How do you stop yourself going mad - testing

[missingthemidlands]

Hi - I’ve been trying for a baby for about eight months and my period was late so I tested. Was due on on Tuesday, tested late on Wednesday and got the line for a positive test.

I haven’t been able to stop testing since. I’m probably doing two a day and today I had a very faint line (but I’d also done about three wees in the hour before as I’d been at the pub drinking drinks - obviously not alcoholic ones). I know that the line will be faint if you wee too often.

I don’t feel like I’m able to enjoy this or feel excited. Is there anyway to stop feeling like this? I don’t have anyone to talk to about this apart from my boyfriend and he doesn’t massively understand. I don’t have any friends who’ve had babies yet so I can’t ask them.

Do you continue testing for reassurance that you are pregnant? If yes then I would caution that, that isn’t always a good indicator as I had a D&C last year due to missed miscarriage and I still tested positive 2 weeks later.

When I got pregnant again I want to the GP and they pulled blood and based on the value of HCG they could say if things were progressing as expected which calmed me. Perhaps you could do the same?

Yes I’m looking for reassurance that I am pregnant. Every single time I get even a slight cramp or a weird feeling I’m convinced it’s because something is going wrong.

Thank you but I think by the time I actually got to see my GP I’d know one way or the other anyway!

I did this a lot when I did strip tests - are you doing those or a digital? Once I do a digital and read the word 'pregnant' it's allowed me to stop worrying. It sounds harsh and I don't mean it to be but if something bad happens early on - there's nothing anyone can do to stop it so it's best to try and relax and remind yourself that stress is bad for you and the baby. I check every time I go to the loo but other than that I stopped worrying because it's out of my hands for now. After my first baby was born sleeping I went through months of testing daily, lots of money, emotional stress etc and nothing happened outside of a short lived chemical. Once I relaxed and sorted myself out I fell pregnant and had my second daughter. This time around I haven't bothered to get myself worked up, what is meant to be will be ❤️ congratulations also - I'm about 4-5 weeks with my 3rd and doing my absolute best to be as thrilled as I can be, hoping the best for you too 🥰🥰

Probably controversial advice, but if you can afford to, just keep testing. There is very little in this process you can control. The line on the test strip is one of them, but taking the test is something you can control. If it gives you comfort to check in, if it helps with your anxiety to test, then just pee on the stick.

People will tell you that the darkening of the line isn't intended to track pregnancy development and maybe they are right. The line doesn't guarantee a healthy progression or that your baby is developing correctly in your body, but if in that moment all you need is some sort of sign that things could be alright in there, just take the test.

Your final cue to stop testing is when the test line can't physically get any darker than the control line, but even then, if you still need that reassurance until you have your scan, just keep testing. It's a handful of weeks of you doing something you know is probably very silly, but if it helps you to feel like you have control over something in this very scary process, then the simplest thing to do is just test.