Test lighter at 8 weeks

[Nurse10]

I am almost 8 weeks pregnant and had some tests leftover so decided to do them to "check" and the line looks lighter than it did at 4 weeks!! Had an early scan last week at 7 weeks exactly and seen a flickering heartbeat. Should I be worried? Is this normal?? No bleeding or severe cramps. Continuing to feel nauseous, tired and breast tenderness comes and goes. (The double test pic is now and single at 4 weeks)

Honestly, once the line is this dark it varies test to test. Dye stealers are mostly a myth depending on brand and the amount of saturation on the test. That’s a very dark strong line as expected at 8 weeks.

And I don’t mean brand to brand, I literally mean in three hours you could do this test and it would be lighter again but everything would be fine.

Hook effect. Take a urine sample and test it. Then dilute the sample with the same amount of water as urine and test again. Second test will probably be stronger.

Thanks both for the replies. The test line come up straight away before control its just lighter than it was a few weeks ago and that freaked me out although I have drank a lot of fluids today! Was silly to test at 8 weeks really. First time pregnancy and anxiety is high. Hoping everything continues to progress as it should

I think 7-8 weeks is a really solid gestation to get past. If I remember correctly, the fetal pole is well developed and the nervous system on the go, which means the chromosomes are good and the pregnancy has a high chance of being healthy.

I did read if a heartbeat is detected at 7 weeks the miscarriage risk decreases to 4% but its still such an anxious time. At 7 weeks the heartbeat was clearly visible flickering away. I dont know why I tested tonight all its done is cause anxiety!

It’s so hard not to though, completely understandable. Just try and enjoy this moment when you know everything is fine 😊

Hi lovely , Stop testing , You'll drive yourself mad. I stupidly tested around the same time and line was lighter. It freaked me out as I'd had a previous miscarriage at 5 weeks and watched my line fade. I booked a scan and all was well. Apparently around that time in pregnancy test lines do fade as your hcg actually decreases. There's a maximum threshold and then it goes down to a baseline. I had fertility treatment so was offered a scan anyway and they did mention they don't test hcg levels at that stage once a fetal pole can be detected on scan as its not reliable.
If your worried could you ask your epu to scan you? Some are nice enough and might let you have a scan for some reassurance if it's causing you alot of worry but unfortunately many won't see you unless bleeding or pain but it's worth asking. Try to focus on other things to relax yourself . Have you booked your midwife appointment

Thankyou so much. This has reassured me a lot to hear that others have had similar experiences. Yes I have my first midwife appointment at the end of the week so might mention it then but dont want her thinking I am crazy as I already suffer with anxiety anyway and know they will already focus on that! I think its understandably such an anxious wait. I have no concerning symptoms, still feel pregnant and test still come up straight away so hoping these are all good signs. Ive also read that line progression isnt an indication of a viable pregnancy at this stage. X