Dollar store pregnancy test?

Question

I am 13 dpo. I took a pregnancy test today that I bought from the dollar store. It was negative. So, should I start crying now or should I wait and take another test later? Is the dollar test store reliable?

dpo is days past ovulation

Answer 1

Okay, don't start crying just yet girl!! Let me give you a site for you to explore. It has EVERYthing you could EVER want to know about home pregnancy tests including a chart of which test is best as well as pictures of tests. It's a great site!!
http://www.peeonastick.com/hptfaq.html#1
Good luck to you girl!!!

Answer 2

I've never had a problem with the dollar store pregnancy test expect when i had very low hormones at the start of the pregnancy. I can't see spending 20+ bucks on a test for me to pee on. Some people I know can't use the Dollar store tests but for the most part it's the same thing that most of the doc. offices uses. So I suggest just waiting about 4-5 more days and then taking another test.

Answer 3

Well, I was actually doing some research on the strengths of various pregnancy tests. Yes, I have a lot of time on my hands. Actually, I found out that the dollar store's "Baby Test" is just about as sensitive as all the rest of them. On the other hand, there's another dollar store brand that isn't all that great. Personally, I've had two best friends find they were expecting from the one's that say "Baby Test." They were also a little farther along though. I'd say wait a couple more days, then give it another shot. If you REALLY want to find out now, go invest in a little more expensive one. I hope everything turns out well for you!

Answer 4

Surprisingly, cheap tests purchased at dollar stores or on the Internet are often more sensitive and reliable than expensive store brands. HPT's are like soda: very cheap to make, and marked up quite a bit for retail.



How soon can I test? Well, first you gotta know how the test works. Briefly: the home pregnancy test (HPT) works by detecting a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG.) When an egg is fertilized, it takes about 6 to 12 days to implant in the uterus, and then it begins to secrete hCG. It takes another day or two for enough hCG to build up and make its way into your pee. So, generally speaking, the earliest you can expect a positive HPT is 8 days past ovulation ("DPO") and the latest would be about 16 DPO. It is possible to get a positive test earlier or later, but not as common. In my experience, if you use a sensitive "early" test (anything that detects 25 mIU/mL of hCG or less) you can test around 12-14 DPO and feel reasonably secure with your results (the later you test, the more secure you can feel in its accuracy.)

If you do not chart or monitor your fertility in any way, and you think you may have conceived, you should wait 19 days (or longer) after having sex to test. Why 19?! Sperm can live approximately 5 days in the proper environment; if the sperm managed to live until you popped an egg, the actual conception could have taken place several days after the sex act that got the sperm there. To make sure you're not testing too early, assume the sperm had very long lives (5 days is considered a very long sperm life) and that conception occurred then. Then allow 14 days for the embryo to implant and develop enough hCG to show up on a pregnancy test (96% of pregnant women will test positive by then.)

Note: some HPT's say "test 5 days before your period is due!" or some such thing. Please note they are assuming a textbook 28-day cycle, with ovulation on Day 14. "5 days before your period is due" thus really "translates" to 10 DPO.

Essentially, you should remember that your high school biology textbook was WRONG. NOT all women have 28-day cycles and NOT all women ovulate on Day 14. For more info on this type of thing, see the Fertility Info section.

Here's an example. This is the textbook-perfect 28-day cycle with ovulation occurring on day 14 (in pink.) 10 DPO and later are reasonable days for testing (in green.) This is the cycle the HPT companies have in mind when they say "test 5 days before your period is due!"



Well, not everyone's body works this way. Here's another 28-day cycle-- but this one has ovulation occurring a little bit later, still well within the normal range. Watch what happens to your (green) testing opportunities!



All of a sudden, "5 days before your period is due!" is way too early for you to expect a positive test! (I tend to ovulate later myself, so by the time the "gold standard" of testing at 14 DPO is applicable, my period is already 3 days late! I needed to use an "early detection" test on the first day of my missed period. A "regular" test would probably have been negative-- even though my daughter is living proof that I was, indeed, pregnant ;)

Of course, it works in reverse, too. If you're an early ovulator, you're lucky! Check it out:



In this scenario, you could test even sooner than 5 days before your expected period.

Ultimately, it's important to remember that implantation is a variable thing. You may be able to detect a pregnancy very early on, but then again, you may not! If you can't, don't despair.
http://www.peeonastick.com/hptfaq.html

Answer 5

Any brand is reliable, they all measure the level of HCG in your urine (pregnancy hormone) but some measure different levels, sometimes on the box it will say how much it measures , the lowest amount a test can read I think is 25, wait a little longer and re-test. Most dollar store brands though do not measure a small amount therefore you will have to wait longer to test using one of those. Hope that helps you a little.

Answer 6

According to what I've found in researching HPTs, the Wal-Mart Equate brand of pregnancy test is the most accurate. Not to say that a test purchased at the dollar store isn't going to be accurate, it's really not the price of the test as much as it is the sensitivity of the test itself.

Answer 7

All of the "Dollar Stores" should carry them... but, the Dollar Tree has them (at least here in Indiana) for only $1.00! Pretty good when (like many of us) you'll be testing frequently. They also usually have them at Big Lots, the same brand as the Dollar Tree, but you get two for $1.50 or something like that. Big Lots also just started carrying a generic version of the "early response" pregnancy tests... I believe they're about $3.00 for two of them.

Answer 8

I have gotten a pos result with a dollar store test and it was right on the money ...
So it can be accurate best advice go to doc to confirm with a blood test you can do that by going to ER or health clinic.
Or yes you can wait a week and retest.

Answer 9

well, you do get what you pay for. and the dollar pregnancy test is probably a little accurate, but surely not as accurate as one that might cost like $7 or $8. If you are really this worried about the results that you got, just go to a drugstore, and get a more expensive (reliable) one.

Answer 10

I actually found out that my husband and I were going to be blessed with a gift fom God with a Dollar store pregnancy test. Stock up honey(they don't flatten your wallet) and give it a few more days and try again. Good Luck!!!!!!!!!!