How long until negative pregnancy test / positive ovulation

[AnnieStar12]

I'm now 3 days post surgical management, and suspect it's been around 3 weeks since the pregnancy actually stopped growing but I am still getting VERY strong positive pregnancy tests.

How long did it take after miscarriage for you all to get negative pregnancy tests? When did people start testing for ovulation, and when did you get your positives on that?

Hi @AnnieStar12 sorry for your loss 💔
I had surgical management on 30th October (for retained products), I had a negative pregnancy test 8 days later!
I wouldn’t start testing ovulation until you get a negative pregnancy test because it will give a false reading!
I’m still waiting to ovulate… but finally getting stronger OPK’s so hopefully today or tomorrow!
I’ve read some people ovulate 2 weeks after, others 3, and some people longer like me ☹️.

I wouldn’t worry about still getting strong positives 3 days post surgery, I think that’s probably normal so soon after, that’s what I was told anyway xx

Hi lovely, so sorry to hear about your loss. Also on here to hear some success stories for ovulation so wanting to join this thread!
I had MMC at 12weeks- surgical intervention on 22nd August, bled for some time on and off and finally got a negative pregnancy test the last weekend in September.
I didn’t track ovulation until November and I never got my LH surge on ovulation kits but my cycles are 37days so it’s hard to track! Tracking again this month and hoping for the best. The doctors told me it can take a little while for cycles to settle down after surgical intervention as they take so much tissue away. Hope you’re resting

@Holly0609 @ImmyJ36 thanks both for sharing your stories. Sorry for your losses too.

Sounds so varied for everyone and seems like it can take a couple of months for things to return to normal. The official guidance is periods should return 4-6 weeks but most people I’ve asked have said it’s taken them longer.

I've had 2 mmc's, surgical management for both.

First time period came back after 8 weeks, next time it was over 3 months.

I agree with a pp in not bothering tracking for ovulation. I did this both times and got lots of peaks which I've since found out were not related to ovulation but my body readjusting.

Take some time to heal.
Losing a baby is the worst thing in the world.

@AnnieStar12 My recommendation would be not to test so soon after the surgery - it takes a little while for HCG levels to drop and you can end up obsessing over the tests and whether the lines are getting fainter. When I had my surgery I was told to wait 3 weeks and then take a test - I decided to do one after 2 which was still faintly positive, so I left it for another week and got the negative at 3 weeks. I got my LH peak the day after that and my period returned two weeks later, so 5 weeks and a day post-surgery.

Sorry you’re going through this! It took about 6-7 weeks for me. Bizarrely, my first period came before the tests faded completely. I haven’t used OPKs yet as we’re not TTC for a bit. Hope all goes well for you.

Just jumping on this thread a few days late. So sorry for your loss OP and others on thread. It's just really shit. How are things going?

I'm currently 16 days post medical management for MMC at 10+3. I did an OPK at 12 days post MC and it was blazing positive. Decided to do to a pregnancy test the same day which was a middling strength, so assumed it was left over pregnancy hormones that was giving the positive opk. I never get more than one day of solid smiley so when I got another blazing positive opk the following day I was convinced it was the pregnancy hormones giving a false positive.

I did another opk today which was negative which was reassuring as it means things are moving on in whatever way. I'm still spotting and been advised not to dtd until it stops which is a bit frustratingbut I get its to prevent infection. I'm going to keep monitoring cheapy opks over next few days and see what happens. Maybe we'll just be trying again after my first period. I'm 39 and keen to crack on.

@Bumblesbee84 sorry for your loss. Yeah it is frustrating not knowing what’s going on in our bodies or when we’ll return to normal
cycles. I’ve been used to very predictable cycles until now so am finding this time of uncertainty about ovulation etc very difficult as we’re keen to try again as soon as possible.

I’m now 12 days post surgery. I’ve done OPKs once a day for the past 4 days just so that I can monitor what’s happening. They have all been very strong positives so assume that’s my hormones still being all over. I checked a pregnancy test today and it’s still positive but much fainter than before so at least that’s moving in right direction.

I’ve stopped bleeding now so we have started DTD again as we don’t want to miss a month. Think we’ll just try every few days to hopefully catch this ovulation whenever it happens!

The pregnancy we just lost took us a almost a year of TTC, and in that time I’ve turned 40
so I feel like every month counts now.

@AnnieStar12 I'm the same as you, always have very predictable cycles usually. That's so hard when you've been trying for a while. Was this your first pregnancy?

It's good that your pregnancy test is going in the right direction. I'm going to hold off until next Thurs when epu told me to test I think. Even though I knew it would be positive, it really threw me seeing the positive PT last week. I did another opk today at 17 days post MC and definitely negative again. Like you, I had positive opk at 12 days too.

Good that you've stopped bleeding, my spotting is still carrying on. Annoying. We really want to keep on with ttc too, not sure if I'll miss O this month or not. Time will tell!

@Bumblesbee84 hopefully you'll peak soon on the OPK and you'll know where you are then, and hope the spotting stops soon too. Fingers crossed for you! Yes, we were also told not to DTD until bleeding stopped which makes sense, but must be annoying if it isn't stopping! My hospital told me to go back to EPU if still bleeding more than 2 weeks just to check for any retained tissue.

Sounds like previous posters on here also got positive OPK early on which were just down to pregnancy hormones. I know people suggested not testing for a while, but I actually find it reassuring seeing what's happening in my body.

Sounds promising to hear that your early peak went down - I'm hoping that'll happen to me as it's gone from very high levels of LH to just high levels.

I still find it all a bit confusing, and can't find any formal medical advice about tracking ovulation post MC. From what people are saying a high reading in the early days is normal when your body still has high HCG, but then I presume once that all settles down you peak again as usual when you actually ovulate?!

No, this wasn't my first pregnancy. It was actually my 5th! First three were my three children, never had any issues with conception before this year. And then my 4th pregnancy in April ended early around 4.5 weeks in a chemical, and this 5th one was MMC at 8.5 weeks. What about you?

@AnnieStar12 I'm hoping the spotting is just part of the process for me. Sorry if tmi, I passed the complete sac as part of medical management and the placenta the following day so feel fairly confident it worked. But will def call epu though if PT is still positive on Thurs when I'm due to test. Yes, I'm assuming the same re ovulation that tests will start to go up again and that will be actual ovulation!

This was my fourth pregnancy. First was MMC at 9 weeks (blighted ovum), second was DS who is 2, third a late chemical/ early MC at 5 weeks in August just gone and then this one. So like you, just had 2 in a row which is horrible. My sis is a gp and she said she expects it's probably just bad luck as odds of MC are higher at my age and all my MCs have been different. Who knows. I've decided to look into options re recurrent miscarriage clinics near me in the event we have another. Might sound strange but it helps me feel a bit more in control to have a plan. The lack of control over the success of pregnancies feels so cruel to me.

@AnnieStar12 just updating you, hope you’re doing ok. Time seems to go so slowly when you’re waiting for the next cycle. Finally ovulated last week, so that’s after 3 months which is roughly what the doctor told me it would be after surgical management. In the 2 week wait now, hoping for some positive news just before Christmas without getting hopes up too high x

@ImmyJ36 so glad you're body is back on track - good luck, really hoping you get some good news for Xmas! Keep us posted :)

So can I ask, does that mean you've not had a period at all since your miscarriage in August?
I've been told if I don't have a period by 6 weeks after surgery to go back to the hospital. Like I said above, I am finding it all a bit confusing as have heard a few people say it took months before they got ovulation / periods back, but then the doctors told me it can also be as little as two weeks. I guess we're all just different and our bodies will take different amounts of time to readjust. Just want this limbo stage to be over!

@AnnieStar12 after my first MMC at just over 9 weeks it took 28 days for my period to return, so almost like a normal cycle. I didn't track ovulation that time. I'm assuming it'll be a bit longer this time as bleeding has lasted a bit longer. I was on a support thread for previous MC with several ladies and it seemed to vary between 4 and 8 weeks for periods to return. So definitely quite varied. My spotting really seems to be tapering off and think I've seen a bit of EWCM which I usually get a few days before ovulation so hoping ovulation might be on its way!

@ImmyJ36 good luck with this cycle! Fingers crossed for you.

@AnnieStar12 @Bumblesbee84 thank you both! Really trying not to hope too hard.

@AnnieStar12 so I bled after the surgical management 22nd August until mind September, then had a very light and super short period beginning of October with no LH surge when I used OPKs. I had a long cycle of 37 days until my next period in November which was more ‘normal’ in terms of amounts of blood, and then ovulated day on CD29!! So abit all over the place which they told me is normal for up to 3 months then it should settle down.

one thing to mention is my cycles have always been irregular- so I might not be the best person to base your time line on, but I hope that makes you feel some reassurance that you’ll ovulate! Probably sooner than I have if youre normally a regular period girl!
This all happened to me a week before my wedding, so the stress of that has probably also not helped my cycles settle very quickly.

not sure if that answers your question! Hoping you’re feeling ok. I felt really low mentally for a while and still do occasionally but talking to people really helps me - as does mums net just reading other people’s stories makes me feel so much less alone. Xx

@ImmyJ36 thanks for sharing your story and timeline. Sorry that happened right before your wedding, that must have been tough. And glad things sound like they might finally be getting back on track for you, what a rough few months you've had!

I checked today (16 days post surgery) and my LH has now finally gone right down, and the pregnancy test is still positive but only very very faint now - I'll check again in a few days as hopefully it'll be totally gone by then. And then I will just keep up the OPKs to see if I ovulate any time soon..

I'm so sorry for your loss. My first miscarriage I had a negative test 3 weeks post surgical management, this time was 2 weeks. I didn't ovulate until after my period came back (4.5 weeks after surgery both times) and then it was basically a normal cycle for me x

@moosey89 sorry for your loss and thanks for sharing your story.
Maybe a stupid question, but how can you have a period without ovulating? I thought you only had a period after ovulation?!

@AnnieStar12 it's possible to have a anovulatory cycle where you don't ovulate.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21698-anovulation

If you want to get technical, a period can only happen when you ovulate (so you're not wrong n at all), but you can still have a "bleed" (which is basically the same as a period) and this for me after my surgery essentially was a reset if that makes sense? You can go through life technically having a regular looking cycle but never ovulating, however that would be pretty rare I think!

@moosey89 thanks, that is interesting! I feel I’ve learnt so much about reproductive biology this past year but seems there’s always more to learn, haha!

Can I ask how did you know it was an anovulation cycle? Were you doing OPKs daily?

@AnnieStar12 yep I took them from the day I got a negative pregnancy test and never got near peak. I've also had other cycles where I've had progesterone day 21 bloods done and they also showed it was unlikely I ovulated a couple of times. They never say never without a scan though as hormone levels are such a personal thing, but just makes it less likely. And yep I've been the same, learnt so much! Haha

@AnnieStar12 got my BFP this morning! Felt rotten all week so knew something was going on! Hoping this baby sticks 🙏🏽
sending you all baby dust, have a relaxing Christmas x

Oh wow!!
Big congratulations 🙌 and what a lovely Xmas gift. So guess that means you got pregnant on first ovulation post miscarriage which is also fantastic!

I think I might be ovulating as my LH levels dropped right back down to base line levels earlier this week, and then yesterday started rising and I got that CM discharge. I’m not 100% certain as everything feels a bit different to normal, and levels aren’t quite as high as they’ve been in the past at a peak stage. I did a pregnancy test yesterday and it was very very very very faint still. But given all those signs we’re just gonna regularly DTD and hope for a miracle in the new year!

@ImmyJ36 aw big tentative congrats, that's really lovely news. Everything crossed for a sticky been for you!
@AnnieStar12 all the best with this cycle!!

@AnnieStar12 @Bumblesbee84 thank you both! Yes first normal cycle success! Hard to be as excited as the first time, almost preparing myself for the loss again already which is so sad!

@AnnieStar12 best of luck with this cycle, sending love x