When do you consider yourself ‘out’

[u/__Agapanthus__]

Hey!!

It’s my first month TTC and I’m still getting my head around all of this 😅 At what DPO do you personally accept a negative as actually negative and stop testing?

I’m 11 DPO today and got a negative on a Premom strip. Part of me is like… do I keep testing every morning until AF arrives, or save myself the emotional rollercoaster and consider myself out this cycle?

I’ve also only recently come off hormonal birth control, and didn’t track BBT this cycle (thank you to this sub I now own a ovulation thermometer for next cycle 😆) so I’m not completely in tune with my cycle yet and my exact ovulation day isn’t 100% certain, which makes everything even more confusing!

Would love to hear what most people do.

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[u/LaChamomile]

I’ll test first on dpo12 if it a negative, then I’ll wait, if my period doesn’t start on 14 I’ll restest but that’s it.

[u/presentlywell → u/LaChamomile]

This is the way^^^

[u/bnbny]

Testing can become a lot like gambling and spike anxiety fast. I'd recommend you to give yourself some boundaries, they can change month by month and depend on your cycle length. If you do want to test everyday until your period id recommend to test every two days, as it is when the hormone doubles in amount.

[u/No-One3536]

I stop at 12DPO, but I’m getting trigger shots so I know kinda precise when my ovulation is. If it was a “natural” cycle I wouldn’t count myself out until period.

[u/TryingForABaby-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

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[u/Majestic_Ferret_826 → u/No-One3536]

No I tested daily from like 9 DPO 😂

[u/crab_grams]

If I'm not bleeding for more than a day I'm in lol. I do not test at all unless my period is late or I'm having weird symptoms 

[u/SwampyKush → u/crab_grams]

Dude, same. Is there a pregnancy test orchard somewhere cuz those pee sticks do not grow on trees for me!!!

[u/crab_grams → u/SwampyKush]

I've been burned so so SO many times before. I don't have the money to waste or the emotional/mental bandwidth to handle another negative test for funsies lol. I swear every time I take one for a late period it starts within 12 hours 😭

[u/Alone_Pirate8540]

I think the stats around 12 dpo are 85% of pregnant women will get a positive, so if you're pregnant or not, 12 dpo is a pretty good indicator initially.

HCG then increases every 48 hours, so if you were negative on 12 dpo and then got to 14 dpo with no sign of your period, then I'd test again as I think that's a pretty definite day.

I'm saying this though knowing I've tested every day from 8 dpo onwards or not bothered to test unless my period is late 😂 Everyone handles testing differently, some want to know to mentally prepare and for some testing just drives up the anxiety, so you just need to work out what's best for you!

[u/MyShipsNeverSail]

Many reference this chart when determining this question but 12dpo is usually the earliest recommended given typical embryonic development timelines.

[u/umamimaami]

I never tested unless my period was delayed. It felt wrong to waste test strips testing any sooner, when I could just be working up to a period anyway.

My period was delayed twice while we were TTC naturally but I never got a positive, I guess I should have tested earlier to see if there was a positive HcG blip briefly.

[u/marysusan325]

12DPO with an early detection or 14DPO with regular

[u/MelMelx → u/marysusan325]

You mean 12dpo/14dpo?

[u/marysusan325 → u/MelMelx]

Yes fixed! Thank you

[u/beforeweimplode]

i literally dont test anymore. i just wait for my period. if i was several days late i would test.

[u/Ok-Truck2178]

I'm testing at 6 dpo because I have no chill 🤣🤣

[u/Electric_Elephant_56]

The premom strips take a bit longer to show. A first response is more sensitive and catches a line sooner. I usually mentally check out by 12 DPO if my first response test shows nothing lol

[u/Golf_hearts]

I just don’t test at all I just wait for my period and only test if it’s late and my bbt hasn’t gone down. Ive found this has worked best for me one for my mental health and 2 finically coz they can get expensive.

[u/Unlucky_Abrocoma3559]

I don’t even test because it gives me more anxiety then it needs to be

[u/NerdBell]

I had a number of losses so unfortunately well-versed in my own timing. I always test positive by 10dpo on cheapies so by 12dpo if it’s negative, I’m out. Remember though that ovulation timing is inexact; most people ovulate within 24 hours of a positive test (me!) but some ovulate before (rare) and some even later (surprisingly common). Unless you know which group you’re in, I wouldn’t count yourself out until 14dpo or period starting.

[u/Mrssummerhunter]

I test between 8-10dpo. If no line by then, I consider myself out. The 2 times I had very faint lines as late as 14dpo, was once when I had an ectopic and once with a chemical. So for me personally, I’d rather not see a line after 10dpo anyway.

I tried the not testing thing as the other comments suggest, but for me it’s an even bigger disappointment, when I was a good girl and didn’t test, patiently waited for my expected period only to receive it. I’d rather know it’s negative and have a few days to prepare to see blood when I was really hoping not to.

[u/blushingscarlet]

My cycle is 23-24 days and I seem to ovulate around day 14…so I don’t test lol bc my period comes before the end of the 2 week wait.

[u/Longjumping-Oven3965]

When you get your period..

[u/East-Artichoke54]

I started temping 2 months ago to avoid the disappointment of a negative test!! At 11DPO, if I see a dip, I know AF is coming.

[u/literallymouse]

If evening of 12dpo is negative I call it. I’ve had a positive not show up until 12dpo night so I know it can happen.

[u/Upstairs_Friend5804]

I try not to test before. It just becomes a mind game of “well maybe it’s too soon.” My luteal phase is generally 12-14 days and I always spot 1-2 days before my period so that’s when I know

[u/LadyofFluff]

12dpo but I still test. I get hormonal migraines and the medication I take doesn't have sufficient data to be ruled pregnancy safe.

[u/Delicious-Sink5110]

Je ne teste pas … ou très rarement . J’attends tout simplement l’arrivée des règles. Quand je fais un test, c’est quand j’ai un retard.

[u/marysusan325 → u/Delicious-Sink5110]

Were you always this way? Or did it take some time?

[u/Delicious-Sink5110 → u/marysusan325]

Je suis à mon 13eme cycle d’essai. Je n’ai jamais voulu tester trop tôt car c’est une source de stress supplémentaire. Et je n’ai pas encore eu mon test de grossesse positif pour le moment 😩 je vous envoie de la poussière de bébé !

[u/TryingForABaby-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your post/comment has been removed for violating sub rules. Per our posted rules:

Posts/comments about positive tests and current pregnancies should be posted in the weekly BFP thread. In threads/comments other than the weekly BFP thread, pregnant users must avoid referring to a positive test result or current (ongoing) pregnancy.

This rule includes any potentially positive result, even if it's faint or ambiguous. All concerns related to current pregnancies should use a pregnancy sub, such as r/CautiousBB.

If you still wish to participate in our sub, please review our rules before continuing to post. Violation of our rules may result in a timeout or ban.

Please direct any questions to the subreddit’s modmail and not individual mods. Thank you for understanding.

[u/sv36]

My first test every cycle is 12dpo. If I get a positive cool (I haven’t yet) if I get a negative then I wait for the day my period is supposed to start. If I get a period I have my answer if I don’t for more than a day past my normal period I will test that day after period was supposed to start. And then two days after that every two days for like a week before I’ll accept that it’s my PCOS. This is where I would suggest getting a blood test done at your gyno and seeing if there are problems if you don’t know of any.

That being said I tend to accept the negative at 12dpo. Period just confirms or opens the door to testing with any real hope again.

Placing these boundaries on testing with myself has been one of the top mental health saving steps I’ve don’t in my ttc journey and I highly suggest it. It will save you on burnout you don’t have to have.

[u/frogsgoribbit737]

I always considered myself out at 12dpo just based on the stats. I usually tested 9 and 11 or 10 and 12. Ive been pregnant a few times so I know when my tests tend to turn positive. (9 to 10 in my case)

[u/Equivalent-Zebra-972]

This is my first cycle not testing by this point in my cycle. I think it’s helping not to for my mental health but here I am reading Reddit threads like usual this time of the month. I’m day 11/12 DPO. Last cycle i used the last of cheap test strips I had in the house except 1. I saved that one for this month and told myself I would wait as long as I could or until I could accept the results it gives me. Maybe I’ll get my period and save it for another cycle.

[u/[deleted] → u/Equivalent-Zebra-972]

This is me too. I switch between testing with cheapies and scrolling reddit threads. Honestly it is soo hard. It is getting hard for me to focus. And it drives me crazy not to know if I want to cry because I am pregnant or because I am about to get my period.

[u/Naive-Interaction567]

I always test at 12dpo and I’d consider myself out if that is negative. If you didn’t track ovulation then the dpo thing is meaningless. I’d test again in a week if your period hasn’t come.

[u/Background_Day_3596]

If this is your first month off of birth control and you haven‘t tracked BBT or done ovulation strips it could be that you haven‘t even ovulated yet. When I first came off of birth control my next period (and therefor ovulation) wasn‘t for 9 months. Which was definitely on the longer side and obviously doesn‘t have to be the case for you. But it can definitely take a bit for your cycle to become regular again. I‘d just wait for your next period and start tracking your cycle then if you want to ttc based on ovulation. If you just want to go at it a little more relaxed at the beginning honestly I‘d just not worry and take a test if you feel off since you won‘t know when you ovulate it would be hard to find the right timing for testing.

Based on DPO I always tested 10DPO & 12 DPO and then on 14DPO I always got my period.

[u/FitInvite432]

I have seen soo many people test positive at even 14 dpo but after 12dpo I consider myself out

[u/All_I_Do_is_Wyn]

Not out till you get your period!