Beta or bust?

Canuck13

Is anyone going this route? Give me arguments for and against testing before beta...my office does betas 12dp5dt. I'm at 8dp5dt now...arrrrgh! I don't know!!

LO95

Well, I am feeling horribly depressed this morning.  I am only 3dp5dt, but I've already decided it hasn't worked because I feel exactly the same as I have felt every other month I've gotten a BFFN.  (@jencity9 How are you doing?) I will definitely POAS before my beta because my beta is scheduled for a work day and I just don't have time for bad news hitting me at work.  I know more than a few people who have turned a pee stick at 8dp5dt, so I would probably do it... Or, actually, I will be doing it myself...

pblge

Hope you don't mind me posting. I have always POAS, and I find it helpful. As @LO95 says, I just can't handle getting the news at work when I have no idea what it's going to be. POAS gives me some time to process slowly, as opposed to being hit by a truck. The first BFN you think might be too early, but you start to prepare yourself as the BFNs keep coming, or at least that's been my experience.

There's always the chance that you'll get a positive and then it will turn out to be a chemical. I personally would want to know this, as it's informative, but the roller coaster may be too much for some. FWIW, I also only use the cheap Wondfos, as I can justify obsessive POAS for 33 cents, but not for the $5 each for the FRERs. Your clinic tests pretty late IMHO, so I wouldn't be able to wait that long.

As the feelings I've had about whether or not it worked have been wrong pretty much every time, so don't worry about that!

Aimothy

I've never made it beta or bust. I needed the time to slowly process and be prepared for "bad" news.

 Also.  EVERY thing in our journey has been determined/decided through the doctor's office.  I wanted this one moment to feel like a "normal" person who got to pee on a stick in the comforts of her bathroom to find out if she was pregnant or not. 

LeggyJeggy

I've never done beta or bust either. I find the pain easier as I get a BFN each day. I usually would start testing 7dp3dt. That being said, I will do beta this time because I want to hold on a little longer. I always get AF prior to beta anyways too.

CMH25

I also test before beta, but not before 7dp5dt. I need to process the bad news privately before the nurse calls me. One time I had a BFN at home, but the nurse called and said, "Congrats!" I then asked the beta and she said 12. She was new and clearly shouldn't have been telling me to celebrate. It ended as a CP. I feel like that would have been worse if I didn't already know it was bad news. Good luck!

jencity9

@Canuck13‌ You and I are almost the same! I am 8dp3dt and they do their betas at ER+17 which was 8/22 but I actually requested to change to Saturday 8/23 so I don't have to deal with that at work. I am going beta or bust. I am so over the experience of a negative home test and never want to deal with seeing a white little box again. I am looking at the beta as jut another procedure/test... Like all the other b/w I would get the E2 level. Obviously this is THE one but I will still get a beta number and if it's too low, I will make my next appt for a consult and treat it as part of the process. Either way I would be devastated, but for me doing it at home would be worse. I am certainly feeling impatient though.

@LO95‌ I'm sorry you're feeling depressed today. I have had moments where I felt horribly depressed and other moments where I feel more resigned. I have briefer hopeful moments but those are fewer. But as for symptoms, when I did IUIs I had some cycles with symptoms and some with none and all were BFN. And I've read people who had BFPs- some had symptoms and some had none. I feel like there is just no way to know.

The other argument is I've heard people who had negatives can still be positive at beta so that would be unnecessary stress and if it is positive then you have to worry about how dark the line was, etc.

calbiz

I am not sure if I will test or not. There are no tests in my home, so steering clear of 'that' aisle when I inevitably step in a drug store is going to be hard. H does not want me test early, good thing it's not him who ultimately decides!

My beta is on Thursday and unlucky for me, I am scheduled to facilitate a training that day. Maybe POAS Is not a bad idea for me . . .

LundleBean

***Warning

I was beta or bust my first cycle and I was so afraid to hear bad news, I cried and cried waiting for my blood draw, then had to wait for the call (I called them 15 minutes before their time limit for calls).  It was negative and even though I'm a pessimist and kind of expected it more than not, I was destroyed by the news.

My second cycle, I tested out trigger, felt really low on those negative test days, then had relief and some wonderful happy moments with DH as we stared at squinters and watched them darken until beta.

This, my third cycle, I poas'd several times, and all have been negative.  I had my blood draw today, and will not be answering my phone.  I am in a better state than my first cycle, as I've been processing this all week.  I've been googling the chances of it being positive despite my negative hpt's, but I know I'm out.  It will hurt when I hear the words, but tonight I will indulge in some of the things I've avoided while cycling and tomorrow I will try to discuss moving forward with MH.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

alpCRNA

I chose to POAS and was really glad that I did.  When the nurse called we discussed the meeting the RE and embryologist would have and set up the WTF appointment.  I don't think I would have been able to make it through the phone call without ugly cries if I didn't already know it was going to be negative.  I agree with PP it gave me the ability to start processing the BFN on my own time.

LundleBean

Thank you, @IFinTN

ashlee

@lundlebean (((Hugs)))

I don't plan to POAS, because the trigger always, always stays in my system WAY past when it is supposed to. It is awful getting super faint positives two weeks after my trigger that are always just the trigger. So this time I plan to just wait for the beta. I took an even higher dose trigger than my previous cycles, so I am super afraid of false positives on the home tests.

Sigh202

I went beta or bust last time and will never do that again. That results call was so much worse because I had given myself false hope. As disappointing as a BFN is, I'd rather know before the call.

airidh80

Last time, I tested the morning of my beta. That way, I knew the trigger was gone, and I knew the result would be accurate. The day of my first beta, I got a light positive, but my beta came back at 12. So the morning of my 2nd beta, I tested again, and got a negative. So I knew what was coming later that day.

I suspect it helped me be prepared for the call, but at the same time... I was miserable that whole day. 

Pintobean39

@LundleBean‌ I'm so sorry ((hugs))


Who am I kidding, if and when I ever get to that point I will be peeing on everything, like a dog.

Sunny B

@LundleBean I'm so sorry

 

We were Beta or Bust. It was a little tough, but I'm glad we did it. I went back and forth between believing it worked, and thinking it didn't. I don't think anything makes the news that it didn't easier. I am glad we waited because I got to be hopeful for some extra days/hours.

 

We will be Beta or Bust again, but I'm thinking that it will be tougher this time.

LundleBean

Thank you, ladies.  Sorry, I wasn't trying to take over the thread, just found this very relevant at the moment.  Thank you for the support.  It means everything.

@Canuck13  Good luck on Wednesday!

Canuck13

@LundleBean‌ I'm so sorry about your loss and bfn thanks for the input on the topic...and the gl

AMShark

@LundleBean - ((hugs)) 

I don't think I'll ever be a POAS girl.  

My clinic told me not to, and I'm one of those people that feels much more at ease when I follow the rules.  And I never got the chance during IUI, b/c AF always came right on time.

It might go back to my hopeful, naive days, when I started using ovulation predictor kits, and they never, ever showed that I was ovulating (apparently, I don't produce enough LH for that test).

My beta is tomorrow morning.  I'm working at home in the morning, but then I'm headed to the airport for a flight that will carry a whole lot of my co-workers.  I'm just hoping if I am crying, I can make it to my seat unseen, and just let it go there.  (Oooo.... good reminder to me - put extra tissues in the carry-on).

I think I prefer being PUPO for as long as possible.  Pull the wool right over my eyes - I'm happier here.  I like the hopeful feeling - which has been way too fleeting for my tastes.

Canuck13

@AMShark‌ I really, really hope you get positive news before your trip tomorrow! GL!!!

Sunny B

Good luck @AMShark!

alpCRNA

@AMSHARK Good luck tomorrow!