Two Week Wait Day 8: To Test or Not to Test

Two Week Wait Day 8: Tuesday, March 1, 2011

It happens every cycle. I have testing fever. Until today I've been able to kind of stave off the testing urges by using a surrogate - my thermometer. Remember how I have had an actual fever since transfer? And how I was worried about it at first? Well it has since become my friend. I've decided it means I'm pregnant after doing extensive research on a couple of message boards where some women said they had elevated body temperatures throughout their pregnancies. And so I feed my testing addiction by taking my temperature about every 20 minutes - and I'm SO not exaggerating about the frequency. I've now begun to worry when it dips below 99.0. What has this process done to me!??

Though temperature taking has helped me prolong my abstinence from test taking, its effectiveness is beginning to wane and I now have a different kind of fever (no, not Bieber Fever) - testing fever. I have obsessed about it all day and have done what any hormone-crazed Two Week Waiter does: internet frenzy. I have practically set up an IV drip of www.countdowntopregnancy.com where you can find charts on the risks of false negatives for each DPO (number of Days Past Ovulation) and www.peeonastick.com where you can find the sensitivity levels for every brand of test imaginable. Once I had exhausted my test research (keep in mind, I do this EVERY cycle, so its not like I'm even learning anything new), I moved on to that elusive beast: early pregnancy symptoms.

The problem with early pregnancy symptoms is that they are mostly a fairy tale. A fairy tale which every single woman trying to conceive believes in at least a little. The truth is that in the time period before your period is due, its really too early to be experiencing much in the way of definitive pregnancy symptoms. And on top of that, early pregnancy symptoms mimic PMS symptoms - so there is almost no way to tell whether your sore breasts are a sign of a bun in the oven or a foreshadowing of a visit from Aunt Flo. AND on top of that, pregnancy symptoms vary widely from woman to woman and even from pregnancy to pregnancy in the same woman. For instance - here is a sampling from a list of possible pregnancy symptoms I found on Countdown to Pregnancy:

A feeling of abdominal fullness          A feeling of abdominal emptiness

Increased appetite                                Decreased appetite

Depressed mood                                   Feelings of elation

Hot flashes                                             Chills

High energy                                           Fatigue

Constipation                                          Diarrhea

Acne breakout                                      Decreased acne

Sleeplessness                                        Vivid dreams

Dry mouth                                             Increased saliva

 

Ack! No wonder I'm going crazy! I think I have decided to try and go one more day without testing. Maybe I'll get inspiration for what to do during my vivid dreams tonight....or maybe I'll be sleepless - I'm confused.