Anyone experienced faint lines every month but not pg?

[walkingout101]

Every month for 3 months now I have gotten faint lines on IC tests from about 6dpo til after AF arrives. I'm wondering if its the tests? I haven't gotten anything on frer or any other tests.

I would trust a FRER more than an IC. Are all the tests you are using from the same pack? It might just be a bad batch.

@eloiseislost Thats my thinking too. No - all different batches and packs and the lines only show after ovulation and until AF, otherwise the tests are blank.

This certainly sounds odd @walkingout101 Perhaps you could buy a few packs of FRER (they are often on offer on Amazon) and only test on the day of your missed period? Of course, that's hard to do, I know for a fact, as I'm known to obsessively POAS during the 2WW…

@eloiseislost Now that would be the sensible thing to do wouldn't it!

I'm more super curious to why its happening. I get a lot of PG symptoms too, and then the inevitable AF comes eventually.

This can happen when you're hypothyroid. Once your TSH is 2.5 or lower you can support implantation. Different threshold for everyone though, this may not be relevant to you!

How old are you OP? This can also happen If you are menopausal

This is happening to me too! I had previously started a few other threads. In June and July I thought I was pregnant but GP confirmed I wasn't. I used FRER (about 29 million!) Boots own, Clear blue and Answer all with slight lines.
Back in July i then dipped one FRER into water which also brought up a line so I just thought they must all have been faulty and put it to the back of my mind.
For some reason I tested again last week with a FRER and got a line. I dipped the second in water and it was pure white! I was thinking menopause related but I'm only 41.
I have ordered the little strip tests to see if they show anything.
Sorry for the long post!

This was my frer from a few days ago. I dipped one in water and there was no hint of a second line.

Definite line there Daisy
Op I also wonder if you are not getting successful implantation ? As pp said, worth getting your thyroid checked.

Yes but they're the same lines I was getting for weeks back in the summer, GP bloods confirmed I wasn't pregnant. So weird isn't it?

As well as thyroid issues this could also be low progesterone preventing implantation. I would ask for progesterone bloods at 7dpo.

Definitely check with a GP OP and bring a test to show the GP (or even a few) there are some medical conditions that can consistently cause false positives and you would want these ruled out...

Ok this is all very interesting. Back in January I had a thyroid test and my antibodies were raised, which can sometimes be indicative of a thyroid problem further down the line, however my tsh was fine at that point. I've been meaning to get it re-tested. I'm going to do that right away.

Thanks so much for all the replies.

@daisychain1620 nice to hear that someone is in similar boat, will you see your gp do you think?

@ivfbeenbusy I'm 33, I don't suppose it can be ruled out. I've had so many other weird symptoms too.

Walkingout101, I will probably go back to GP at some point. They weren't really interested when I asked them if the positive tests could indicate something else and I don't have any other real symptoms so I don't want to waste their time but it is strange.
It is good to hear from someone going through similar. Have you tested again recently?

@daisychain1620 are you having pregnancy symptoms along with the tests at all?

I tested yesterday and today and again - faint lines. 7 and 8 dpo. I don't think I'm pregnant because it's been the same for 3 months in a row now, I get the sore boobs, nausea and tiredness and then AF turns up about a week late. I never get decent lines on the tests tho, just shadows. Yours are a lot darker. I would push your GP to be honest, it warrants investigation.

@walkingout101 Definitely push for investigations. GPS can be very dismissive, they need a gentle push to the right direction more often than not, unfortunately.

7, 8 and even 9DPO are too early to be getting positives even if you have conceived as implantation is most likely to happen at 9DPO and then it takes a couple of days for the levels to be detectable by an HPT. I have another theory and I could be totally wrong but here goes: you know how an OPK can give a positive result if you're pregnant? I wonder if the reverse can also happen: if a HPT can give a positive result if you are ovulating. Given that you say your period is a week or so late after the faint lines, could it be that you ovulate later than you thought? Are you temping, observing CM, etc?

Also, the pregnancy symptoms you describe can also be normal pre-AF symptoms. This is why the 2WW is such an excruciating time, it is so tempting to symptom-spot! Up until implantation has been completed to the point that the fetus is using your blood supply, hormones in your body go about their business as usual, i.e.: preparing for AF. I know that women describe feeling different, however, when a pregnancy is confirmed, all those symptoms are viewed in retrospect. I've had random cycles where my symptoms felt different and unusual and I wasn't TTC and I wasn't pregnant. Every cycle can be different as our hormonal balance is affected by many extrinsic factors every month.

I hope you get to the bottom of this soon! Best of luck!

What was your actual TSH? Mine was well within lab ranges. But far from the level needed to concieve.

Yes I agree with Living you need to ask what your TSH was. I went back and forth to the GP for TEN YEARS being told my thyroid levels were fine, when I really didn’t feel fine. Nobody even bothered to test my antibodies, until I passed out for another reason and the hospital ran bloods. Now I know my levels were not fine for me, and not fine for someone with antibodies who has active thyroid disease.

@eloiseislost I completely agree with you, I don't for one second think I am actually pregnant, although the first time round I did wonder. It is curious. I spoke to my gp at the beginning of the month, I didn't mention the lines on the tests then as it'd happened twice so I thought maybe a fluke or weirdness. I explained my symptoms though and she did think perhaps I have hyperovulation, hence why I am feeling ovulation type pain at various times in my cycle and my hormones are everywhere. I wonder if it is ovulation being picked up, or perhaps something to do with the corpus luteum, which I know can form into a cyst - as I was hospitalised with a large and painful one before.

@Livingmagicallyagain My actual results (albeit a year old now) are:

TSH 1.76 mIU/L (Range: 0.27 - 4.2)

Free T3 4.16 pmol/L (Range: 3.1 - 6.8)

Free Thyroxine 14.900 pmol/L (Range: 12 - 22)

Thyroglobulin Antibodies 24.100 kIU/L (Range: < 115)

Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies X 88.8 kIU/L (Range: < 34)

I am going to order a new test for this however, as I did mean to test again in 6 months time.

@walkingout101 I hope you didn't take any offence, I didn't mean to imply that you are imagining pregnancy symptoms! Especially since I hold out hope that I might still be pregnant even when I'm on my period!! I actually tested after my last period was over because I still felt bloated! 🤦🏻‍♀️ 🤣
Actually, corpus luteum cysts can cause positive pregnancy tests and since you have a history, maybe your GP will investigate further! I'm sure that whatever it is, it will be an easy fix. The most frustrating part is trying to find out.

@eloiseislost Nono, not at all - I appreciate your input very much! I wonder how common it is to get these cysts every month.

@walkingout101 I found this that seems to explain it, sounds like it is possible to have cysts every cycle and they are pretty much harmless.

intermountainhealthcare.org/blogs/topics/live-well/2018/02/ovary-pain-understanding-ovarian-cysts/

www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320433

I hope this helps!

You have autoimmune thyroid issues, your thyroxine levels are a bit low, and your TSH is creeping up.
Get tested as early as possible in the day.
When you have active thyroid disease you ideally want your T4 to be in the top third of the range , and your TSH to be under 2, many people feel best when it is between 0.5 and 1.
Yours is only just under 2 there.

@SirVixofVixHall hi! I just wanted to report back.

I had my thyroid re-tested and TSH has gone up to 2.5, which may explain whats been going on. Weirdly T4 was better at 15. Antibodies have got even higher though, now at 123.