into the blood stream, etc...but I stuck by my guns on that and was quite proud of myself as I'm the least assertive person EVER.

Talith and Misery- thank you both! That's my concern as well. That perhaps there was an early pregnancy but I've lost it 😢.

Boobs are so sore and prickly today- ouch!

Still waiting on the GP to call me back...

Wish me luck 🤞🏻.

Have re-taken the strongest test from yesterday. Really struggled getting it show up as well as it does in real life, so played around with colour and or/inverted it.

Inverted photo shows a definite line.

The colour filter shows that it is definitely a pink line, as opposed to a grey Evap or indent.

There is a line there.

I think that you've got just cause, young baby, delivered prem etc, to go to the GP and request a blood test.

Thanks for the reply Birdsgottafly.

I've had a blood test taken which apparently came up as "Not Pregnant", but I don't know if it was a quantitative or qualitative test?

Awaiting a call back from the Dr to hopefully get in and see her today.

In the waiting room now.... .

Think she's planning on checking to see if coil is in situ, repeat a pregnancy test and take another lot of blood.

Back from my appointment now.

Coil in place and strings where they should be.

My GP reckons they're all negative tests. I did explain that the truly negative ones came up with nothing at all, not even a shadow, just white.

She's advised that I get bloods re-done to double check my hCG levels. Apparently the result's from last Friday's blood test came back as 0 🤷🏼‍♀️.

The next available nurse's appointment isn't until the 23rd so I've had to take that, in the meantime the mystery continues.... 😔.