stick dunkers r us! poas addicts anonymous

[kat2504]

I have become a ridiculous tester in the last couple of months. opk, hpt, ridiculously early tests, finding a range of receptacles which i can get away with, even purchased a perimenopause test (I'm 32) because you could P on it. And it's one where you expect bfn!
Have hidden an empty deodorant lid in bathroom cabinet as new receptacle of choice.

Join me if you are in the 2ww or are a compulsive tester who needs a good fishslap to stay away from the hpts! I failed at the JS thread as I violated almost every rule!

my new spiritual home.....

it has become my obsession almost overnight. when ttc dc1 i waited till af was late and did one test (fell first month) was completely relaxed and had a sort of what will be will be attitude.

have decided last week to ttc dc2. i have instantly become a poas addict!

i've already bought hpts weeks early (8 of them!). and despite the fact that i have always been able to feel ovulation and always felt signs of it being about to happen, i have bought ovulation sticks (peed on 3 today alone(blush)).

i am only at beginning of cycle to nowhere near needing to poas on anything!

its my new secret obsession. and am glad to have found a fellow obessive (smile)

and you now you tell me there are perimenopausal sticks to pee on! ooh off to boots tomorrow to get one (seriously better be a bfn).

Hello, my name is Katy, and I am a pee-on-a-stick-aholic. It's been 2 days since my last test...

I must have spent about £100 on tests in the last few months. I need help....

what are perimenopausal tests?

Oh no don't go to boots! Get thee to the fertiily section of Amazon! Or the Home Health website. Much much cheaper. Spent less than 10 quid to get 25 ov sticks, 25 hpts and 2 pointless perimenopause tests that see if your FSH levels are too high.

I have done two ov sticks in a day but only in days 10-13 so far. 2 in a day is helpful then.

At least with all this internet purchasing I will not waste a tenner on the evil clearblue. Until I start doubting the results. When I was pg I spent 150 quid confirming the results in the following days and weeks. Not that it helped matters. But clearblue have made enough. Drat their dratted conception indicator though. If I am ever lucky enough to get a bfp again I will succumb.

My prob is I had 2 pos opks a week apart. To be honest I think the second is the true positive. But that has given me an excuse to leave the deodorant cap in the cupboard and use it early.

Any receptacles of choice or do you prefer the midstream varieties? A ramekin was mentioned on one thread and another poster used her toothbrush holder! Quite like tupperware myself....

I'm glad it's not just me ... I just can't wait and I'm a terrible poss addict. Started testing st 8dpo this cycle and am now on 10dpo. Got three lines from the same sample yesterday (Internet cheapies) and I dipped this morning and thought it was negative but ( upon fishing out of the bin 10 mins later the is the faintest and I mean squint and you miss it of lines - looks sort of like an evap but after those three yesterday I'm thinking perhaps ...

Om also thinking Chemical pg though as this happened back in feb the lines disappeared after a couple of days and af came.

One things for sure though I'm the worst poas addict ever and will merrily just keep testing till af comes ( or not).

Oh wow, I have just looked on Amazon, it's POAS heaven! I will be purchasing forthwith!

Feeling a bit blue though because I've been feeling like I'm about to come on for ages, and I am now on cylce day 42. Have run out of sticks to p on and to be honest don't think I could face seeing another negative.

I keep googling things like "10 days late am I pregnant?" because that brings up loads of forums with other women who say they didn't test positive untill they were 2 weeks late etc. etc. But I can't find any solid medical advice that says that ever happens.

Sorry to moan, feeling really fed up about it today.

Katy, Amazon is great - i use ebay but its the same sort of thing. Each pg is different, i didnt test positive for DD2 for ages either - cant remember how long now because it was a long time ago.

Sorry you feel fed up, i reckon the worst thing you can do though is google because there is always someone somewhere who has never tested positive ect ect, mind you there are apparently some people who never test positive because their body doesnt metabolise hcg properly.

With DS i found out on the Wednesday and i was due AF on the Saturday so really early with him - tbh he is responsible for my poas addiction as i always expect an early result from now on. I have just tested with 10 miu internet cheapy just now and there is a line again (but the background is all pink and streaky) so i dipped another two and there are lines on them too but they are all pink and streaky - ive put the photos on my profile, have a look and see if you think they look positive? I bloody hate this bit - not knowing either way arrghhhh!

ah sorry about the bfns Katy. CD42 is a long wait, how long is your cycle normally. Apparently if you know when you ovd, AF usually shows up on average 14 days later. If you are much later than usual consider seeing a doc. To be honest most tests now are so sensitive that if I didn't test positive until 2 weeks late, with a 25 miu test, I would be so worried there was something wrong with my hcg level.

Kat - I don't know when I ovulated - I've bought I basal thermometer to start charting - not sure if I should wait untill AF or not, may just start tomorrow.
Rosieposy - they look like lines to me, but I don't really know what I'm looking at as I've not used tests like that before. Hope it is a line though!

Ive really got to stop poas'ing! ive done loads and loads of tests in the last three days most coming up positive though which is good - all this mornings ones did. Im going to stop now till tomorrow morning as im quite happy that ive got so many positives its just that AF isnt due till Weds so one every morning just to make sure is in order.

Katy charting is the way forward, ive been doing it for 2 months and think that its really good, you can tell exactly more or less when you ovulated - i combined that with a clearblue fertility monitor and got a really good picture of my fertility. Good luck!

Rosie: with charting, the temps change AFTER ovulation, don't they? Doesn't it just give you a good idea for scrutinising after the event? During the high and low temps you are just observing to see how your cycle behaves are you not? I don't know much about this charting lark, but just what I gathered from dipping in and out of threads here. How did you chart? In conjunction with poas? Do tell, especially as you graduated with such flying colours! Well done x

Fedup I charted last month and it did correlate exactly with when I oved according to my digital opk. I used my cbfm last month but didn't get a peak because I have such short surges it's unusual for me to get a positive opk in the morning so I backed up my monitor with a digi opk and luckily I caught my surge - it was gone again next morning.

This month I set my monitor for testing in the afternoon and just held my wee. I got my peak and the day after I think according to fertility friend I oved. Charting definitely gives you a good idea if you have ovulated and if you do it for long enough you should see a fairly predictable pattern emerge. I think charting in tandem with a fertility monitor or Opks ( or even both) is really accurate - not sure if it helped me or if it's just luck but I spent 7 months trying and last month and this using cbfm and charting and it seems to have worked!

Sorry to answer your question yes charting tells you after you have oved - bbt thermometers are cheap and if you join fertility friend and enter your temps they work out everything for you. The tutorials are good too :)

I'm going to take your advice and follow your example. Just joined ff. Hope it brings me luck. Been trying seriously for 2 plus years, all results came back fine: unexpplained infertity. But according to doc need to stress less. One more question, Rosie: how long after smiley face on Digi did you ACTUALLY ovulate? I know everyone's different, but just to use it as a guide/ to compare notes! Thanks x

Also trying to work out when to BD when smiley face appears? And for how long afterwards?! Elderly parents and jobs are taking their toll! But me being 40 and him 43, with no dc is not looking good either!

Im 39 in 4 months so not the youngest ever to concieve but i honestly do think its been helpful working out exactly when i oved and with the help of charting that i DID actually ovulate as i had heard that some months you dont or that your body gets ready to but doesnt actually release the egg.

After getting the sign that i ovulated from the opk last month my temperature rose not the next day but the one after, the same went for this month when i got the peak on the cbfm it was two days later when my temperature rose, according to FF that meant that i had oved the day before but to be on the safe side you can assume as the opk's say that you ovulate between 12-36 hours after your surge has been detected. FF reckons if you record a peak off your monitor or opk then it assumes (and warns you) that you are likely to ovulate the following day, only the 3 days of sustained rises in temperature will actually tell you if you did though. It looks like both months i ovulated on the day after the surge - everybody is different though i think.

I went with the high days on the fertility monitor to SWI and then when i got the peak i did it that day and the following two days. TBH we found it laborious and rubbish as 7 days of consecutive shagging are not as easy as they sound with a toddler and house full of teens and we are far more spontaneous usually but did it anyway. If i were you i would BD in the days before you ovulate (about three) and once you have charted for a while you should see when they are roughly then on the day of your positive opk or peak on your monitor then for two (or even three days afterwards).

I really hope you get some results out of charting, its a bit of a pain sometimes (i didnt record at exactly the same time every morning as sometimes my toddler would get up at different times but it seemed to work ok. Let me know how you get on - will keep everything crossed for you x

Thank you for such kind words. Your fantastic advice is invaluable to me, especially as our intentions are not public knowledge in RL. You ARE the voice of experience to me. I'll definitely "keep in touch" and let you know how I get on. Last month we BDed 3 days before smiley face on opk and 2 after. Had lots of symptoms, inspite of not looking for them, had an attack of cystitis; only for af to appear with a vengeance. Thought had covered all bases: a rarity for us (!) - but obviously just wasn't meant to be.
Just seen your pics. Your dcs are lovely. Your baby boy is soooo cute. You DO NOT look like you have teens. You look about 29! I am 40, look 40, feel more like 70! Wish I had had the foresight to have done all this when younger, but was too busy pursuing career goals . Oh well, you can't have everything can you?

Been on amazon - poas-o-rama!

Thanks for the advice (now I can really indulge).

xxx

fedup you are on the cbfm thread with me arent you?

Looks like i will be on there with you for a while longer now as i tested again yesterday lunchtime expecting to see a nice positive and got a negative, same again last night and twice this morning. Obviously hcg is supposed to rise and by now i would have expected to see a pretty strong line not negatives. Given that this happened to me at the beginning of the year too i know the signs, af will be a few days late but i will be glad when shes here so i can get cracking again.

Fedup if you keep timing it every month at the right time you will get pg, i used to think that if i timed it right i would get pg that month but it sadly doesnt work like that and it really does seem to be random luck, i think its like a 15 percent chance each month and obviously as we are neither in our 20's statistically it may (or may not!) take longer.

Dont worry about starting late, some people are just not ready for parenthood when they are younger, and at least you will have the benefit of life experience and financial stability which alot of prospective parents dont have. Your only a year and a half older than me and lots and lots of women in their 40's get pregnant. Just try the cbfm/opk/charting and if nothing happens within six months you can go and voice your concerns with your GP. They say wait a year of ttc but i think the consensus is that when you are older and you arent falling pg then investigations are better done sooner than later.

Anyway, with any luck you wont need any of that just try and make sure you BD when you get your highs off your monitor and obviously when you get a peak or a positive opk then do it that day and the next two to three days.

Thank you for your lovely complements lol - they are just good photos and they are far away, i feel a bit old these days but i also feel i make a far better parent now (more patience) than when i was was in my 20's. My girls are wonderful and now i have my DS everything is perfect, i hope it happens for me again but if it doesnt it doesnt and im quite pragmatic about it. I feel a bit greedy wanting number 5 when lovely ladies like you are trying for number 1 - i really hope you can have everything :) you have a great job and DH just keep trying and you will have your baby soon enough.

Lol for the record im NOT buying any more hpts for next month. Im going to watch my temps and if they stay up right until day 14 then i will test - NOT BEFORE! (famous last words) I am disappointed this month didnt work out but i figure after having a really shitty miscarriage three years ago i would rather it all went wrong now.

Skandi have fun with those hpts but remember some of them are so senstive that they will pick up very early pregnancy and sometimes (like me this month) it doesnt work out. Good luck!

Rosieposie,

So sorry it didn't work out! Fingers crossed for your next cycle.

I am doing the ovulation sticks (boots own atm). I know I ovulated last night because I had ovulation pain and temp was up. Obviously BD but the line on the ovulation stick doesn't look as broad as the other line. Its as dark but not as thick. Does this mean there is something wrong with the test or I am incorrect about ovulation??

I suppose rather than ponder the minute detail I should just do lots more BD with DH and see what happens.

Has anyone else become obesessed with POAS when trying for #2 when they were totally relaxed with #1?? For me it has literally been overnight.

xxx

Skandi i read somewhere that its fine if only one edge of the line is as dark as your lh surge has been picked up on - good luck!

Ah ha! Goes to prove that I have always known when I ovulated (thats me justifying all my POAS purchases.....).

Thanks Rosieposie.

Guess some more BD later just to be sure and then 2WW....

I didn't have any symptoms at all with DD so I'll have to wait to test. Well actually I had one but only in hindsight. And its a strange one too so am a bit but here goes.... I felt "juicy" about a week before af was due (I guess a week after ovulation as I'm a 28 day girl). And "juicy" as in firm all over. Not to touch but an internal sensation in me. Particularly in my bum area. Kept touching it as I had this idea it was a bit JLoesque. Odd I know and I didn't think it was a pregnancy symptom until after I tested positive.

Not holding out much hope tho as there is no way it will happen so quickly again. particularly as I had an EM cs with DD and was told it could be more difficult getting pregnant again.

Oh well may as well try some symptom spotting.

Rosieposy I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. Baby dust for next month (that goes for everyone ).

Skandi1 I have a 6 year old dd who we had without even trying, and we thought we'd be totally relaxed second time around. Having been wasting loads of money in boots I've
just ordered on amazon today. However just had a moment of weakness when I nipped into boots for some calpol for DD, and I came out with a twin pack first response. I really don't know why I do it myself. My head knows that on CD 44 I'm NOT going to get a positive. But the test is just sitting there, and I know I'm going to do it. I was just joking before about being addicted, but I seriously think I am. Am off to doctors tomorrow to find out exactly what's up.

Rosie so sorry to hear it didn't work out. Hope it doesn't take you too long to get another bfp and that it sticks next time. You're right about the perils of early testing but it is hard to resist though. Apparently 50 percent of conceptions end up this way before AF is due though. Still, must be a hard disappointment.

I did a test today -bfn, so think my luck might be out for this month.

I think you should probably be trying the day of the smiley face and the next two days and the two days before, but obviously you don't know exactly when the two days before are!

Katycustard sounds like we are going through the same thing. Was due on 25th Sep (sat) and so far no serious positives on hpt. Totally unheard of for me to be late, am always spot on 30/31 day cycle. Keep feeling as though AF is gonna arrive any minute but she doesn't show herself. Very achey AF type pains in lower tum and back,

Did test this morn and was a very faint positive on Tesco hpt but it really was hardly there. Gonna leave it couple of days and try hpt again - clear blue this time. Maybe the words Not Pregnant might stop me POAS!!

Rosie:soooo sorry for your negative hpts. Seriously would have been gutted. Cannot applaud you enough for the way you are so optimistic and have taken it in your stride. Very very well done you. Hope that there is some justice in this, and that when you DO get your next BFP it is for keeps and not just for heartache. Thank goodness for your beautiful family who you gain strength from. Thank you so very much for sharing your wisdom and experience. I shall try and put into practice all that you have suggested and keep my fingers crossed, and try to remain positive.
We have lots of tests conducted, but they have all pointed towards 'normal': whatever that may be. therefore the doctors have diagnosed unexplained infertility. Realistically speaking, if nothing improves then we will be pursuing ivf privately in the new year. although even that is not without its own set of perils. i'll join you on the cbfm thread, it's nice and cosy there, all for one, one for all xxx
katy custard, kat and lola: listen and learn... the problems of early testing have just surfaced with poor Rosie, now step back from the tests and leave well alone, until at least a week after af is due. unless you are as strong as dear Rosie and able to handle a chemical pregnancy. personally, I don't think i could be brave enough to deal with that...oh well, horses for courses, you have been warned....xxxx