Unhelpful craze for early pregnancy testing

[LittleLottieChaos]

I think that there is a hugely unhelpful side to being on here. The early pregnancy testing craze... before discovering this notion of testing before a missed period I had quite happily waited and if my period arrived then I wasn’t pregnant, if it was a week late then I tested. (I have one toddler and sadly has one termination for medical reasons). Now after reading all those threads... even I was considering testing before my period & I did - it was as expected negative, and my period arrived 2 days later.

Does anyone else think that testing early is absolutely a stress and a waste of time? Of course it’s a negative you’re testing far too early. Why torture yourself?

Chuck in bad for the environment and a waste of money, these test making companies are rubbing their little hands together profiteering from suggestible desperate people.

Or am I misreading something? I know ‘each unto their own’ will be the response to this thread, but I would like to say to these lovely women, just stop doing it- you’ll be happier and you likely will conceive, testing repeatedly before a missed period is asking for disappointment.

(Duly note not a single acronym appeared in this post as they are also massively unhelpful)

I agree. It just feeds anxiety.

With my first pregnancy I waited until I was late. Then I found forums. My subsequent pregnancies I've tested early. Tbh I wish I never found the forums!

I got a positive at 11 DPO (I think) and I’m now 24 weeks pregnant. I have really irregular periods and I also didn’t have a LH surge that month so was difficult for me pinpoint ovulation and therefore when my period was due (have since worked out I was about 11 DPO from pregnancy dates). I was having a lot of symptoms anyway - if I’d waited for my period to be late then I might not have found out until I was 8 weeks or so due to my long irregular cycles.
Live and let live. If that is what makes people happy, let them do it. Makes no difference to you.

Like another pp, I like testing. I like knowing to expect my period. I like a degree of certainty around the disappointment.

I think there's a degree of privilege in not being an (or wanting to be a) early tester, or not having the anxiety surrounding conception or pregnancy. Whether it be because it wasn't available, because you conceived easily or because you're not an anxious person (or a control freak like me!).

I lost my DS2 at 21+4, I wish I'd celebrated him from the moment I got a positive test, I wish I'd done more private scans, I wish we had more to remember him with.

A lot of the responses on this thread come across with an element of smug judgemental unkindness.

Also agree. I think it massively increases the anxiety in an already anxious time. If you're pregnant then you're pregnant. You will still be pregnant if you test a month after your missed period.

@MessagesKeepGettingClearer

I agree. It just feeds anxiety.

With my first pregnancy I waited until I was late. Then I found forums. My subsequent pregnancies I've tested early. Tbh I wish I never found the forums!

Did it take you years to conceive? Did you have multiple miscarriages?

With my first pregnancy I had horrendous HG for months, it started at around 5 weeks. When I was ttc my second I tested early and it enabled me to speak to my boss face to face while I was still well enough that I was probably going to be absent for a few months and we were able to prepare my work so my colleagues could pick it up easily. In the end the HG was worse with the second and I was off work sick for the full pregnancy.

I think, to be fair, that if a pregnancy turns out to be a very early miscarriage, it is better that the woman knows this, so that, if she has more miscarriages, she can be investigated for an underlying problem

Agree with this as someone who ha d 5 years of secondary infertility/recurrent miscarriages. Understanding that I was getting pregnant some months, even though all the later pregnancies were chemicals (the losses got gradually earlier and earlier) was an important part of diagnosing and resolving the problem. The issue was that I had developed an auto immune condition so i could conceive (ie the problem wasn't blocked tubes or my husband having a low sperm count) but my body was rejecting the baby. I also had a very short literal phase so my progesterone was dropping and lining starting to shed before the embryo properly implanted.

I finally had a second child, probably only because I had progesterone supplements and a blood plasma transfusion as soon as I tested positive - before most women would find out.

Also ... on the months I didn't conceive an early negative helped me write off that month and give myself as long a breather as possible.

LUTEAL phase not literal, arrggh!

Totally agree. It’s a waste of time. I have been trying to conceive for a few years and don’t bother. I only tested after IVF as the clinic told me l should

@honeylulu

I think, to be fair, that if a pregnancy turns out to be a very early miscarriage, it is better that the woman knows this, so that, if she has more miscarriages, she can be investigated for an underlying problem

Agree with this as someone who ha d 5 years of secondary infertility/recurrent miscarriages. Understanding that I was getting pregnant some months, even though all the later pregnancies were chemicals (the losses got gradually earlier and earlier) was an important part of diagnosing and resolving the problem. The issue was that I had developed an auto immune condition so i could conceive (ie the problem wasn't blocked tubes or my husband having a low sperm count) but my body was rejecting the baby. I also had a very short literal phase so my progesterone was dropping and lining starting to shed before the embryo properly implanted.

I finally had a second child, probably only because I had progesterone supplements and a blood plasma transfusion as soon as I tested positive - before most women would find out.

Also ... on the months I didn't conceive an early negative helped me write off that month and give myself as long a breather as possible.

@honeylulu sorry to derail the thread but I am at the stage you were - just found out I have raised NK cells and have been recommended to have LIT. Did you have that?

AIBU to me a little pissed off by this thread? Feels like a lot of judgement of women ‘working themselves up’ using early testing and no response to the many women on here who’ve explained why it’s so helpful to them. As for the waste... do you get this ‘concerned’ about the far more monumental quantities of waste generated by disposable sanitary products?

I can tell you that when you’re waiting to hear if the embryo transfer you just paid £1.4k for has been successful and are having to remember to stick pessaries up yourself 3 times a day and deal with the mess they cause in your knickers (the progesterone is delivered in a coating of wax that melts inside you and then... comes back out again, as it’s not absorbed) there is just no way to ‘forget about it’ for the ensuing two weeks of agonising and knowing as soon as possible whether you can a) celebrate or b) at least go back to being allowed to go swimming or have a hot bath without feeling guilty is tremendously helpful. And obviously buy the cheap tiny strips of plastic on amazon instead of spending a fortune on the ones you can get in Boots.

YANBU
I agree with this so much.
I did the testing the first few months. It just made me feel worse. You get a negative you feel awful, then you convince yourself it's early and it still could be positive. Then there's the line 'your not out till AF comes'. So then you test again and get negative but still hope all the way until your period comes and confirms it. So it just makes the upset last days longer.
I stopped doing it, it was quite hard at first.
Although I have still not conceived, the last few months, since around summer I think, have been far less stressful. Don't get me wrong, as time goes on it is heartbreaking but I can't imagine putting myself through the hope and disappointment that lasts days more than it should.
Each to their own of course. But just my personal opinion from my own journey.

I've never understood the obsession with testing early. It just seems madness. Wait until your period is actually late FFS.

@greendress789

It wasn't LIT but a blood plasma transfusion. Not sure if you're in the UK but LIT wasn't offered as an option. It was either lipids or blood plasma and my consultant thought blood plasma was the better o ption. Also most expensive (not an option on the NHS)! I was with Dr Alison Taylor at the Lister clinic in London. She was fabulous.

Also I found I got obsessed when doing all the early testing. Mentally it wasn't good for me. Stepping away from that has done me good.
However if it does help some people then its up to them. I wouldn't ever judge someone as everyone copes differently when ttc, it can be very hard and people who haven't been through it really don't realise how tough it can be.

I also meant to say that I think the OP's faux concern about pregnancy tests and the environment is rather disingenuous. If you're planning to bring a child into the world that's a bloody huge burden on the environment!

I can absolutely see that for a small number of women, early testing is essential. It's important of course that they continue to have the ability to do that.

However, I tend to agree that, for most women, it is unnecessary and potentially more stressful.

The real testing obsessives will be using cheap test strips rather than £15 a pop FRERs, so those very worried about the environmental impact of all that plastic can calm themselves with that. (Although if it's still a worry for you come and join us in the world of cloth nappies!)

Surely it's fairly common sense to realise that people have different approaches here? Some people would rather wait longer to have a more definite answer, some people would rather have a less definite answer but have it sooner. It might not help you to have an early faint line on a test, but clearly it helps some people. I see the posts from people looking for a line and think "oh gosh just wait a few days and you'll know for sure", but I wouldn't wade in saying that because they're not me!

And as others have said, if you have a history of miscarriages or a condition that means you need to start/stop taking medication as soon as you're pregnant, it IS fairly useful to find out early. Some people would rather not know if they had very early miscarriages - but it is that hard to imagine other people would rather know for sure than wonder forever?

I’m inclined to agree; I think it just gets hopes up and is unhelpful- it can then lead to women being devastated a few days later.

I can understand wanting to know immediately so you can take vitamins/be healthy etc, but my advice would always be give up alcohol and the non-allowed foods anyway if you want to conceive, then if you think you’re pregnant test a few weeks later, and no harm will hopefully be done. Don’t test on what should be day two of your period.

YABU

People should test if they want and can decide themselves if it had a negative effect and if they would test or not next cycle.

I see women here saying they've done it, didn't like it, now want to judge others saying it's bad for them.

There is plenty of support for people on the TTC forum and for those that get upset for how others go through this, I believe you can block it from appearing on your feed if you wish

I think it’s reasonable to test according to the sensitivity of the test you have bought.
However, I think the encouragement to do multiple tests to see ‘progression’ only benefits the manufacturers and is counter to how tests like these work, and I’d like to see people advising against it on here. I hate to think of people who can’t afford it buying all these tests for no reason.
(I did several rounds of IVF, if you have to have problems conceiving to be credible on this topic.)

I always test 1-2 days before my missed period. It puts me out of my misery, and stops me constantly wondering for those few days whether it is or isn’t. If I get a negative result on an early response test then I believe it, and wouldn’t consider testing again until my period was late.

I buy a pack of 60 pregnancy tests every few years for £5. Infact, I’ve only ever bought 2 packs. I think I can afford the £10 across about 5 years, and the tests are mostly paper and don’t have plastic casing so I think I probably do more good knowing when to put my moon cup in than using a sanitary towel just incase

Also, I have had 2 health pregnancies and 2 miscarriages. In both miscarriages there were early warning signs when the line didn’t darken as expected. I would always choose to test regularly for peace of mind in those early weeks. To each their own

It's not that new, it existed 13 years ago when I was pregnant with DS1!

It's probably been a thing ever since sensitive home tests have been a thing.

Its something I absolutely dont understand. YANBU. I just think it's such a waste of money.. why not just wait until your AF is due and then test if needs be!

When I was TTC, the boards where full of when are you testing and I never really understood then either..