EPT: My Preferred Home Pregnancy Test
Written: Aug 16 '00 (Updated Aug 16 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: easy to use, unambiguous results, reliable and sensitive
Cons: none
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| QuietI's Full Review: EPT |
EPT is the test that has confirmed each of my three pregnancies (I am just now sailing into my second trimester of my third and final pregnancy.)
How many EPTs have I used over the past 5 years? I don't know, and I wouldn't really want to count them up, either, because I'm afraid the total dollar amount would make up a good chunk of a down payment on a new car...
You mean, there's supposed to be a pattern here?
I'm one of those women with an "irregular" menstrual cycle. This is maddening pretty much all of the time. When you want to avoid pregnancy, you get a creeping, accumulating "uh-oh" in your gut that something's going on in there, and it's not what you are prepared to deal with. When you are trying to conceive, it's equally frustrating because you keep spending money on pregnancy tests and literally pissing away dozens of dollars on negative results.
A Sanity Saver
I managed to learn something over the past five years. Here's a tip for others with irregular cycles: invest in a basal body thermometer and read up on its use. If you have ovulated (putting you in the "possibly pregnant" category), your body temperature first thing in the morning will be significantly higher than if you have not. A thermometer costs about the same as one of these tests, but you can re-use it indefinitely. You don't have to be religious about taking your temp every morning, either, if you all want is a reality check. Just do some spot checking when you first get it, so you know what's "normal" for you. Then when you're in that maddening "What's going on?!" phase, you can take your temp and see where you are in your cycle. If you haven't ovulated yet, you don't need to waste your money on a home pregnancy test.
Why EPT?
Because it works.
Oh, you want specifics? Here goes:
* The instructions are written in large type in both English and Spanish. The vocabulary on the instructions should not be a stumbling block to anyone with a high school education.
* It's a snap to use. Yes, first urine of the day is more concentrated, but it's not necessary. You open the package, take off the plastic cap, saturate the tip (either hold it in the stream, or collect and dip), replace the cap, lie it flat for 3 minutes, and check the results.
* The results are unambiguous. One line, not pregnant, two lines, pregnant. I have never had an incorrect reading from one of these tests, even when I was nursing my daughter and thought for sure I had "caught" because of all the symptoms I was experiencing.
* The people on the 800 line are friendly and supportive. You know they've heard that "The second line is really, really, really faint... does that mean I'm pregnant?" hopeful question like a billion times. And they're still nice. (By the way, the answer is, "If you can see two lines, you're pregnant.")
* From a cost perspective, the two-test kit can save you substantial money.
Not all home pregnancy tests are the same!
I discovered this with my most recent pregnancy. I was pretty sure I was pregnant, but having been fooled many times in the past, I knew better than to believe my intuition. I tested with a First Response kit and the test came up negative. Since we had been working diligently on this project, I was disappointed and wanted to do something about it. I took myself off to the pharmacy and picked up an EPT, brought it home and took the test, and it was positive. I just love being right!
The difference? EPT can detect hCG (human chorionic gonaditropin, the chemical that indicates pregnancy) at lower levels (40mIU) than many other tests available. This means, essentially, you can test earlier and still get an accurate result. The First Response kit only detects 100mIU, requiring more than twice the level of hCG in your urine before a positive result will be registered. With a flaky cycle like mine, that extra sensitivity really bolsters my confidence.
I encourage you to check out the chart of home pregnancy test sensitivity levels at http://www.fertilityplus.org/faq/hpt.html. In fact, the entire FertilityPlus website has excellent FAQs on basal body temperatures and fertility awareness that will be useful to all women, not just those who are trying to get pregnant.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
QuietI
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Member: Joan Hedman
Location: Chandler, AZ
Reviews written: 89
Trusted by: 70 members
About Me:
Busy. Life. You know.
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