Pregnancy tests - the good, the bad and the ugly

[Scarletthoping]

Hello,

This is my first TTC ever. I’m gearing up to go pregnancy test shopping (am 8DPO but going to try and hold out until the weekend). I feel like there are some pregnancy tests experts on this forum and would love your advice as I had a quick look at the aisle the other day and the choice is overwhelming.

Which tests are the best? Which are the ones to avoid?

thanks so much ❤️

Honestly my advice to you is not to get caught up in stuff like this, it will take a toll on you mentally.

But to answer your question, I've always used the cheapest tests I could get. You can pay more (10x the price) to maybe get a line a couple of days earlier, but it becomes very expensive, very quickly.

Enjoy and I wish you the best x

Hi @Scarletthoping i would get the Boots pregnancy test strips. When you get your positive then i'd do a Clearblue test xx

My advice would be to always use pink dye tests and to steer clear of Clear Blue unless it's a digital, I've had terrible false positive/evaps on regular Clear Blue tests and I know others who have too.

I use Amazon Easy@Home cheapies for early testing/first BFP and then First Response Early Response and Clear Blue Digital after that!

I'd say exactly the same as @bookworm100 - when TTC for 16 months with my first I used internet cheapie tests from Amazon. I also bought a box of 2 First Response Early Result tests and a Clear Blue Digital but those were untouched until I got any hint of a positive on the cheapies. I still have a photo of my first positive cheapie test back when I got pregnant with my boy along with the more expensive CB Digital I immediately used to confirm. I then checked another CB Digital with weeks the following week to see if it had progressed to the 2-3 weeks for reassurance. Admittedly I also then did another the following week for the 3+ weeks 😅 but I had chemicals in the past so I was really keen to see progression. You can check line progression on cheapies though so you don't need to buy those.

@Meeting - thanks! That’s why I’m waiting until my period is due as I don’t want to stress myself out. Good to know about the cheap tests! Thanks.

@Summer2424 - thanks so much! I’ll head to Boots at the weekend.

@bookworm100 - thanks so much. That’s really helpful! I now understand what FRER stands for 🤣

@mumsince2021 - aww thank you. That makes sense. I will also probably be the same and continue testing 🤣

@Scarletthoping - you're welcome! Haha it took me ages to realise about the FRER too. What I would say about those particular tests, is that they sometimes have a very faint but perceptible evaporation line (you can actually see it before you use it), so I would always wait for a positive on the easy@home internet cheapies and then validate that on a FRER. That way you won't be analysing a vvv faint line on a FRER which can be misleading. It's all a bit of a minefield to be honest!

@Scarletthoping Just to echo some others here, I'd stay well away from blue dye Clearblue tests.

I use cheap easy@home test strips from Amazon for early testing (which I won't be doing this time), and then if a faint positive, I'd buy First Response Early Result (FRERs) to confirm. You'll save yourself a fortune that way if you might be inclined to be a bit obsessive about testing.

Digital tests aren't as sensitive, so I'd wait until a missed period or later to use one. Especially the weeks indicators, which are expensive and not terribly sophisticated predictors that can cause way more stress than they're worth.

Thanks so much for the advice i’ve found myself trapped in the clear blue evap situation at the moment . It’s hard to know when and if i will of missed AF as since MMC in april my cycles have varied in length 33-37 and haven’t yet gone back to the 28day cycle i had prior . It’s 28 days tomorrow so thinking if no AF to test again at the weekend , any thoughts welcomed 🥰

If you’re buying some in person, I recommend these from my experience. If you can get some online, the cheap Amazon ones are also good and work out cheaper

@bookworm100 - ah thanks so much! It really is a minefield!

@deliwoman1 Thanks so much. This is really helpful!

I'm due on in 3 days but have been feeling really sick, took a pregnancy test and can't tell whether this is a positive or evap line...it came up within 5 minutes and the test says read within 10...many thanks x

I think it could be an evap, but try do a pink dye one to double check. I recently had something similar but all my other tests are negative 😭

Is that a positive very faint 😳 need answers please

Mine was like that and then 3 days later I did an ultra early clear blue and came up straight way