Just another Frer indent

[XenaTheWarriorPrincess]

So, I've been ttc a few months since a stillbirth last April. I believed I'd had 4 chemical pregnancies but I'd been using frer tests. I now know I've only had one for sure, maybe 2.

I've always been in the camp that all the "indent" lines that are talked about are usually just chemical pregnancies, but I wanted to test it because 4 chemicals is a lot in a row.

So about 3 weeks ago I bought some tests and took one. I was definitely not pregnant at the time as had a period, lh surge and hadn't had sex that cycle. It threw up a very faint line with no colour and other brands of tests were stark negative for a week after.

Then a couple of days ago, during ovulation, I decided to take the other from the pack. Again, definitely not pregnant as I was currently ovulating and had sex later that night for the first time in 2 months (as I wanted a ttc break).

And I got a much stronger, but still faint, indent line.

I am 100% not possibly pregnant. I had an LH surge, ovulation pain, normal periods etc. And calculated that the earliest I could possibly be is 9 weeks, 6 weeks at the last fainter indent. I had to share this latest one because of how glaring it is.

So I've concluded that these tests are utterly terrible and need some recommendations for other tests.
Pics of the indent from a couple days ago. Like seriously, it's SO bad. Had I waited like I originally planned and taken it the day before my period this cycle I would have 100% thought I was pregnant.

Have you tried dipping one in water to see if it has an indent? Only because I use these and I have never even had the slightest indent it's always completely blank. Might be worth going to your Dr just in case, to see why there's hcg in your system?

@Wednesdayonline I won't be buying any more, no. And that's not something my doctors would do. No other brand has been anything but stark negative so I don't really see the point anyway.

I'm glad you've never had one, but it is seemingly quite common.

I would also probably investigate further as iv never known or seen anyone have indents like this on these tests. They are the most sensitive over any other test including clear blue. Iv been using these tests for my ttc journey and my pregnancies for well over 22yrs and have never once got an indent of any sort. These tests are clearly showing that there is low trace amounts of hcg in your system where as another test would probably not likey pick it up. I would personally get a hcg blood test done out of curiosity and for peace of mind.

@Miraclemuma03 it's definitely an indent, there's no colour in it. Blood tests aren't an option anyway.

My best friend had a rouge time a few months ago where she was having pregnancy like symptoms. Wasn’t trying or anything but she took a first response and it threw up a faint positive like yours. She did several others and all were faint. She went to the gp and tests showed up positive too. But it never progressed and she never bled like a miscarriage. Loads of scans later and the gyne discovered she had endometriosis and that was throwing out HCG in a slightly higher than normal level. So where first response fall with 6miu, normal body levels are 5miu. So tests were being faintly triggered for her. The gyne also said to her that positive HCG tests with no pregnancy can also be a response to some bowel conditions. I would definitely get it looked into, cos as the others have said, I’ve not come across indents on first response before, so for peace of mind in your part it’s probs a good idea to speak to the GP about it 😊

@jelliebean9 the line is colourless, only a coloured line means hcg is detected. It's definitely an indent, but thanks for your concern.

It definitely looks like there is colour to it in the photo. These don't look like indents. Is there a reason why you don't think maybe you might need more testing done just to be sure? Have you done more tests with frer to see if more show up positive?.

@Miraclemuma03 irl they are grey. No colour whatsoever. I've had previously confirmed positives about the same strength as this and they were obviously pink.

I don't think I need further testing because im already sure. I've done maybe 20 tests, have had lh surge, peak and fall twice, have had only grey lines on frer and I couldn't get a blood test anyway, there's no grounds for it. I'd just get told to wait and test more or to register with the midwives. My GP will not do a blood test. Even if they would, that is time, effort and NHS resources wasted because I am 100% sure these are indents.

I do not need a blood test. I have not had a single positive test.

Ok, fair enough 😊 I’m sorry I misunderstood the post. I think I thought you were looking for advice on what we thought the lines were . Sorry for getting the wrong end of the stick! Hope everything goes well in the future for you 😊

I have also had really obvious indent lines on FRERs in the past. I think mine did look slightly more grey than yours in the photo. But it was so obvious I was shocked at how bad it was.

I had a HCG blood test less than 2 hours after I took that test. Absolutely negative.

I had one of these recently. However, it didn't come up until an hour or so after I tested and was more like a white/grey.

The big difference with my actual faint BFPs were they showed up instantly and were light pink. I could definitely see the confusion I would have had if I didn't have previous positives to compare to.

I actually got a cheaper brand recently "SureSign" and I loved how completely stark white the negatives were. I couldn't even guess where the positive line would show because there was zero indentation or colour (or lack of) when negative. The early detection goes to 10mIU/mL so fairly sensitive.