Preg tests getting lighter .Tried diluting. Miscarriage? Where are my POAS sisters

[MoonstoneAndRoseQuartz]

Firstly if your going to leave a comment just to criticise me or tell me stop testing , please don't.
I've had a long fertility journey with ivf, several miscarriages and when you have ZERO symptoms it's hard to believe your even pregnant. Seeing those two lines gives me a little affirmation that I am pregnant and for me this is my coping mechanism until I get my scan in few weeks.
I'm 9 weeks pregnant tomorrow. awaiting my scan. Been informed this won't take place until around week 12-14 .
I took a test last week , lovely and dark approximately 5 days ago and this week took a test it was light. Similar to a line I would have got around week 5 when I found out. Half darkness of my last test.
I'm worried I'm miscarrying. It seems so many people have missed miscarriages . It's alot more common that statistics suggest. This is what happened with my other 2 miscarriages at 4 weeks tests got lighter. Because they were so early I did bleed tho same time my period was due. Never got this far.
I tried after reading comments to dilute in a cup with 50% water and sure enough line was slightly darker ? Compared to concentrated urine.
If I was misscarrying would the test get darker when diluted. I had hcg tests and wasnt that high tho . Levels wouldn't be over 100k yet . I read your hcg needs to be 100k before it peaks and declines but decline is gradual.
Anyone who's experienced this or poas addicts out there have any thoughts.
I feel so worried . I just really want a child and feels like were never going to get there.

Nobody can answer this for you in a way that will reassure you.

You could book a private reassurance scan maybe? That is what I would do in the absence of bleeding. If you do begin to bleed you can contact the early pregnancy unit I assume, or the IVF department?

Fwiw I had two missed miscarriages at about 9 weeks; in both cases small amounts of bleeding were the first sign.

I also had virtually no symptoms with my first pregnancy. And he's a 6 foot tall hulking great thing now.

@GreatAuntMaude I've been discharged from the fertility clinic so cannot go back there.ive tried looking at private tests but there's nothing available with the holidays at rhe moment.

If you can, pay for a private blood test, they can be about £40, but could help reassure you. Or even go for an early scan privately, would probably come to the same if you keep buying tests. Hugs your way xxx

@Winterwonderland1 ah I was informed that a blood test would no longer be advised as I think they reach a peak and gradually decline over pregnancy so wouldnt give an indication of whats happening anyway and that I should wait for my scan but I'm unable to get any scans booked due to Christmas holidays.

My friend has had ivf and she panicked around the 9 week mark as her tests seemed light but all was and still is fine so I don’t think tests give an accurate indication after the first few weeks.

I am also a poas addict but the kindest thing you can do for yourself now is step away from the tests and try and wait it out till the scan. You could have blazing lines and still miscarry, you could have faint lines and everything is fine.

also I don’t know if this would add to your anxiety or not but I got a heartbeat monitor from Amazon and found the heartbeat with my pregnancies at around 9 weeks and found that reassuring.

Definitely don’t use a monitor. They require professional training to use correctly and interpret what you hear.
Sadly the only thing you can do it stop testing and manage the anxiety until you can get a scan. Wishing you good news.

Stop testing!! Testing at 9 weeks makes no sense, you already know that you’re pregnant. I would book a private ultrasound if I were you.

I found the monitor very reassuring and it was one for mums to use to find their own baby not a professional one.

As the concentrated urine produced a faint line, and the diluted made a stronger line, the reason your first test was light was the hook effect. Basically to get a line on the test the pregnancy hormone bonds to the dye and then sticks in the correct place on the test. But when there is more hormone in your urine than there are bits of dye in the test, some of the hormone that bonds to the test doesn't have dye attached, so the line is fainter.
At the moment everything is sounding positive.

@MrBigsCat and the professionals recommend people don’t use these. They can cause panic when people can’t find a heartbeat and also false reassurance when they find their own and think they hear the baby.

@Tweedledumdedum that's what I'm hoping, that's its some sorta hook effect. I don't think my hcg is over 100, 000 still hoping it's overwhelming the test. That's what I had really wondered since it does get darker . I didn't test with other miscarriages but did question if it was a miscarriage surely it wouldn't darken if diluted.
Scans in new year. Trying as hard as possible ringing every day checking for cancellations

I had a missed miscarriage and my tests were still strongly positive for weeks after I found out at the scan. A MMC means that your body doesn't realise that you've miscarriages which means all the hormones are still being produced. Please trust me when I say it's not an accurate way of determining a miscarriage. Especially at 9 weeks where hormone levels dip and it can be very common for the lines to be lighter. Pregnancy tests aren't designed to be taken at 9 weeks when you already know you're pregnant.

I understand your anxiety believe me. Have you tried all the private scan places in your area? Could you call round in the morning and ask if they've had any cancellations or can squeeze you in?

So what you do know is that your hcg has increased from five days ago as you're now getting a hook effect. So that's good. Without a scan you can't tell what's truly going on, but by now there should be a heartbeat and once that happens the risk of miscarriage is much lower. So hopefully everything is progressing as it should 🤞

I know you said that missed miscarriages are more common than the statistics say but if you’re looking for threads and stories about them it will appear skewed to you. There are many more women who have healthy pregnancies.

I get that but I’m sure medical professionals wouldn’t recommend peeing on sticks as obsessively as we all do and up to 9 weeks of pregnancy, but it doesn’t stop us 🤷🏼‍♀️
im just saying this helped me

Just to update. I managed to get a cancellation. Baby was moving away .
I'm stepping away from the tests haha
If anyone reads this and your tests are very faint at this stage please don't worry.

That’s great @MoonstoneAndRoseQuartz have a lovely Christmas!!

@MrBigsCat thankyou same to you

So pleased for you!