Readers Respond: Home Pregnancy Test Experiences

Responses: 11

You may take a take a home pregnancy test to confirm early pregnancy signs, but doing so can actually create a lot of anxiety. A negative result may make you wonder if you tested too early.

What has your experience with home pregnancy tests been ? Did you ever get a false positive? Did you get a negative result from a home pregnancy test, when other tests or bloodwork confirmed pregnancy?

Note: Women who receive a positive result when using a home pregnancy test are advised to call their doctor right away so that he or she can confirm the result by conducting more sensitive testing and a pelvic exam.

Share Your Experiences

False negative three times

When I missed my period I did a test that was negative. I was so upset that my cycle was playing up. I did 2 other tests that were all negative. Then I went to the doctor in tears that I wasn't pregnant but my period was late. She agreed that I would not be pregnant but ordered a pregnancy serum blood test to be sure....I could not believe it! I was pregnant. I gave birth to a beautiful daughter which was fantastic. However, I even tested again at 15 weeks and it said I was negative. I do have a friend who has had the same thing with both her pregnancies. I do have PCOS so this may (or may not) hold the answer.

—Guest Shell

faint line

I had a similar experience with a faint line... I even told my best friend I was pregnant. Then I went away to a cottage for a weekend and got my period a week late. It was traumatic, and I was ill prepared because I thought I was pregnant. I guess I should have retested.

—Guest Jennifer

it works

When I first thought that I was pregnant, It was 6 days after intercourse...and I took a test, and when it said positive, I made an appointment, and sure enough, I was pregnant.

—Guest joey

Home Pregnancy Test Experiences

I used home pregnancy tests for both of my children - and they were right both times. I took the test about 15 days after IUI. It was lovely to have the conceptions confirmed by blood tests, but oh so lovely to have that nice feeling of discovering the pregnancy beforehand. I don't know anyone who has had a wrong reading.

—Marietta6000

Cheap Tests and Evaporation Lines

I've always been the kind who wants to know ASAP, so I ended up buying tons of tests at the 99-cent store and testing at every opportunity starting about 8 days before my period was due. (Nuts, I know.) The first time I got pregnant, I got a positive result 7 or 6 days early, so I thought I could always test that early. Turns out it was an evaporation line--it was just a coincidence that I was pregnant--so when I got another 'early positive' the next time I was trying, I was disappointed to find that I wasn't, in fact, pregnant. I guess you really do need to listen to the directions on when to test and after how long a test is no longer valid.

—Guest Isabelle

Always accurate for me

I've used the Answer Early Result Pregnancy test. I have read that they can be faint. I used it for my recent pregnancy and it was accurate but I tested 16dpo, so the HCG had plenty of time to build up in my system. I tested three (yes, three!) times after that, each one increasingly darker. It was a reassuring sign that my HCG levels were going up.

—Guest Anne W.

1/2 a positive

I once used a test that had a plus sign for positive - I got 1/2 a plus sign. It might have been a miscarriage but was never confirmed.

—Guest Malkyb

Lots of False Negatives

I've never had a false positive, from what I know they're almost nonexistent but I always get many false negatives before one comes up that finally says,"Yes you're pregnant, just like you thought you were." My sister-in-law went in for a procedure that required a local anesthetic. She refused the medication because she thought she was pregnant. They did a serum blood test that came back negative. She still said she just knew that she was pregnant and refused the anesthesia. Less than a week later her tests came back positive. She had been pregnant all along. As far as brands go, I've tried them all and haven't noticed a difference between one or the other.

—khayesrn

I like E.P.T.

I like E.P.T pregnancy tests the best. You can't take them very early, but I've never gotten an evap line (false positive), and if I do get a positive result. I know it's for real!

—Guest Chrissy

Buy cheap ones online!

I admit it - I'm a pregnancy test addict! So I buy pregnancy tests in bulk, online. They are these flimsy strips of paper, that you dip into a cup. Not as pretty or as convenient as the kind in the regular drug store, but they are so much cheaper. Worth it!

—Guest Becca

Got a false positive once!

I got really upset when I got a false positive test once. I can't remember the brand any more (sorry), but I should have known better that the line was way too faint. There was a line there, but barely. (Maybe I even imagined it, I'm not sure!) But my period was late, and I tested, and I was so hopeful!! Then, I went to the doctor and had a blood test... it was negative. :( And I got my period later that night. Very upsetting. :(

—Guest Anne