Nightmare FRERs - Line progression

[weathervane123]

Hi everyone. Got my bfp on Monday at 11 dpo. After a missed miscarriage at 6+5 in April, and an ectopic caught very early in June, I'm nervous about the progression of these tests. They're so up and down. I'm trying to make sure my wee is as concentrated as possible (my samples are actually more reliable in the afternoon than with FMU), but I can't work out if FRERs are rubbish or my progression is the problem. I'm 16dpo today and was hoping for a line as dark as the control but no... it's lighter than 14dpo.

Anyone else dealt with this and had a positive outcome? I'm frustrated with my body for failing to give me any clarity, so am I being crazy here? Can you guys see progression or am I right to be cautious? We're at my inlaws and thinking of telling them before we leave but if I'm headed for a chemical I won't bother.

Oops, so mad I forgot to attach. Here are the tests!

Doesn’t look lighter but I would also be wary, sorry.

Give it 48 hours. Tell yourself you’ll not check again until Monday night.

I can definitely see progression, but at 16DPO I would probably have expected a stronger test line. That doesn’t mean to say that the outcome is going to be bad though - how long are you cycles? Could you have ovulated later than what you thought?

I would say it is stronger that 14dpo. Maybe try and wait a couple of days and see then. But you could also ask your dr for a blood test to see your levels, that would be a better indicator if you are worried. Good luck OP!

Thanks everyone. The dye on my FRERs has dried darker, so progression is a bit clearer (see pic) but I agree that I should be wary. Testing again tomorrow night with fingers crossed for a line at least as dark as the control.

@Moonshine160 I think I’m reasonably accurate with ovulation (opks) but could be a day out. My cycle was a true mess this month (I blame my second COVID jab) and I ov’d about 4-5 days later than usual on CD18. normally my cycles are 26-28 days but I suppose late ovulation could’ve extend that this month. First test I did was on 11 dpo just to be a bit more confident of a reliable result either way.

If I don’t lose it by then I’ll have bloods and scans done early (6ish weeks) because of my previous ectopic.

That latest pic that you’ve posted looks nice a nice strong line, similar to mine when it had dried. I have everything crossed for you OP! Keep us updated.

I honestly wouldn't be worried at all, this looks like a strong positive to me. In both of my pregnancies once I got a positive test like this I didn't test again (both my positives were about like your 14dpo one). I think you can drive yourself crazy. I'd be happy with that test and make your booking in appointment with midwife. Congratulations.

Well the nightmare continues. Took another test this morning at 18 dpo with fairly concentrated FMU and it looks lighter than 16 dpo. Now no longer thinking about a viable pregnancy but am concerned about ectopic given previous history and some pain I had yesterday. 😞

So fed up of this rollercoaster. Will email my rmc consultant today to try and arrange bloods. Though it’s early, hopefully she’ll agree.

I don’t know about anyone else but as soon as I feel confident the pregnancy isn’t viable I just want it over and done with. The cruelest thing is waiting, and because I’m taking the progesterone it can just needlessly prolong the inevitable. But I need my consultant to do the bloods to tell me when to stop taking it. A lose-lose situation.

Update: thankfully my consultant agrees with me and has referred me to EPAU directly for bloods and scan. Fingers crossed for no ectopic!

@weathervane123 I'm so sorry you're in that positon. I just wanted to tell you about my ectopic I had back in June; the lines on my test were totally normal. HCG levels doubled as they are supposed to, up until week 6. The only indicator I had prior to this was a bit of bleeding, that's why I went to see the OB/GYN that early.

Sorry to hear about what you’re going through OP. Are you being seen today?

@Bundaberg84 I'm so sorry to hear you had one too. They're so unbelievably stressful. Mine was in June as well. An unlucky month for us. My tests for that were stagnant, a bit like this but slightly lighter - not much progression with a bit of variation. Then my bloody hcg skyrocketed in just a few days just to put the frighteners on me. I narrowly escaped surgery etc with a subsequent very sharp drop followed by a horrific, seemingly never-ending bleed. Mostly my heart broke for my partner who just felt so helpless and worried about me.

Really hoping that if this one isn't meant to be it's a miscarriage rather than an ectopic, which is a very odd thing to find myself wishing for. Sigh. I just wish I could be optimistic about it.

@Moonshine160, thanks for the support. Hopefully I'll be seen on Weds as I'm away atm. The EPAU won't scan me yet - it's likely too early. They won't scan unless your hcg is around 1000 ish. But, at least if they do bloods they'll know how far off I am, and will be able to monitor the doubling.

Appt booked for next weds (1st). Guess I’m in for a miserable bank holiday!

Really hoping everything works out for you. I still think these lines look strong. 🤞

I really hope it works out for you and no ectopic :(
I also had a ectopic in June at 8 weeks and my tests were much lighter than this but did the same thing. Despite getting a BFP at 9dpo ,the line was almost non existent in the mornings and at night it was faint. Even at 8 weeks (it took the hospital ages to believe me) it still wasn't a dye stealer. At 6+4 hcg was only 108 and then it started doubling and reached over 2000 by exactly 8 weeks which meant the hospital delayed everything thinking it may be viable despite me telling them it was ectopic and the scan showing PUL. I've since heard that hcg isn't a good indicator as it can double normally even from the beginning.
Your gp/hospital sound like they know what they're doing which is good. Good luck for your scan and don't be afraid to head to a&e if you have any symptoms. They can't turn you away

@weathervane123 oh no I'm so sorry! But you didn't need surgery then? Do you have any idea what might have caused it? I'm still trying to figure it out. I ended up needing surgery and had to remove my right fallopian tube. And of course now I can totally understand why you're so anxious and compare the lines. I really hope it's not an ectopic again!

And @dinosaursgorawrrr I think I already read a bot about your story in the ectopic thread but honestly wow I'm so sorry you had to go through all of this...

@dinosaursgorawrrr Oh I'm so sorry to hear of what you've been through. I can sympathise with fighting the doctors to be heard -- I had to do a lot of pushing to be seen and heard properly and it was exhausting. It took three of them to find it on a scan, but I was relieved when they did and started to believe me! Thanks for your support and I hope you're feeling better about it all now.

@Bundaberg84 Mine was a weird case - in many ways I was 'lucky' with it. My hcg was lower than yours - in the 70s - and then it more than tripled each day over a few days up to about 1600. Then I bled and the levels plummeted so fast there was no need for surgery. I was on alert to have methotrexate instead but my bleeding was borderline hemorrhagic, which wiped me out completely but did the trick in the end. The EPAU nurse was confused by how it all went, tbh. Still, I wouldn't wish an ectopic, even a relatively 'easy' one like mine, on anybody.

I think in my case it was due to bad luck and maybe scarring in the tube. I had a nasty case of PID roughly 18 years ago, and I reckon that could've done it. I'm also 38, so I don't have time on my side, which I think increases the risk? I'm still none the wiser for sure though. I really hope you work out what contributed to your ectopic. It's awful ttc and not knowing why it happened.

Yeah, I'm also 37 and think that might be the reason. I can't think of anything else really. Hopefully just a one time bad luck for all of us

I don't think any test is designed to show line progression.

Could your GP do two lots of bloods this week to reassure you? Most will if you explain about a previous loss.

@GreatBritishBummertime GP won’t do bloods to monitor early pregnancy even with history of ectopic. My EPAU won’t even do that until you have bleeding.

19 dpo today. Definitely not 1-2 weeks pregnant. I know digi weeks indicators are inaccurate, the devil, etc etc, but I also know the hcg ranges and it’s just not great, is it? 😞

My digital was wrong, I'd done IVF so knew my dates exactly. I had a healthy pregnancy. They really aren't accurate.

You are only just outside the window of it being 'accurate' though.

Thanks, @saywhatwhatnow. That helps. I'm just fed up of not being able to feel even a bit confident I think. Trying to be more positive today and leaving all tests alone now until the scan next weds. Highly unlikely they will be able to see much of anything reassuring on it, but I guess they'll get me in again in that case.