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!

I think it is safe to say that I'm pregnant.  A very cautious whoohoo! I will have my first ultrasound on March 6th and will be using a few of the Detect5 tests between now and then to make sure my hCG is still rising appropriately.  I'm starting to get a teeny bit excited!

Right around the time I fell in love with taking pregnancy tests I also found a new favorite hobby, pictures of pee sticks.  Some people have catalogued files of pictures of their children and while I also have that, I have files and files of pee stick pictures on my computer.  Every time I put the card into my laptop to upload, there is a box that I check that deletes the pictures from the card. 

This morning I caught some precious brotherly love moments on camera!






They were so cute that when my in-laws came over this morning, I popped my memory card into the Wii so that they could see them without making everyone huddle around a computer.  Smart right?

As I looked up at the computer screen I started to panic, but realized it was too late to hide it.  I tried to act so casual as my mother and father in law saw about 30 thumbnail sized pictures of pee sticks.  Well done.  Well done.

But anyway... I wanted to show you guys a couple of other pictures of the Detect5 Pregnancy Test but didn't want to clutter up the giveaway post.  Which by the way if you haven't entered, you should!  If you did enter, don't forget that you can tweet about it everyday for extra entries!  Anyway... I digress... Onto the pee stick pics!

I am playing with Answer/FRER to see how they compare to the Detect 5

Who doesn't like to pry apart a pee stick and see the guts?

That's it.  Nothing monumental.  Just a couple of my thousands of pee stick pictures. :) 

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On 1/3/12, I received a 10,000 mIU/ml shot of HCG, the same hormone that a pregnancy test is designed to test for.  It's purpose is to trigger my ovulation in an effort to make it easier to time things better for conception.  One of the "perks" of a HCG shot is that it will give you a false positive pregnancy test until it leaves your system. In order to know when and if I get a true and real positive test, I test routinely so that I can know for sure when the trigger shot HCG is gone and hopefully the HCG produced is because a baby is on board.
In the last cycles that I did this, I used simple cheap test strips and watched the lines get lighter and lighter until they eventually were negative.  While this approach works in theory, it was mind numbing to use a qualitative (yes/no) test to try to tell me a quantitative result (how much or how little HCG was in my system). 

So when I came across the Detect5 Progressive Home Pregnancy Test, I was in shock and awe at what this little pee stick could tell me!  It is designed to tell more than just IF you are pregnant!  It tells you, within a range, how much HCG is in your urine.  For many people a simple yes or no will do, but for anyone that has had a miscarriage, lived with infertility, or needs reassurance that a pregnancy is progressing, this test is worth every single dime. 


When the box arrived I could hardly wait to tear into it and start testing.  I opened the box and saw not only the Detect5 pregnancy tests, but cards that very clearly showed how to interpret the results of the test.  There were even disposable pee cups in the package 'cause if there is one thing that POAS (peeing on a stick) has ever taught me, it is clearly label your pee cup or hide it well!  Finding a family member rinsing their mouth out with a pee cup is not cool!  These totally eliminate (no pun intended) this as an issue.


I am pleased with the actual size and width of the test.  Each strip is a thick test strip (not the super skinny difficult to see ones) and the case was easy to handle and use comfortably.  There is a plastic window that helps to prevent the issue of evaporation lines.  Overall, a very well built and quality product!  I dipped the test the full 15 seconds it recommends and waited for the results.  The instructions say to read the test at 5 minutes after the control line showed up but the test was not done processing to interpret the results until closer to 10 minutes.  At 15 minutes it was even easier to see the lines and to see that they had color.  At 60 minutes (well after the time limit) the lines looked nice and dark but there was a questionable line now at the 500 mark. Several hours after the test had been dipped, the line was clear at the 500 mark.  So... I recognize that the directions say to read it 5 minutes after the control line shows up but the results are so different now that the test has dried. Watch the slide show to see what I mean!

Detect5 Home Pregnancy Test - Slideshow

Even with the varied results that sort of evolved over time I am still in love with this test!  I love that I can get a much better idea of where my HCG levels are.

I will be using a new Detect5 test every 2-3 days to see the HCG going and then hopefully... coming!  Just for consistency's sake I will take pictures at the 60 minute mark so that the lines will hopefully be easiest to see.  Please note that this is not when the test is designed to be read but, I am kind of a free spirit when it comes to pee sticks!

1/7/12

1/9/12

1/11/12

1/13/12

I think it is safe to say that today's test is negative!  Anything from here on out I think we can call a true positive.  I have loved watching the trigger leave using these tests.  They have been able to definitively tell me that the hcg level was going down.  Hopefully in a couple of days they can also tell me that it is going up!  To Be Continued....

1/15/12

I will be posting my test pictures as I use them over the next week and a half and adding them to this post so check back to see the progression!  In the meantime... how would you like to try these tests out for yourself?!

If you are eager to get your hands on them right away Buy Them Now!

Feeling Lucky?  Two (2) lucky winners will win three (3) Detect5 Progressive Pregnancy Tests.  That is a $53.85 value!  This giveaway IS open world wide and Early-Pregnancy-Tests.com is going to pay for shipping* too!  Giveaway ends 1/22/12 so don't wait!

*If you are outside of the US you WILL be responsible for paying any duty that your government might apply to the shipment, but still... pretty awesome if you ask me!!!  

**Disclaimer** I was provided these tests at no cost for my review.  This did, in no way, sway this review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own! 

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