Ahh, the rollercoaster is just getting going...

Well, we've had an interesting TWW... I'm pretty darn impatient so I decided to test at 9DPO. It was negative (to be expected that early) but I left the test just sitting there and went on about my day. About 8 hours later, I picked it up and there were clearly 2 pink lines. I know the directions say not to read the results after 30 minutes but it did seem to offer some hope. Maybe as the urine dried, it became more concentrated, right? Hmm...

So, of course, now I was so excited that I just had to test on day 10 also. The same thing happened and I got a very faint second line about 6 hours after I'd taken the test.

I was sort of frustrated and frazzled by the whole experience. I've had a few acupuncture appointments to try to help boost my fertility and I've always felt SOOO relaxed and in a really great mood afterwards. I decided to call my acupuncturist to see if she could get me in for a little "relaxation treatment". She did and I felt so much better afterward. Who knows, maybe it is all in my head but it certainly made me feel better so I'm happy. I waited 3 more days before testing again.

On 13DPO, I used a really cheap internet pregnancy test. It showed a definite ghost line about 10 minutes after taking the test. Good, right? That must be a REAL positive, right? Well, I ran out to the drugstore and bought a $10 test - these were the "dip" tests so I left the little cup of my 1st-morning-urine sitting in the bathroom while I ran to the store - that one was CLEARLY negative (even a few hours later).

It really would have been easier if they were just all negative from the beginning. I'm not super-upset or devastated or anything - it was only the first try. Still, I hate the mind-games.

I've had a lot of pinching pain on my left side. My doctor (by phone) thinks it is a minor cyst and nothing to worry about. She said that just happens from time to time. So, I googled ovarian cysts and found two interesting details -

1 - some cysts form because the egg never actually popped out of the follicle (meaning that perhaps we never even got out of the starting gate this month).

2 - some cysts can cause false-positive pregnancy tests.

Hmmm, I'm not sure what all of this means. I'm still only 13DPO but not very hopeful for this month. My goal is to wait at least this long before I even start testing next month... and throw the negative test away immediately after the test period.

Ahhh, lessons learned.