Do you think testing early is good or bad?

[MsCactus]

By early I mean, before a missed period. Just curious really... I find it easier just starting my period that testing every day and trying to see lines, having lots of negatives day after day if it's a negative cycle. Vs waiting and testing, then knowing for sure one way or another.

With my previous pregnancy, I waited until about 14dpo and the line was so clear, there was no question.

What is everyone's views on early testing? (I still do it a lot because I often can't help myself!)

I think it is different strokes for different folks? A period is a clear sign and takes the stress out of reading lines but it is too exciting/nerve wracking for some to wait?!

I'm currently 5dpo but only finding it easier to resist testing as I have a DD. Also! Who knows in a day or two I might not be so patient!

In my case, even without testing, a few days after ovulation, I know whether I'm going to be pregnant or not. It's a deep feeling that's hard to explain. I'm never wrong ;)

Personally I test early as I find myself symptom spotting too much otherwise. Usually on CD27 (average 28-32 day cycles). I’d rather have a negative and have a little hope that it might just be cos I was too early, rather than test later and have a lot of hope, only for it to not work out. I’ve been caught before by first testing on day 33, thinking it HAS to be positive because my period was late, only to have a random 34 day cycle. That was a tough one to recover from! I’ve only had one positive before, my first cycle, and that was I believe the day before my expected period that month (was ectopic though). Just do whatever personally works for you and eases your stress/anxiety ☺️

I test from 8dpo, I don't find negative tests too upsetting. What I do find upsetting is 'trying' not to think about. For me it's a bit like a diet, means you end of thinking about food all the time.
So from 8dpo I take my morning test and allow myself that 10 or so minutes in the morning to think about it, and then go about my day. Usually by 11dpo I will know it's not my month and then just make my peace with it, and wait for my period to arrive on 14dpo.
However I see from people on here how they get very upset by negative tests and for them I would say just try and take your mind off it until a missed period, because that's the date when you know that a negative is actually a negative.

So as @serialplanner says, different strokes for different folks.

Being a little older makes me reflect on how different testing is now.

Testing sooner means knowing sooner, including knowing therefore that a pregnancy has not continued.

In my day, we just wouldn't know we were pregnant in those early weeks, so the distress of an early loss was less likely and much more likely to go unknown.

I was nearly 21 weeks when I realised I was pregnant ( due to a busy job and being quite relaxed about trying for a second baby). Made for a really secure 19 weeks before having my DC.😆

Conversely my DiL told us that she was ‘one day pregnant’. It was really stressful for her and for family, hoping for a continued pregnancy. It. Was a long wait but with a happy ending!

Yeah, I agree with all this. Also my granny told me that there were no tests in her day - the doctors "didn't count it as a pregnancy" until you missed three periods.

It's interesting that they'd be told it wasn't a pregnancy if they had an early miscarriage - even though now everyone knows.

I just wonder whether more knowledge is better if you can't do anything to affect the outcome.

Personally I'm much happier testing later - but I struggle to now that we're able to test so early...

Reading on here, there seems to be so much sadness and stress over chemical pregnancies, inaccurate tests, counting the days, something we just couldn't do because the tech wasn't there.

Not ideal. So many things can happen in the early days/weeks.

I think it’s personal choice. If you’d prefer to wait there’s nothing wrong with that, and it could potentially save you from being upset by false negatives or a very early loss. I’m just too impatient and would have gone crazy waiting for a missed period when I knew I could test earlier if I wanted to. I tested very clearly positive 6 days before my missed period, so there was no looking for faint lines.

Honestly, I've often wondered about this as can't really understand the early testing thing.

The conception thread is absolutely full of posts about faint lines and line eyes and 'is this an evap?' etc. So, even if you do get an early BFP it's normally so faint at that early stage that you can't even take it as a BFP and have to keep testing until your hcg levels increase anyway. So what is the point? And you can tell on these threads that people are feeling so desperate and anxious. It's awful.

The daily testing, symptom spotting, line progression etc, it's honestly not healthy.

Then there's the whole chemical pregnancy thing - so you get a super early BFP but then get your period shortly afterwards because the pregnancy wasn't viable in the first place - without early testing, you wouldn't even know this had happened so would save yourself this whole extra unnecessary heartache!

Also those first couple of months of pregnancy are the highest risk and it's such a worrying time as a parent to be. Finding out early surely just prolongs the (arguably) hardest bit. If you find out at 3-4 weeks that you're pregnant then you're seriously going to have the longest first trimester ever. Maybe that's why there are so many getting scans done at 5 weeks when there is literally nothing to see.

In my first pregnancy I was about 3 days late when I tested, current pregnancy I was 10 days late as very irregular periods now. Both times I just kept busy and tried to put it out of my mind for as long as possible. It took me 4 years to get my second BFP so I fully understand wanting something so much and finding it almost impossible to wait!
When I did test, the BFP's both times were super strong dye stealer so I was left in no doubt whatsoever. Both pregnancies I took that one test then never tested again.

I agree. I just personally really struggle not to test.

I tested at 7dpo earlier in the week, got a negative and burst into tears.

Three days later and I've since developed some telltale pregnancy symptoms I had with my first - but I'm trying my hardest not to test early again. I don't want to be bursting into tears every day until I get a bfp or my period arrives!

Personal choice. I waited til the day my period was due, and both times got a clear line. I don’t personally understand testing very early, as it could just be too early, and it seems to cause upset. I do think it was better in the past before such accurate tests! I didn’t have any tests in the house until the day my period was due when I’d buy one, and that was only a cheap one. Can’t understand people using clear blue from early on, so expensive!

Yes - I also think I find coming on my period less upsetting than a negative pregnancy test (no idea why!) The start of a period signals a new cycle to, so you think 'ah I can try again soon'

I think it depends on your personality but for me, bad.

i had planned to wait until the day before my period was due to test, but I had some symptoms while I was on holiday that made me think something was going on (and it was). But I therefore had to go through the super faint, slowly darkening tests from 9/10dpo as once I started testing I had so much anxiety I couldn’t stop. Honestly it was horrible and I didn’t enjoy the first week of being pregnant at all.

even now I still umm and ahh about doing another digital test to make sure the weeks go up, but I think it’s just bringing too much stress on myself. I have a scan in 2 weeks so I just need to hold out til then and see what’s going on.

It's such a tricky one because I wasn't an early tester until I had a MMC and then I desperately wanted more info as quickly as possible.

I wouldn't have known about one of my chemical pregnancies if I tested the day of my period, but knowing about it meant I qualified for investigations. I then got help with my next pregnancy, which was successful.

I'm thinking about trying again for my second and will have to test early so I can get a treatment plan sorted right away.

It's way more anxiety inducing this way but it does feel proactive

As someone who has been TTC for over 18 months, it has brought me a lot of hope (and my gynae too!) to know that I've had 2 chemicals, as it's at least proof that my body CAN get pregnant. I've since found out I only have one partially working tube and the gynae really insisted on the fact that the chemicals are proof that something is working and that not all hope is lost.

Without that, I think I would be very down in the dumps so I'm grateful and continue to test from about 11/12 dpo.

I think that early testing is the route to madness - with the exception of medical reasons such as IVF or where interventions are needed.

There’s not much to miss about the “old days” but the lack of early testing and waiting for 2 missed periods to be declared is one of them. All the chemical pregnancy angst does no-one any good.

I agree all the chemical pregnancy sadness and anxiety is completely eradicated if you never see a positive that just disappears. I don't understand early testing unless you really really don't want to be pregnant I guess? All these people declaring they've had five miscarriages in six months etc... just unnecessary heartache for them to see it in that way.