FRER not getting any darker. driving myself mad.

[iamadaftcoo]

hi, hoping someone can help. I am 19 dpo, AF is 5 days late. I tested positive at 10dpo 2 days before AF was due and got a faint positive. Tested again a few days later and the line was darker and got 1-2 weeks on cb digital. Tested again today expecting line to be as dark as control line at least but no joy. It is a definite BFP, not faint, not a squinter, but it is about half the darkness of the control line. It looks about the same as the test I did 2 days ago. so I did a CB digital expecting it to be 2-3 weeks by now (as CB test on day of missed AF said 1-2 weeks and I definitely ovulated on May 4, confirmed with temps). But it is still 1-2 weeks. I am really worried I will miscarry. can anyone help. and yes my wee was dilute. I don't use fmu as I wee a lot in the night so my afternoon wee is better.

sorry should read 17dpo not 19!

Hiya

I understand why you're worried but my pregnancy tests (for dd and ds) both took ages to darken- they were squinters for a couple of weeks. I think my hormone levels must be at the lower end of the scale.

Hopefully you'll be the same way! If it helps i found the most reliable tests to be tesco cheapy ones.
Fingers crossed for you

This is totally normal! And I think you're being silly.

The line might not get darker. It doesn't have to be as dark as the control line to be a positive.

The CB digital tests are notoriously bad for keeping up with the 'weeks'. Personally I think they should be banned!

You are pregnant. You've had a positive result. A faint line does not mean that you will miscarry.

Forget what the line looks like, a line is a line.

I have never seen a control line the same colour as a test line!

And I think you're being silly.

I have an anxiety disorder, thanks for making me feel shit :( I know I'm being silly.

Step away from the tests! I say that having done at least 12 in the 2 or 3 weeks after my BFP. No good will come from comparing line strength or weeks on CBD. Line strength can differ for loads of reasons - amount of dye available, concentration of your wee etc. If the line is there, and the words say pregnant, you are!

I even had the digi go back the way from 2-3 weeks to 1-2 and convinced myself it was all over. I'm now 28 weeks. It's sooo hard, but try not to obsess about tests. Don't do any more.

congratulations

OP - FernGullysWoollyPully's post was not meant to make you feel like shit, I read it as being quite reassuring!

Don't be upset, you have a positive pregnancy test, stay focused on that and stop POAS.

iamadaftcoo - you are not being silly and that comment was not meant to hurt you but i understand that if feeling anxious you are more vulnerable and sensitive.

how about trying to focus on what you do want rather than "ifs" if just for the next hour.

think about your baby inside and relax your body from head to toe. you are pregnant and at the beginning of a wonderful journey.

go onto you tube and search for pregnancy relaxations, listen and relax to one. book an app with your gp and explain your anxieties and they can do another test to confirm. dont do any more yourself if you can.

take care and congratulations x

Thank you number3

Op I wasn't trying to be insensitive. I know what it's like to be anxious and I meant what I said in the nicest possible way.

My test lines were never as dark as the control line either. I only ever took 2 tests though, one normal one the day AF was due and one clearblue digital to see how far along it said I was.

the darkness of the test doesn't mean anything in terms of whether the pregnancy is viable or not. it means you are pregnant, congratulations!!!

there is nothing you can do to control what happens, so just relax as much as you can, be as healthy as you can, and remember that the chances of it being fine are way higher than not.

OP I will give you a giggle, whilst TTC I bought a job lot of cheapy preggo tests from ebay.

I got my BFP early from and FRER test, did another one the next day, followed by a CBD.

I carried on doing the cheapy tests until they ran out when I was about 9 weeks pregnant

For the first 8 weeks they didn't show as positive, but even though I knew I was (and had a scan!) I felt the need to keep trying!

Oh Christ, how I wish those stupid tests had never been invented!

lama, congratulations!
FR tests are 'semi-quantitative' which allows them to make their vague predictions ('1-2 weeks pregnant' etc), they are NOT quantitative which means the line will NOT get darker day to day.

My advice to you? Particularly if you've had anxiety issues before?
Stop testing.
Today you are pregnant, enjoy that knowledge.
The rest is in the laps of the gods or luck or whatever - stop feeding the anxiety by testing and retesting. It may be hard for you, but repeated testing will just make you feel worse.

Best of luck with the rest of your pregnancy

sorry, I was being over sensitive. I get told I'm daft a lot so I am defensive about it!

No no don't worry, my fault for saying it in the first place.

As pacific said, please stop testing. Your only achievement is feeding your anxiety.

Right now you need to relax and start enjoying your pregnancy. Congratulations

I didn't get a darker line until I was almost ten weeks when I did a random teat due to paranoia. Otherwise the only tests I did were on the day I found out, one normal and one digital.

Definitely step away from the tests, it makes the anxiety worse. If you are really worried you could book a private early reassurance scan at around nine weeks, that's what I did.

Op, you are expecting the lines to get darker because at this stage of pg, hcg levels significantly increase (up to double, but not necessarily that much) every 2-3 days right?

What you need to bare in mind is that at 17 dpo, the levels may well be increasing, but they are increasing from really really low levels, to ever so slightly bigger, but still really low levels And that is perfectly normal!

In these early days while the levels are still naturally quite low, the timing, hydration levels and other natural fluctuations, plus the inherent variations in the test sticks, mean it can be nearly impossible to see a clear darkening yet. If you take tests daily for the next three or four weeks (take it from a poas-addict - I'm not recommending this as a course of action - just an example!), you would see a general trend of darkening lines, but even then, there would be variation (yes, I am speaking from experience, God bless my bank balance ).

Early pg is such an anxious time, but your test lines at this stage mean nothing other than you are pregnant! Congratulations!

thank you for your nice responses everyone, and sorry for getting stroppy. I don't have anyone who really understands how anxious I get and I get told to just get on with it a lot, so I am over defensive and I'm sorry to take it out on you!!

I think I am going to try hard to step away from the tests now, I have one FRER and one CB digi left that I will ask my DP to hide from me.

I have booked myself an early scan so I can hear the heartbeat, that will help break the 12 weeks up a bit!