For those other POAS addicts - beware. I had read about the hook effect, but thought it couldn’t happen earlier than 6-8 weeks.

I’m 5w3d, and randomly took a test this morning and panicked because my test line & control line were very similar — and last week, the test line was MUCH darker than the control.

Then i read about the hook effect - where if your HCG levels are super high, it can make your lines start to fade. The way you test for this is to collect urine in a cup, and then add water to make it 1/2 and 1/2. Then test with that, and your big line variation should come back.

See below for comparison. Just wanted to save someone the trouble if they panicked like me!