So, probably NOT pregnant?

[Anonymous]

Sorry for the probably stupid question, but here it is anyway. My period is due on Saturday, and I took one of the "test 5 days before your missed period" tests, and it's negative. I'm assuming this means I'm not pregant. Does that sound right? Counting backward, it's Saturday 1, Friday 2, Thursday 3, Wednesday 4, Tuesday 5 days before missed period.

[Anonymous]

Tests are sometimes not strong enough to sense it at early, even though they advertise that they are. You should wait a couple days and re-test closer to your period, and have a better chance of getting an accurate result. I know quite a few people who tested early and got negatives, kept testing and eventually it went to positive. I would assume you are not pregnant until you get the positive though. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tests are sometimes not strong enough to sense it at early, even though they advertise that they are. You should wait a couple days and re-test closer to your period, and have a better chance of getting an accurate result. I know quite a few people who tested early and got negatives, kept testing and eventually it went to positive. I would assume you are not pregnant until you get the positive though. Good luck!

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

i've heard from people that they tested negative on the HPTs, but had a positive on the beta. for me a negative on the HPT (5 days before) has always resulted in a negative beta, tho.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i've heard from people that they tested negative on the HPTs, but had a positive on the beta. for me a negative on the HPT (5 days before) has always resulted in a negative beta, tho.

Have you ended up with any positives, or all negatives? (Home and beta, I mean. I guess what I'm asking is whether you've had any pregnancies.)

[Anonymous]

yes, i had a positive on hpt (5 days before my period) which was a positive beta too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:yes, i had a positive on hpt (5 days before my period) which was a positive beta too.

Thanks for clarifying.

AH, this is all so stupid, really...either I'm pregnant or I'm not, and it will become abundantly clear one way or the other with the passage of a bit more time.

[Anonymous]

If it's a FRER, read the insert. It says that the test results are more reliable when you get closer to your expected period. I don't know the exact numbers, but testing 5 days before your period is due is NOT going to yield a reliable result. Just wait a few days. It's not like you can change anything at this point anyway, regardless of the outcome. Some people get negative results and then positive ones. Just wait it out.

[Anonymous]

The digital tests are supposed to be much more accurate. IF one of those says negative, I'd probably lean towards believing it.

[Anonymous]

My clinic said that they've had people who test negative at home using the "new sensitive at home tests" and get a positive beta--but not frequently. My heart goes out to you--I've been there.

[Anonymous]

Read the box and see what they say about accuracy 4 days before missed period. Most of the early pregnancy tests will claim 99 percent accuracy on front of box but if you read fine print accuracy is different depending on day of testing. For Clear Blue or First Response think have like 50-60% success rate is detecting the hormone level in pregnant women 4 days out. Some women just will not get a positive from HPT until after AF.

[Anonymous]

I've gotten negatives with HPT with all my pregnancies (4) for testing before my period was due. I was always way too impatient and never learned my lesson...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've gotten negatives with HPT with all my pregnancies (4) for testing before my period was due. I was always way too impatient and never learned my lesson...

this is also good to know. eh, this stinks! of course, we could be back in the days of waiting 3 months before we knew for sure.

[Anonymous]

The digital tests are supposed to be much more accurate. IF one of those says negative, I'd probably lean towards believing it.

NO, this is not correct! The most accurate test on the market is First Response Early Response. In general, people are often able to get a line on FRER or other sensitive line tests BEFORE there is enough HCG to be picked up by a digital test.

FRERs are even more accurate than what it says on the package insert and will detect something like 6ml/IU. You can do a Google search on preg test sensitivity and you'll find what levels the different tests can pick up.

However, the "5 days before your missed period" thing can be sort of confusing. It assumes that there are 14 days after you ovulate, then on day 15 you will have your period. So this test can often pick up HCG around 10 days after ovulation, since most pregnancies implant at 7-10 days after ovulation, and that's when HCG starts to appear in your bloodstream and urine, and this test will pick up even a very small amount. BUT, if you have a shorter luteal phase, maybe 11 days, so you normally get you period, say, on the 12th day after ovulation, then 5 days before YOUR missed period is much earlier and there's a chance you could be pregnant but the fertilized egg has not even implantated yet. I think the "5 days before" thing is based on a standard, textbook cycle with 14-day luteal phase, but of course we don't all have textbook cycles!

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I meant First Response Early Result. Typing too fast