HPTs, OPKs, and betas- my experiment pics

[karmab]

here's my chart: http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/2caf4e

i got a bfp yesterday, at 9 dpo (per advanced and fam, although research method would put me at 10 dpo.)

here are yesterday's two bfp's:

this one in the morning (but not fmu) with an internet cheapie http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/t...os/mdc/004.jpg

and this one early afternoon with an answer er http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/t...os/mdc/024.jpg

i had bloodwork done yesterday afternoon: beta 12! progesterone 32 (yay progesterone!)

today, i took another ic, and an opk. here they are side by side. the ic is darker than yesterday's, and the opk is... surprisingly, arguably pos! of course, i don't know my beta today. but interesting about the opk- i mean, how high could the beta have gone overnight from 12? so this is 10 dpo (or possibly 11):
http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/t...os/mdc/021.jpg

[Blanca78]

Karma! I love the pics for comparison's sake. And guess what...I just took another test (afternoon) and it is darker than the first...I only have a cell phone to photograph it with so it's all blurry but in real life it looks like yours from yesterday morning. Maybe a tad lighter, but pretty darn close...EEEEEEEEEEEK.

Sorry to thread hog. Just had to spill.

[karmab]

yippeeee!! alright blanca! that's awesome.

[Blanca78]

Thanks! I'm still not ready to call it for absolute sure (I'll wait for tomorrow) but I don't see how it could be getting darker without a pretty good reason for me to join you in the April/May DDC!

[bcblondie]

Love it!

[Kinza]

[ZoeJane'sMommy]

Congrats Girls!!! Thats awesome and thanks for the OPK testing for prego tests. Now I know what to do if I run out of prego test!! LOL

[karmab]

the only thing with opks is, there is definitely some ambiguity, since they are designed to measure lh. lh, and i think fsh and also hcg (i think especially the alpha subunit?) are all almost identical in structure, just that lh and fsh are made in the pituitary and hcg of course is made by the blastocyst. i still think hpts are better than opks for testing pregnancy, but i always thought your beta would have to be high for an opk to go pos, but with this one, i can't imagine it's higher than 20 today, at 10 dpo, you know? but i think it's interesting.

[bcblondie]

OPKs mainly measure LH (unless you get those fancy clearblue smiley face ones) and HPTs measure HCG. These molecules look identical except hcg has an extra little do dad. Imagine LH looks like a little man, and hcg looks like a little man with a hat. OPks test for the little man, so they pic up both. HPTs only test for the hat so they only detect hcg.

Like you said, if you get a progressing line on an OPK like I am, it could go both ways. It could simply be varying LH (or other hormones, if they detect those) but it could also be HCG which is what I'm hoping mine is.

My beta at 11dpo was 21. So yeah, prob under 20.

[finnegansmom]

Karma, I don't think the hcg has to be *that* high to get a + OPK - they definately aren't as sensitive as HPTs for sure. but maybe it's the 20-40 range? I used them when I was tracking hcg on the way down after my loss in feb - there was a short range when I got see a super faint + on hpt but was getting a clear - on opks...

I used one with my last pregnancy at 13/14 dpo and it was VERY VERY positive.

Are you getting another Beta today?
My first beta this time was at 15dpo and was 332 for reference, but at 9 dpo the line was so unbelievable faint it needed photoshop to see...
so alot can change fast.
good luck!

[Tulpen88]

I just wanted to pop in and say CONGRATS to you, karmab!! I haven't been keeping up with the One thread recently, so I didn'tknow about your BFP. Congrats!!!

[Maurine]

Congrats, Ladies!!

[karmab]

thanks, ladies. i dont have another beta scheduled right now, im playing it by ear. i really only got that one because of the p4 issue, but it was 32 at 9 dpo, so that was awesome! my doc just switched me back to supps again, so i may ask for another one in a week or so to check and make sure those work for me as well as the oral did, which is what i was on for the first 10 dpo this cycle. i probably wont have an ob appt until 8 +wks, so i would definitely want another beta sometime soonish anyway, just in case, i dont want to be on progesterone for the next 5-6 wks if there is a serious problem, which i might not know about because of the p4 keeping things quiet, ykwim?

[bcblondie]

That's a great prog! Mine was the same (31.6 I think) at 8dpo they cycle I got pg.

[finnegansmom]

well if you're not going to have another beta drawn, I guess you can dip into your TTC stash and use up those HPTs. It's much funner to see +s than -s.
I will wait patiently for the progression pics.

[karmab]

i've got about a bazillion opks, but only 1 ic hpt so i want to wait a little while i think with that, and then 1 digi- which i didnt know i had or i would have used it at 9 dpo because dh looked at both those first tests and said, awww honey, im sorry, so you're not pregnant? and i said, i am- see those lines? and he said- what lines? he really like couldnt see them or something. strange. to me they were screaming positive! but i did just do an opk. i was hoping it would be extra blaring. it's not, but it's pos without hesitation, and i think the other one i did, really in person, it was positive with hesitation, about a 9.7265 out of 10 pos, and i think this one is a 10 out of 10. i still am real... maybe scared isnt the right word, but i am praying to God without ceasing that this is a healthy and sticky baby.

fm- when you got the faint bfp and neg opk, does that mean a snow white opk or just a not positive?

[finnegansmom]

Originally Posted by karmab

fm- when you got the faint bfp and neg opk, does that mean a snow white opk or just a not positive?

It was just not positive, I've never had a snow white OPK. I was using IC OPKs compared to IC HPTs and some $ trees. I actually posted a question on here about the overlap in - OPK versus + HPT (knowing I fullon had HCG in my bloodstream). Here is the link, maybe some info in it for you.
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...400&highlight=

I would be buying some tests. For whatever reason, I went full on crazy with the HPTs this time around.... I was really nervous too due to my age and my recent MC so seeing the lines get darker helped a tiny bit.
I hope everything is smooth sailing for you!

[Blanca78]

Originally Posted by finnegansmom

It was just not positive, I've never had a snow white OPK. I was using IC OPKs compared to IC HPTs and some $ trees. I actually posted a question on here about the overlap in - OPK versus + HPT (knowing I fullon had HCG in my bloodstream). Here is the link, maybe some info in it for you.
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...400&highlight=

I would be buying some tests. For whatever reason, I went full on crazy with the HPTs this time around.... I was really nervous too due to my age and my recent MC so seeing the lines get darker helped a tiny bit.
I hope everything is smooth sailing for you!

FinnegansMom, I forget, are you the one who was worried because your pregnancy tests weren't getting darker, but then it turned out to be fine?

(Sorry to threadjack again, Karma!) My internet strips aren't any darker today than they were yesterday, though my Answer this morning was crystal clear. But then I am only 10 DPO.

[karmab]

girl, you can thread jack any time you want! always welcome!

fm- you know prior to this ttc, i have only taken 2 hpts in my life. 1 with child #3 when i was 1 day late, and 1 with child #4 when it turned out i was 8wks or so. i cant believe how many opks and hpts ive blown through in the past 7 or 8 months. phenomenal. and i'm not even a poasaholic. or maybe im in denial? where is the no stressor thread these days?

blanca- i know you know this, but like they always say, hpts cant measure levels, really. even though it is a good sign generally if they get darker, it is not a bad sign, necessarily, if they dont. there are so many variables from how hydrated you are at any given time to how sensitive that particular test in your hand is, which may be different from any other test even in the same pack, right? especially when we are dealing with very very small quants here! but i know that's easy to say and harder to do, because of course i am in this same situation, very early, very cautious, very very very hopeful and the uncertainty is awful. we will all help each other, and it will be ok. it's a little like when do i put away the thermometer. ug.

and i just have to tell you ladies something funny- ff doubled my pregnancy points after i entered the bfp- to 16! what does a girl have to do?

[Blanca78]

Thanks, Karma, you are good at talking me down! I took another this morning and it's definitely there, still, though about the same lightness (it's maybe a smidge darker). I might buy some Answers later to set my mind at ease but I guess I'm calming down. I definitely feel like something's up--breasts super sore, etc.