Can You Get a False Positive Test?

Congratulations!!!!!! Sometimes God has a different plan! I've certainly had "false negatives", but a false positive is POSITIVE!!! Honestly, I'm jealous - I have 4 children and have had two miscarriages and I would love to have more, but I think God has a different plan for me! :(

I have two good friends who have "vasectomy" babies. They are now 5 and 6 years old. My oldest sister has a son who was concieved 5 years after she had her tubes tied. There's only one full proof method and I think we all know what that is.

I'm sure you're in shock, but I'm happy for you! It's exciting news!

You probably are pregnant. Don't get all stressed out though. I had the same situation, only I messed up my bc because we had moved and I had to get a new prescription and didn't do it in time. I at the time had a 7 year old boy and 6 year old girl. We were done too. I was so worried about how this would affect their settled lives and how to start all over and everything. Let me tell you, that little boy is the joy of my life, and now I am soooo glad that God saw fit to give me this surprise. Now I'm just a little sad that HE is growing up so fast and already 3 1/2. I can only imagine if my youngest was still my daughter who will be 10 this month. The way I told my DH was I bought a "have a nice day" type generic card and signed it from me, the kids and "#3". He just smiled and looked at me and said "are you serious?". IT took me a while to get used to the idea, but once the shock wears off, you should just throw yourself into the excitement aspect of it, and involve the kids too. They will love it. The kids still love to show off their baby brother at school and so forth. Good luck, congratulations, and God Bless!

I believe that false positives do not happen... false negatives, yes. Just know that this baby is being conceived for a reason and you are being blessed by God to be allowed to raise another human being. Congratulations and best of luck to find a fun and creative way to spill the beans to your hubby and family.

M.,
You can get false negatives, because the hormone hasn't shown up strongly enough yet (ie. testing too soon) but you can't get a false positive. Either the hormone is there or it isn't....
maybe a blessing in disguise?

I have heard of false negatives, not false positives.

I suggest you contact your doctor. My mother once told me, "you know what you call people that use condoms...parents". I can tell you from first hand experience (child # 3) that this was true for me.

What a wonderful surprise for you and your husband.

Good luck with everything.

Congratulations. As far as I am concerned you can have false negatives, but never false positives. Everything happens for a reason. Stay strong and positive and everything will work out.

As far as I know, and I got many people saying the same thing when I posted this topic a few months ago, is that it is RARE to get a false positive. There has to be a pregnancy hormone to make it show up as positive. I ended up miscarrying around week 7 and it turns out the egg implanted and never started to develop, but I still got many positive tests. Good luck!

My OB told me that the only way to get a false positive is if you are taking a medication that contains the HCG hormone. However, that medication is used for only a few very RARE diseases. Since that seems to be out of the question, the only way you will get a positive pregnancy test is if your body is producing the HCG hormone, which is what the home tests look for...also known as the "pregnancy hormone".

I'd say the only way the tests could be false positives is if you saw a line only after 10 minutes which sometimes are then called evaporation lines. Go out and buy a First Response Early Response test or even a digital test and those will tell you for sure. Even a light line is positive as long as it shows up no later than 10 minutes.

Good luck!!

I have 5 wonderful kids that were all conseved on different form of birth control or results of switching. I hope you find a crative way to tell you husband. I can't imagine my life without any of them. If you have taken two its positive. When one of mine didn't read right it was all the lines were dull. So you couldn't read it either way. Just know that you aren't given gifts in life that you can't handle. Best to you! congrates!

they say you can get a false negitive, but NEVER a false positve. Atleast that's what I have heard...

I would go to the dr though, just to be on the safe side since you just got off birth control to make sure if you are prego... your baby is safe. Good Luck! (and even if you are... Everything Happens for a Reason)

Hi M.,

As a pharmaceutical chemist I can tell you that false positives are not unheard of, however they are rare. False negatives are much more common due to human error, time of use, etc. All pregnancy tests detect a hormone in the urine stream that is only omitted when pregnant. The tests used in doctor's offices and women's clinics are more accurate, so you may want to seek out another opinion before panicking.

Best of luck!

S.

Pregnancy tests work by detecting high levels of HCG in your urine, which is found only during pregnancy (and other extremely rare instances mentioned by others). So, if HCG is present in a level the test can detect -- Congratulations, you're pregnant! False negatives occur when the level is not yet high enough to detect, or for other various reasons. But if that strip lit up, it's positive.

I think there are some extremely rare medical conditions that can cause a false + (certain cancers, etc)...however, you would already know if you had one, so I am pretty sure you are not getting a false result. The only way to be sure is to see the MD and get the blood test done.

M.,

It's much more likely to get a false negative than a false positive. Condoms are only about 65% effective and the rhythm method is even less effective. I got pregnant twice using a condom while waiting the three months for birth control pill hormones to leave my system. My ultrasound tech said he calls people who use condoms "parents." It frustrates me how much condoms are advertised as "protection" from all sorts of things when, in fact, they just lessen your chances.

Good luck,
S.

Hi M.,
Shortly after I stopped nursing my 6mth old son, I too took a pregnancy test that was positive. I was very shocked (since my son was only 6mths old). I called the pregnancy test company and they said it is very unusual to have false positives- that you usually have false negatives. My doctor's office confirmed this statement, and I it turns out I was about 7 weeks pregnant at that time. I would strongly suggest calling your doctor and having a blood test ordered there. If you're pregnant, God has a reason for it and the baby will be a blessing to your family after the shock goes away (at least that's what happened to us!). Good luck.

Well, I hate to say it, but it is VERY rare to get a false positive, much more common to get a false negative. Even the Dr.s office now take home pregnancy kits as proof and don't usually do their own check anymore. Congratulations. Three is a good number.

Hi M.

I am not really sure if you can or not . I know you can test negative and be pregnant too early on . I would call your doctor and get in and checked out .
It is a blessing no matter if planned or not .

I suppose it's not out of the realm of possibility that it's a false positive but those are pretty accurate. Congratulations! Everything happens for a reason. :)

Sorry to say, but I would bet money---you ARE pregnant! Congrats!, I know you said you thought the kids you have now is enough, but embrace the fact that you are pregnant. If you need a DEFINATE yes--get a test at the Dr. office. Everything will work out, and I wish you the best of luck!!

You already have a lot of responses telling you that you probably don't have a false positive. I work in a lab, and they are VERY rare, and given that you've taken the test twice, it's even less likely.
I just wanted to give you some words of encouragement about having a third child. My sister and I were 5 and 6 yrs old when our youngest sister was born. (She was my parents' last ditch effort to conceive a boy!) Anyway, I can't imagine my life without my littlest sister. I enjoyed being a "little mother" to her and am now looking forward to being her matron of honor at her wedding.
If your husband is thinking you were done, I would proceed gently with telling him about this latest pregnancy. Don't know how religious or spiritual you are, but maybe something like, "Honey, I know it wasn't part of our plan to have another child, but it looks like God had His own plan for us."
Good luck with giving him the news, and God bless your pregnancy!

I'm sorry to say that a postive is a positive. False positives are sooooooooooo rare they aren't even worth connsidering. Some medical conditions can cause them and that's about it.

So looks like you should contact your OB to just be sure but sounds like you are going to be a mommy again.

Oh for lots of reliable info on HPT including about false positives go to peeonastick.com .... me and hubby had been TTC since October and this was one of the sites I found that helped alot with pregnancy test questions.