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Two Different Pregnancy Test Results, Which do I Believe?

Marcie Jones Leave a Comment

Last week I did a home pregnancy test when my period was one day overdue and it showed POSITIVE.

A week later, I went to my physician and he did a blood test and his results were NEGATIVE.

I was surprised, so the next day I did another home preg test (this time, period overdue by 8 days) and again it said POSITIVE.

Why are the results conflicting? Which test is accurate?

I had a miscarriage 3 months ago. I was 8 weeks pregnant and its been 12-13 weeks since I miscarried. Does that effect the reading?”

A few things might be going on here.

Yep.

Yep.

First, while doctors say that hCG levels are usually back to non-detectible levels 4-6 weeks after birth or miscarriage, everyone’s different. If you’ve been taking fertility medication that can skew the results. It’s also possible, maybe, that you were pregnant again between miscarriages.

As for the blood test, while blood tests in theory are about four times more sensitive than pregnancy tests, mistakes do happen. The lab could’ve used a contaminated testing kit or mixed up your results, or your doctor might have misread the results.

Call your doctor, tell him/her about your positive test and ask for a quantitive blood test, one that will measure the exact levels of hCG in your bloodstream, or an ultrasound for more accurate results that can also help determine how far along you are. In the meantime, take prenatals, avoid very hot baths or medications that aren’t safe for pregnancy. Two pregnancy tests almost certainly means you’re pregnant.

 

 

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Filed Under: Trying to Conceive, 1st Trimester Tagged With: pregnancy tests, blood tests, urine tests

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