Are these 'Dye Stealers' ?

[TrishyLou1111]

As the title says, really.

I'm 6+2, I already have HG and feel like I'm dying. (Drama, I know), but I saw someone use the phrase "dye stealers," and I wondered if these tests make the cut?

Also, has anyone ever had severe HG early on, and it's been linked to multiples?

Thanks in advance

I think the idea that dye stealers mean a high HCG level is a bit of a myth. They are definitely strong positives, but a home pregnancy test like that isn't a quantitative test, it's binary.

You can get a bit of a sense of line progression if you're right on the cusp of getting a positive, and you see faint faint lines get stronger over the days. But it's not a straight case that a darker line = more HCG.

But also even if it is, 6+2 a standard HCG level is several thousand mIU whereas the sensitivity on those tests is something like 25 mIU. So not necessarily a sign of multiples.

Thank you for your reply..

Very informative x

As Pp said. Pregnancy tests are yes or no. Not to be negative but most women test positive sometimes for weeks after they’ve had a miscarriage. The tests aren’t indicative of progress.

With reference to the HG, I was signed off from 5+1 with it and I work in Obstetrics. Lost 9 stone through the pregnancy with all the puking... had a fair bit to lose anyways but not like that 🤣 One of my colleagues (a consultant) actually prescribed me cyclizine and gave me injections at work for the first week but then got worse and I was given off the entire pregnancy. I'll pregnant when son was 5 months old (despite being on the pill and exclusively breastfeeding) and wasn't sick once or any nausea the entire pregnancy with my 10 month old daughter... funny how the body works ain't it 😅

Isn't it just.

I was signed off the whole pregnancy with my daughter. I also work in obstetrics, but I don't remember it being this terrible so soon. I lost a considerable amount of weight too, and I've already lost 5kg in the last week. It's madness.

I'm already on cyclizine and prochlorperazine, and they just don't touch the sides! There's no other word for it other than miserable.

You read things on here and just think.. I wonder, haha. Like who invented the term 'dye stealers'.

I disagree with this to a certain degree as test lines do become stronger if you are an early tester, especially. There is line progression as you reach the end of your cycle, and pregnancy technically begins, which does indicate a rise in HCG.

Well when I tested for pregnancy (later found out it was twins), the test turned positive as I was peeing 😅 (it was a day or so after missed period). I was a bit surprised at the time, but with hindsight realised must have been the hormones!

Good ole prochlorazipine saved my arse from 8 weeks til 12 weeks... then stopped working and I jumped on the antiemetic roundabout for another attempt of them all and thats how the pregnancy continued between that and day admissions for IV fluids all over the place. I feel for you, its bloody awful and I sincerely hope the minging HG calms for you soon and you can enjoy the rest of your pregnancy ❤️

Oh gosh, don't haha 🙊🙈 mine do the same and have done since 12DPO.

It's misery, isn't it.

Nothing works at the moment, and I can't keep anything down. The thought of swallowing even my own saliva sends me into revolt, haha. I say, haha, and I'm not laughing.

I've got some dippy sticks. I'm gonna check my wee and may have to go for some fluids. The joys! Thanks so much, though. This is my final baby, so hopefully I will have relief at some point! Xx

Yes but I have also read so many threads from women absolutely breaking their hearts with worry because their tests are slightly lighter than they were the day before, or have stopped "progressing" once they have got past the squinter phase, and they went on to have healthy pregnancies - no reason to worry at all. (I totally understand why they did, and am not criticising looking for info in these horrible "limbo" weeks - I 100% get it - I had early miscarriages.)

You are probably right that extremely faint > matching control line > so strong it "steals dye" from control line are indicative of different hCG levels but it is just not that sensitive a tool, and even if you have a singleton pregnancy, the hCG level at 6 weeks is so much higher than the threshold of the test, it would not be unusual to get a "strong" positive - and equally, if you don't get a "strong" positive at this point it's not a reason to worry.

If you do want an idea of your rough hCG level the digital tests will display this if you look up the thresholds - but again - very very inaccurate tool - don't use one if it's likely to make you worry.

I used to obsess over this site a lot, and it shows you the normal levels and how much they can vary:

https://www.babymed.com/normal-hcg-blood-level-by-week-during-pregnancy
Does a fast-rising hCG signal twins?You cannot diagnose a twin pregnancy just from the hCG. There is no sufficient scientific evidence that with twins there is always a faster-than-usual rise in hCG. Normal hCG values can vary up to 20 times in normal pregnancies. Variations in hCG increases are not necessarily a sign that the pregnancy is abnormal or that there are two or more fetuses.
Normal amount of serum hCG levels by weeks
3 weeks: 5-50 mIU/cc
4 weeks: 4-426 mIU/cc
5 weeks: 19-7,340 mIU/cc
6 weeks: 1,080-56,500 mIU/cc
7 - 8 weeks: 7,650-229,000 mIU/cc
9 - 12 weeks: 25,700-288,000 mIU/cc
13 - 16 weeks: 13,300-254,000 mIU/cc
17 - 24 weeks: 4,060-165,400 mIU/cc
25 - 40 weeks: 3,640-117,000 mIU/cc

It's definitely very interesting.

In previous pregnancies, I had had the lighter tests too at 6-7 weeks but was fortunate enough that I never worried about it. Just took the positive for positive. I do see how it makes people a wreck, though, especially those TTC for months and months.

I was more curious as to who came up with the "dye stealer" phrase and why they did.

Ah, no idea who came up with it originally - I have seen it used a lot on TTC forums. I think the idea is that it has "stolen" dye from the control line. I guess it probably comes as the opposite of very faint positives/squinters. Like there was so much hCG that it attached to all the dye particles and there weren't as many left to attach to the control line, so the control line looks lighter in comparison.

This explains how a pregnancy test works which might make that clearer. (Actually this is interesting because I thought the horizontal line on clearblue was the control, this suggests not).

https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/creating-the-amazing-engineering-the-future/0/steps/65276