Before you instantly go to the "she's obsessed with pee sticks" let me explain...
So my plan tonight was to update my blog with my 5 week symptoms. But first because of my unrelenting paranoia, I decided to stop off at the store and pick up some hpts since I hadn't peed on anything since my 2nd beta on Saturday.
The above picture captures the following: (from the top) two sticks of pure torturous panic (taken this afternoon) followed by a sigh of relief (3rd stick) followed by two sticks of research content (4th and 5th sticks). Let me explain further.
I purchased today's hpts at the lovely T*rget. Thinking I was so great because I saved a coupon from the last box. Coupon my ass...they are going to owe me a lot more than a coupon come Monday morning when I call up the lovely First Resp0nse company and chew them out.
I continued home and peed, knowing that although it's end of day it might be a little diluted but also knowing that my hcg levels should be fairly high that I can get a positive no matter what time of day.
Low and behold one...I repeat...one line. What the @#$%!!! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!! No spotting, no bleeding, no major cramps...what the hell!!! I mean it was white, white as snow...just one line. But then I look again. And notice...it's the control line that is missing. Are you kidding me? I reread the directions a million times and all it says is that two lines means you're pregnant. And I clearly have only one. In a panic I pee some more in a cup and dip the second stick. Same thing. Even the directions on the stick show that the control line is on the right side. I start bawling...this can't be happening. Not even a faint line????? I call mr. sushinut who happens to be on his way home from work and sob over the phone a request for him to pick up another hpt. I choose a different brand this time. He obliges and knows the drill...just remain calm. We've been through this before.
In between staring blankly at the tv and freaking out intermediately I sip more water so that I can pee again when he gets home in 20 minutes. In honor of Juno I'd have downed sunny d if I had the stuff and didn't hate it so much.
Finally he arrives. I shove the two "negative" pee sticks in his face and by now I've gotten out the two from last December's miscarriage #2 (yes, I keep them. And have had to label them by numbers as well as dates because after awhile a whole bunch of dates don't mean much - pathetic and sad I know) I explain in a desperate sad way how it's clear from the previous sticks (which show the test line a very faint) that the control line is always on the right. Why would it be on the left this time? And if it was still on the right why didn't it show up??!!! I'm frantic. Mr. sushinut agrees that I should test again but after looking at the sticks looks doubtful. He then starts asking questions about how long it took for my hcg to fall after miscarriages before. It's clear that it most likely takes more than a week and I might still even have a faint if I did start to miscarry after my super fabulous beta on Sat. I also refer him to a great review article on dr. google that confirms that the control line for this brand by the author is on the right hand line. Although no mention of this is found on the directions. I'm still freaked out/
Soon after I'm done jabbing all the past pee sticks into mr. sushinut's face, I'm ready to pee again and off I go.
Just the fact that I can pee every 20 minutes should say something about whether I'm pregnant or not, right?
And the result is stick #3 from the top. Instant line. Even from my diluted sample...at the end of the day. The tears leave as quickly as they came and I feel relief again. I still have my sushi baby. And a reminder of how quickly things can be taken away. 1 week exactly until I have my ultra sound. Oh please sushibaby hang tight...
So ummm if you're ever in the market for a pee stick...I would skip the First response brand. It's obvious they can cause unnecessary panic. Just my personal opinion.
4 comments:
I had a bad experience with a First Response test earlier this week!
I had been testing positive since Saturday and watching the lines get darker. That was how I convinced myself it was real - if it kept getting darker.
Well, on Tuesday, the top half of the test didn't work. So, my results were lighter, but so was the control line. The bottom half was darker for both lines. Which I could reason was a half faulty test, but still irritated my plan for a perfect set of ever darkening lines.
I checked the expiration date, an I had just bought the tests on Monday, so I see no excuse for this obvioius problem in quality control! Good luck with your disgruntled call!
((((HUGS))))
When I got pregnant with LG, my hpts we weird too. It was wal-mart brand, both tests we not-negative, but they also didn't show up positive. I didn't actually believe I was pregnant until I saw and heard his little heartbeat. At the time I didn't know to request a beta.
Yes, I do believe that since you can pee every 20 minutes, that is a good sign.
You definitly need to complain to the company. There is no reason the control line shouldn't show up.
Hang in there!
Oh gosh, what an unnecessary ordeal. I'm so sorry! I've always had great luck with those FRERs, but I guess nothing is foolproof.
Anyway, hooray for Sushibaby (or Sushibabies)! Hope this is your last scare, ever.
I know this is a bit late, and congrats on your twins. But I wanted to let you know what happened with your FRER. Its because you had so much HCG in your system that you test line took up all the dye and didn't leave anything for the control line. I've seen it happen to other women, so that was a very good sign and you just didn't know it at the time!
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