Should this be darker 19 DPO?

[Rachlovex]

Hello!

whilst typing this I realise I may be losing my mind , but comfort is what I am looking for! This is pregnancy number 2 and I honestly thought I would be more calm and collective and my lil toddler would keep my mind off every small detail!

I took an Asda home brand test today (after having multiple positives and week indicator now at 2-3) but wanting to keep an eye on my Hcg levels!

should this not be solid by now? Or do I need to stop reading and calm down!

thanks
r x

Yes I think the blue amazon ones were roughly 18-22/23 dpo in order, then the pink premom one was also yesterday at 23dpo.

I’m just so worried mine appear to be getting lighter today. I’ve done 3 so far 🤦‍♀️ need to step away but it’s driving me insane!

I think the Amazon premom pregnancy tests are supposed to be more indicative of progression than some of the others, so might be worth ordering if you feel you are going to keep testing regardless.

I know it's no guarantee of an ongoing successful pregnancy but for me it's helped to see that my tests are at least in line with the expected levels for my DPO.

A positive is a positive, regardless of depth of colour.

Anecdote rather than data, but I never had a strongly coloured pregnancy test in any of 5 pregnancies, including a twin pregnancy. Three of those pregnancies I carried to term and healthy babies, two I lost before 12 weeks.

Try to relax and stop testing. A positive is a positive.

Hi, I know this is an old post but I'm currently having the same melt down over my 19 dpo progression line did anyone have any positive stories when they had no pregnancy symptoms and the test line was clearly visible but not as dark as the control line at 19 dpo? I had symptoms with my last pregnancy which ended in a chromosomal mmc, and I'm sure the test was darker last time too, didn't take pics because I was just naively happy last time, but no symptoms with this one.

To those that say stop testing, I'd have never known so early that I was having an ectopic pregnancy if I hadn't been testing daily. EPAS thought everything was fine, but then checked my bloods which were showing in numbers what my tests were doing. Had I been willing to go down the line of taking methotrextate it could have been dealt with very quickly minimising risk and damage and allowing me to continue ttc once my folic had recovered. So no, it's not a final diagnostic tool, but yes, it can give you information you don't otherwise have.

Oh hah, just saw this is an old thread newly commented on. nm.

Did you have any symptoms of the eptopic if you don't mind me asking? I think I'm imagining pains now. And what treatment did you receive? I've been the Drs for bloods today.

Thanks

Hey @NeatZebra the first sign was an extremely early positive and that it was way stronger than other folks tests comparatively. This wasn’t an ivf pregnancy but we were about to start treatment and the clinic warned it could be ectopic given the early test. I’d been trying to get blood tests but it was proving difficult, then one night I woke up in terrible pain and felt v sick. I did have a bowel movement, but i subsequently learned that bleeding from the ectopic site can irritate the bowel. The scans showed some heanorrhagic areas in the tube but the pregnancy was still too small to detect. I opted for surgical management, was prepped and in a bed waiting for emergency surgery when a bigger emergency came up, and they said I was well enough to wait at home overnight as not actively rupturing. By the morning my hcg showed signs of decreasing, and they let me do expectant management. It took a long time and a lotttt of blood tests but both mtx and surgery have their own recovery times so it felt like the right choice for me, especially as I was about to do IVF. From your message above, is it just that you’re worried your line isn’t progressing? It was the combination of issues that ended up having my epas see me, you may have a totally good outcome! Good luck with your bloods, I hope it’s good news.

Ahh thanks for the info, I'm glad you were able to do expected management and didn't have to have an op or the meds, they both sound like really scary options. I don't have any cramping or bleeding, just right ovary twinges on and off, sometimes lasting about an hr. I've had the odd twinge in the other one but not as much as the right one. I was mainly worried over line progression as my last pregnancy (which ended up in a loss late in 1st trimester) the line was dark immediately about 16 dpo. My tests this time are taking about 30/40 seconds to show, and progression doesn't look great. On 20 dpo (yesterday) the test was significantly lighter than the prior days, I did 3 to check, all first thing, and today it's the darkest it's been, around the same as the control line, so my anxious brain has obviously been googling and it looks like it could be in line with an eptopic. But the symptoms seem so varied for everyone so I will just have to go quietly mental while waiting for bloods 😣 x

Ooft @NeatZebra i feel your pain. My previous pregnancy was also a loss, mmc at 10weeks. It’s what made me feel matter of fact about testing progression. I mean, there are sooo many variables with pee sticks that can absolutely account for the fluctuations in some situations, but like, my first MMC was steady and clear progression, no stalling and no second guessing. Right on cue my digital tests would go up a level. My ectopic bloods showed extremely high progesterone (like 109) for how early I was, and my hcg was further ahead than it should be, but it would stall, then double, then stall… then thankfully began to fall on its own. It’s so strange going from being desperate for cells to divide to being desperate for them to stop. I’ll say this, I was a little fearful about the surgery, but if you catch it early (like you’re doing if indeed it’s ectopic) then The surgery like mine can be very quick, smooth, keyhole surgery with very little interference with your body.

even while hcg is dropping you’re always at risk of rupture, so it was a tentative wait. Our grass grew like a wild field because I couldn’t drag the lawnmower out the shed due to being careful not to strain my abdomen! Just take it nice and easy while you wait for second bloods. All this is hopefully needless worrying, but if not, you’re in a really good place to be catching it early (and you can ask me anything!)

(Sorry dp was talking to me while I wrote that, I made it sound like I had the surgery but I didn’t in the end)

Yes same here I think once it's happened you know what to expect and there's no point in false hope. Ive convinced myself it's not normal either way, as I was the same with my mmc, took about 3 tests, all looked great, I had no idea anything was wrong and was having a lovely time but heart stopped a few days before the 12 week scan, no symptoms. I know this time can't possibly be as horrendous as last time. If you don't mind me asking, how did you get on with the IVF? I'm going to ask to go on the list of this goes the way I think it will to take things out of my control a bit. X

Yeah the aspect of being under medical guidance feels (to me) v nice after so much of what felt like a shot in the dark. My only two pregnancies have been spontaneous but I’ve had three rounds of ivf, pregnancy 1 after round 1 failed and pregnancy 2 after round 2 failed. My own personal experience with ivf is difficult only becuase I have very low ovarian reserve, so where some women get many eggs, my body made 3, 1 and 5 in my three ivf rounds, so I’ve never had anything left over to freeze, and have implanted two embryos without success. But wow, having evidence of what your body does is fascinating. And ivf itself (for me) has been fine really, and that’s with very high stims. My second pregnancy would have been due on my 40th birthday this winter coming, so I was convinced it was meant to be somehow. Was in round 4 this month but it got cancelled and I’m starting again when I get my period. Do you have time on your side?

I hope the next one works out for you, it's really not fair what some people have to go through. Yeah at least you get more of a picture of what's going on with your body and know when implantation etc is. Are you in the uk? IVF cost a fortune here but you get one or two goes for free depending where you are but the waiting list is long. I don't really have time on my side, I'm 37, been trying for a year. Prepared for the worst for my bloods but hopefully some miracle will happen! I'm hoping if it's another misscarriage they will investigate me more quickly. X

Yeah uk for me. I did get two nhs treatments. And now we’re in a v expensive 3 cycle package. Cycle 2 got cancelled this month so I’m waiting to start again. Where abouts are you? I was 37 when I first got approved for ivf on nhs, but I had terrible interruptions health wise that made the wait soooo much longer. How are you getting on?

I'm in the uk too. It shouldn't be capped as the number of kids people can have isn't capped, it's just not fair. My bloods look good so far thank God, it proves the tests aren't actually that accurate as my 19 dpo was actually quite high and my line wasn't the strongest. Have to wait a couple of weeks for the scan now 😖 stepping away from the tests and forums as I don't want to jinx myself/ drive myself mad. Wishing you all the luck in the world for your next cycle 💞 xxx

Ahh that’s great to hear @NeatZebra . Totally understand the stepping away. Feel free to update me in a few weeks, I’m here rooting for you!x