Until tomorrow morning...Easy at home 20DPO.. opinions please

[Anon1983fox]

Hey,
I've had a lot of losses in the past and so I understand that a "line is a line".. doesn't always work out.

Has anyone experience with the Easy at Home brand please? I had dark lines on a FRER a few days ago.

This was 5pm urine but I'm pretty sure if I'm 5 weeks pregnant that the line should be showing darker and at any time of day. Nothing to compare it with yet but whilst I sit anxiously for tomorrow... has anyone had similar looking lines? (Sometimes cheapies take a while to go dark.. I dunno..) Or maybe it's starting to get lighter and hcg dropping Xx

@Rowen32 I wanted to but it was really hard to get a private appointment in my area! (GP wouldn't do it) So I've opted for a scan this Wednesday instead.

I'm hopeful that all is well.. and this thread can provide reassurance to those who worry about lighter than expected tests. X

My FRER this morning compared to 2 days ago. It's progressed a little bit but I wouldn't say looks like it's doubled.
5 weeks 3 days today. I'm still anxious that my hcg is probably too low for the gestation... will test this tomorrow at my scan. (They give measurements/ the sac and yolk can only be visualised over a certain level of HCG)

Please, put the tests down. HCG should be doubling every 48 hours but this does not equate to your test lines doubling in darkness in that time. The tests aren’t designed to get darker forever. A blood test is the only way to know if your HCG levels are doubling.

You’ve got a great, strong positive line - you’re pregnant! I hope all goes well at your scan tomorrow.

I hope all goes well at your scan tomorrow OP.

Hi OP,

I'm so sorry to hear about your previous losses and understand they are making you feel extra anxious but my best advice here is to stop testing!

You have a positive test and you are currently pregnant. Tests aren't designed for the constant repeated testing and none of it can tell you if the pregnancy is viable or not.

I've read people on here who've never got past 2-3 weeks on a digital and never had a dye stealer but go on to have a healthy pregnancy and others who get the darkest line you could imagine then unfortunately miscarried a few weeks later - there is no way of knowing.

You will drive yourself crazy with this

They're looking really good, OP. I'd be really pleased with the FRER. Multiple loss and frequent tester here and it is looking good to me so far. Keep us updated.

OP, are you being looked after by EPU, given your history?

Thanks everyone x
@Isthisrealomgwow I am.. I'm armed with Clexane, progesterone and baby aspirin too.
A total bag of nerves for the scan tomorrow. Even though I've got the dye stealers.. I just can't help thinking that I'm in the 5th week, and most people get them in the 4th week.

All I can think of is them telling me (again!) that it's measuring a week behind :-( x

It's a tense time.
In my experience, the prenatal mental health midwives are a brilliant resource. I had a call once a week where I dumped my anxiety on them (rather than hubby who was also an anxious mess). If you have them in your area they are worth shot.

I've had my scan and it's exactly what I thought unfortunately. It hardly measured 4 weeks.. an absolutely tiny sac and sonographer said not viable due to my first pregnancy test date/ period. Not possible to have ovulated any later or implanted later.

I hope this post helps someone that it really did help me to track and manage my expectations. I knew what was going to happen and it gave me an element of reassurance rather than dealing with a shock.

Pregnancy test lines do indicate a hcg level and get stronger as the hcg increases. If a test line is faint after your period is due and you're sure on dates.. don't let anyone tell you a line is just a line. Xx

I’m so sorry OP.

@Anon1983fox
So sorry. Completely agree about test lines. I'm currently having a chemical. My test lines weren't as strong as I'd like so I continued to test every other day or so then saw them fade to stark white. I knew it was coming so could mentally prepare. It's so sad 😞

I'm really sorry to hear this @Itonlytakesone. Big hugs xxx

I'm really sorry OP. Very surprised they were so definitive at such an early stage though. A week out on imaging isn't really anything at this stage, they're so small. Private sonographers usually won't commit to anything and the NHS usually likes two scans a week apart to confirm a non-viable pregnancy. Hope you're being looked after one way or another.

Thanks @SErunner . It's because I got my positive pregnancy test on 27th Dec and sex date was 17th Dec. So given hcg appears on a test 6 days after implantation.. the absolute earliest I could be today is 5 weeks 4 days.
And she said the sac would definitely measure more, even if yolk sac wasn't visible. X

I'm so sorry OP. I think those who haven't experience multiple losses cannot possibly comprehend the benefits of tracking HCG on sticks. Yes, there are various reasons why a line might get lighter or darker on different days, of course, but in general, you know what you're looking for. I'm so sorry you were right. X

Hello, I'll continue to update this thread until the outcome is reached.

I'm now 6 weeks 3 and had a follow up scan today. It's measuring 5 weeks 4 days.

So from the faint lines and poor progression... it continues to mirror the scans as behind. I remember saying on the day I missed my period, that the line should look a bit stronger. It always felt that the tests were a week behind where they should be compared to the ones with my son/ others I saw online.

We'll see. Still expecting a miscarriage as the outcomes aren't great for a week behind.

Oh, wow, OP. What a headfuck for you. When will they scan you again?

If you haven’t tracked ovulation then you can’t be sure of your dates… and HCG shows two days after implantation, not six. I’m actually fairly hopeful for you. The measurements are so very tiny at this stage that to be measuring X number of days behind a date that you’re not actually sure of may not necessarily be a bad thing. Good luck and keep us updated 😊

@TheQuietestSpace absolutely!
@Shalley thanks.. where did you see 2 days please? I've read so many medical journals and can only find the earliest being 6 days for showing up on a test. That does sound hopeful x

Did they see yolk sac or fetal pole in your scan?

@Itonlytakesone they saw a yolk sac, no pole. Said everything measured 5 weeks 4 x

I’m not sure which medical journal would state that HCG takes six days to show after implantation as it’s wrong… perhaps you have misread?

Once the egg is fertilised, the embryo makes its way down the fallopian tubes into the uterus, all the while developing into a blastocyst. By day 5/5dpo (occasionally day 6), it has reached the uterus and is ready to implant into the lining. This can take another 24 hours.

Once the embryo has implanted, HCG starts increasing and will go on to double every 48 hours, or thereabouts. It only takes 48 hours for the HCG level to show up on an early pregnancy test, such as those that have a 10iu sensitivity.

Easy at Home is considered to be a trustworthy brand (FRERs were withdrawn from high street sale a couple of years ago due to faulty second lines).

(Edited to remove question about if you had tested today as I got my threads muddled up!)

I think there's a misunderstanding here between ovulation and implantation

Perhaps, although you wouldn’t be able to get a positive pregnancy test at 6dpo either!

There is a lot of literature out there from fertility websites that say ‘don’t test until two weeks after ovulation’ (which is also what IVF clinics tell you to do - official test days are ridiculously late!) but this is simply so that if you test at that point, visibility of a second line will be definitive. It doesn’t mean that you can’t test at 48 hours post implantation and detect a faint second line.

There’s actually a chart that shows average HCG levels each day post implantation and you can see how quickly a test at certain sensitivities would pick it up. Let me see if I can find it..