Stick vs. Cup & Other HPT Fun

After my ten day trist of having almost every pregnancy symptom in the book, yet negative HPTs, I feel as though I've learned some valuable lessons:

1. A negative test, even a full week or more after a missed period, is not always correct. (It's not over till the fat lady sings...and we all know which lady we're talking about).
2. Testing with a cup has it's merits.
3. Don't understimate your gut feeling.

(1) This was a long week for me. Or, perhaps, "epic drama" is the right description. When it comes to my period, I'm usually right on time. Even the first month after stopping the pill. When I woke up the morning it was due and saw no signs of it, I was immediately excited. This was unusual. The day went on...nothing. The next morning came...still nothing. Time to break out the first HPT! I had First Response Early detection tests, which claimed to detect pregnancy up to six days before a missed period, claiming a 90% chance of detecting the day of a missed period, and a 97% chance of detecting within a week of a missed period. I was one day late; drum-roll, everyone! First test result??? .....Negative..... "Ok", I thought, "it's still early, no big deal, I'll just wait a couple of days and try again." Two days pass, I go out and buy some more tests and try one in the afternoon (after holding it for about four hours). .....Negative..... "Ok, I guess it's still just too early. This is frustrating, but surely, by Wednesday morning (two days later), it'll be positive, and I'll be able to surprise Thane on our anniversary. It'll be perfect timing!" Wednesday morning comes, surely this was it! ....Negative.... "What the heck is going on?!" That was my last First Response test. Luckily, a friend had given me some of her leftovers, the Early Pregnancy Test brand* that you get online, the pee-in-a-cup kind. I had never tried those, so it was something new. They were supposed to detect the lowest amount of hCG of all the tests on the market (20mL), so surely it was going to work. Afterall, I still had no period, and was experiencing most of the tell-tale symptoms. Tested Thursday afternoon; ...Negative.... Sigh. I wasn't sure what to think at that point.

Maybe I was just having a very unusually late period. Maybe the sore breasts and dizziness and fatigue and the increased trips to the bathroom were unrelated. I scoured the internet, searching for answers. Some women reported that they didn't get a positive test until weeks after a missed period, and some never got a positive at all, despite being pregnant...could I be one of those rare cases?

I took another on Saturday morning; ....Negative.... "Or, wait...wait a minute! What is that extremely faint line I see, one minute after the five minute time limit? Could this be it?! Darn, I don't know, it wasn't in the time limit, but there's an extremely, extremely faint line! Especially when I hold it in certain light!" (I was running all over the house, utilizing every available light source). The directions said to disregard any line after the time limit..."do I follow that rule or not?" I rushed over to Foodland to buy a digital, but of course it happened to be the one grocery store in existence that doesn't sell HPTs. So I rushed back home, and decided to try one more test (with the same sample, the benefit of the cup). Same result; a faint, faint line, right after the time limit. I was going crazy at that point. "Do I take it as a yes, or a no? Do I just go ahead and assume I'm pregnant, given all the factors, or not?" I settled on "no", and attempted to put it out of my mind.

After that, I had one test left. I figured I'd better give it some time before trying again. Sunday evening rolled around, and after a really relaxing dinner and walk with Thane, an opportunity arose. He headed upstairs to take a shower, and there was my chance. (See Finally, Two Lines! We're Pregnant! for full story). If I got a positive, there'd be at least a small element of surprise for him. I felt like Charlie Bucket, putting all my hope into finding that golden ticket, except all I wanted was a line on a stick so that I could officially go to the baby-factory...was that too much to ask?! It was my last chance. (At least before making another trip to the store). I said a little prayer... "Lord, if I'm pregnant, please, please give me a second line right away, so I know to take it as a yes...if not, please just show already, so I can stop kidding myself..." This was it; cup ready, test dipped, stopwatch timer on my phone started (the time limit could make or break it). I laid the test flat on the sink and watched intently as it started working...

A second line! And it appeared immediately this time, even before the control line appeared! Thank you, Lord! Praise God for answered prayer.

(2) So, after week of taking what felt like a hundred HPTs and seeing so many confusing and frustrating negatives, I gained some insights concerning hCG levels and stick vs. cup. First, even though you will read that you'll have enough hCG in your system to detect pregnancy a week after your missed period (at a 97% accuracy level with most HPTs), you may really be a part of the 3% who doesn't. So, if you're getting negative tests despite other strong evidence that you are in fact pregnant, don't give up hope. Again, it's not over till the fat lady sings. Second, the cup method, in my case, was the best. It allows you to gauge whether or not your urine is concentrated enough, by how light or dark the color is, and it also allows you to re-test immediately, instead of having to run to 7-11 for a big gulpe to fill that bladder again. So, for future testing, I believe I'll be sticking with the cup. That being said, it's clear that the stick seems to work great for most women. And maybe my next pregnancy won't be so elusive. But after this experience, I'm pro-cup!

(3) You can't know for sure until you know for sure...but, trust in God, lots of prayer, and allowing myself to believe what my instincts told me (when I wasn't caught up in a moment of doubt or frustration) definitely helped me through the long wait for confirmation. And it brought me to ponder how in the world women did this before HPTs? They just had to wait to either get their period or grow a huge belly. I have way too many modern conveniences to be impatient.

* http://www.early-pregnancy-tests.com/3pregtesstri.html