Strength of lines in pregnancy tests

[Upturnedlego]

Hi
I've just posted the message below in pregnancy, but wondered whether this might be a better place.
I'm in the early stages of pregnancy. I've got two dc but have also had several miscarriages. I'm testing daily as I'm scared something will go wrong. Today I've done a test and the line looked much fainter than yesterday, so did another one which also looks more faint than yesterday. The brand and tests are identical. Does this mean I'm less pregnant/about to lose another baby?

I know it’s really hard to do but try not to test too often, you’ve got a positive so shouldn’t need to test again. I did the same as I was paranoid something would go wrong, I had a couple of days where the line was more feint than the day before (but still absolutely no doubt it was positive) & I panicked but my baby is now 9 weeks old & the other one has just turned 2! In reality even if something was going wrong your test lines wouldn’t change that rapidly - that’s what I had to keep reminding myself.
Early pregnancy is so stressful & we don’t do ourselves any favours!!
Just wanted you to know that I had the same situation in both pregnancies & both turned out just fine.

Firstly stop testing. You'll drive yourself insane.

I personally dont think line strength means anything. I did several tests at the same time when pregnant and all came back of varying shades.

Things like hydration levels and time of day make a huge difference. You should see a darkening over 2/3 days so if you really want to keep testing (I know it's hard not to), then try to wait at least 2, preferably 3 days. The darkening will only be slight as well. Don't expect big strong lines until you are 2 weeks late

I'm going to differ slightly in saying for me the strength of the line definitely meant something. With my chemical pregnancy I had a reasonable line, then tested again two days later and the line was fainter (fmu, same brand etc). I began bleeding a few days later and the line was already gone. With this pregnancy I had a line as dark as the control line fron 14dpo and by 6 days later the test line was so strong it was sucking dye from the control line! Things seem to be progressing well this time (nearly 8 weeks). The more hormone present the darker the line gets- up until a certain point so if the line if fading and you are using the same concentration of urine/brand of test then I'm sorry to say it is unlikely to be good news. I really hope I'm wrong and I have my fingers crossed for you x

Thanks for your responses. I'm sorry for your loss and wish you well with this pregnancy. I'll try not to test so often as it may we'll drive me insane. Keeping my fingers hugely crossed. Still have all the symptoms so hoping that's a good sign.

Just thought I'd update and say I'm still pregnant!

Fantastic news! Congratulations