Let me start this post by saying what I love about the Detect5 Pregnancy Tests.  I adore what they are trying to do.  They are designed to help you have some peace of mind that your beta hCG levels are rising which often indicates that a pregnancy is progressing.  Many women who have had trouble trying to conceive or have a history of miscarriages will have blood tests performed 2-3 days apart to show that the amount of hCG is doubling every 48-72 hours.  When women don't have that offered or want to be reassured after those first couple of blood tests, these tests can help to show that you levels are rising.  In the case that they are not, you can call your doctor and let them know your concerns.

This pregnancy, my 11th pregnancy with only 2 children, my blood test results were a bit above average and rising well.  I was very reassured by that!  But when those blood draws were done, I was stuck in the waiting game.  I had had betas that started out okay before and not had things end well.  A few days after my blood draw if 349, I was needing some reassurance that all was okay in there.  I pulled out one of the Detect5 tests that I had stashed away since last year and used it thinking that I should see a line on the 500 line.   This result was what I needed to see:

Then I waited almost a whole week to use my next Detect5 that had just arrived from the wonderful people at early-pregnancy-tests.com.  I was fully expecting that my levels would have passed the 2000 mark.  It is very important to note that the tests that were sent to me are a newer version of the test.  They are read differently and contrary to what every woman would expect.  The first three levels are read the exact same way as before with two lines being positive for that level of hCG.  The 2000 and 10,000 levels are read as positive if only ONE line shows up.  So, I was hoping for just one line at the 2,000 level.  This is the result I had at 5 minutes:


I was so confused.  I thought for SURE that my levels should have been positive at 2,000.  This is when the freakout began.  I saw lines.  I shared pictures with my online secret support group.  They saw them too.  Then the tests dried.  The lines started going away.  By that night, the lines at 2,000 and 10,000 were practically gone.  Both of them.  What does this mean?

That Evening

 I emailed people.  I stared at the tests.  I scoured the internet for other people's experiences with the tests and I was coming up empty.  I panicked a little and called my RE and asked for another blood test.  My result the following morning was a perfectly healthy 4,632.  Crisis averted.

I was really bothered by that test.  I was so scared that my levels weren't climbing anymore and started over-analyzing my symptoms (of which I have few) and was starting to think that things were heading South.  I had to think long and hard about using another one today.  I was mostly just wanting to see a clear positive result on the 2,000 line this time as I was SURE that at this point my levels should register on the urine test.  This time, after assuring myself that no matter the results I would NOT freak out, I got this:

Remember that no line means positive.  This picture was taken at 5 minutes and clearly is positive for both the 2,000 and 10,000 line.  But... here's my thing... If 4,632 showed as negative on the 2,000 line then even if I am just at the 10,000 level it shouldn't be positive on the urine test yet.  Ahhhhhh!  So confusing!  But I would rather be testing higher than have a questionable result on a lower level again.

So overall the Detect5 tests have the right idea.  I am just not sure that they are accurate enough to be completely reassuring to someone who doesn't have the option of requesting an additional blood draw to verify.  But if blood tests are not an option and you really want some sort of verification that your levels are rising, these tests might do that.  They might not.  If you want to experiment and use these tests, do so but please please please do not assume the worst if you don't get the expected results.  If you are concerned about losing symptoms, bleeding during early pregnancy, or cramping, a call to your doctor will leave you with more answers than any pee stick. 

I am trying to break my pee stick habit.  My First Response tests are maxed out and the test line can't possibly get any darker but I did have some of the Detect5 tests left over from last year so what is the harm in peeing on a test that helps to verify that your beta levels are rising and therefor that your pregnancy is progressing normally?

Tuesday I used a Detect 5 test thinking that my levels should have been at the 2,000 mark for sure.  That test didn't confirm that.  But, eh.  It was a test from a year ago that had some pretty consistent reviews that said they had issues at the 2,000 and 10,000 levels.  So, no big deal.  No freakouts.

I used a brand new, revamped, redesigned Detect5 where they had obviously tried to improve the accuracy because the new test is read differently.  (I plan on doing a whole post dedicated to just the Detect5 tests and my thoughts at some point.)  When I used that test, and read it when and how I was directed to, I started my freakout.  It was pretty clearly indicating that my hcg hadn't reached the 2,000 level.  For those of you who aren't familiar with hcg levels the brief explanation is that the number is supposed to double approximately every 48 hours.  That doubling time does slow down a bit after the initial weeks of pregnancy but it is a fairly good indicator of a pregnancy that is progressing.

My level should have been clearly over 2,000 at this point.  So after staring at that test, emailing some people, having little panic attacks and over analysing my behavior and symptoms over the last week, I called my doctor.  I explained what had happened and asked if I could one more blood test to determine if my pregnancy was ending or not.

I went first thing this morning and got my results back at lunch time.  They were at 4,632.  Perfectly in line with what would be considered normal.  Freakout: officially over.  So I am back to patiently waiting for my appointment on Thursday to hopefully hear a heartbeat.

Deep breaths.

Deep breaths.

Deep breaths. 

As a girl with a long history of miscarriages, there is nothing better than being able to know that a pregnancy is heading in the right direction without leaving the comfort of my home.  This is especially the case in those first weeks before anything can be seen on an ultrasound.  Since I knew that hCG needs to double every 2-3 days I was able to monitor my hCG levels even after my doctor stopped following me with blood draws.

My first blood draw was 53.8 so two days later I knew that it should have been at about the 100 level so I used a Detect5 to see if that was in fact the case. 

What a relief!  The next morning my blood levels were 157!  Then just as a girl with a history of losses tends to do, I was over analyzing those two numbers.  Were they good enough.  They were normal but was it high enough?  What better way to confirm that things were fine?  A few days later, I used another Detect5!

Whoohoo!  My hCG was at least 500 so it was still doubling right on schedule!  It really put my mind at ease for another couple of days.

Being able to monitor those levels really helped me remain calm and reassured me that things were headed in the right direction.

Unfortunately, just having a pregnancy start out really well doesn't mean that it always ends with a baby.  After an abrupt loss of symptoms, spotting, and cramping, it was confirmed on Friday that I did miscarry.  Even so, I was happy to have a way to give me peace of mind in those early days.  I will absolutely use more of these tests with my next pregnancy!  I pray that next time, I get to see the lines all the way at 10,000 show up!