Can a home pregnancy test (I used first response) give you a false positive?

Question

2 pink lines...I am pregnant!! Hard to believe because my ubby and I have been trying for 8 to 9 months with no luck. Can you get a false positive out of one of those? I am not on any medications. My first doctors apt is next Friday and I will take my second test today just to see what it says. Thanks!!

Answer 1

False positives are extremely rare. I have yet to have a first response lie to me, so I would say Congratulations!

Answer 2

It is possible, but rare to recieve a false positive. Take the second test, and know that your doctor will either send you out or do an in office formal pregnancy test just to confirm for your charts. It could be either urine or serum. Good luck and congradulations!

PS - When false positives happen, the lines are generally faint. They can be caused by cysts that mey or may not go away on their own. If your lines are nice and dark, you should be good, since it's picking up a lot of the hormone. The cysts release only a small amount.

Answer 3

I think you're pregnant. But false positives are possible, though rare.
Causes of False Positive Pregnancy Tests
Evaporation Line - most common
Often when a test is read beyond the specified time, as the urine evaporates it leaves a faint, colorless line. When a line is seen after the time on the box, look for color, the same color the control line is. If you see color, it is more likely a true positive, but test again in 2 days. This gives a pregnant body time to double the hCG and you should get a darker line, if indeed pg. Also, avoid reading the test after the time shown on the box, and try to use first morning urine.

The test itself
Some tests are just infamous for false positives. The old Equate (white cap) was one of them.

Elevated Levels of LH - the ovulation inducing hormone
LH is chemically similar to hCG1, and especially in women with PCOS, elevated levels of LH can cause a false positive.

Fertility treatments
If you are receiving shots of Gonadotropins with ovulation, chances are if you take a test before you miss your period it will be positive either way. Talk to your doctor about when you can test. On a side note, these shots also give very convincing symptoms.

Chemical Pregnancy, Early Miscarriage
Sometimes when an egg gets fertilized but doesn't implant well and is expelled, it can cause slightly raised levels of hCG, which can be picked up with the more sensitive tests. Or the egg implants, but is lost near the time your period is due.

Some Drugs
Methadone, chlordiazepoxide, or promethazine may cause false positive pregnancy tests.2

Rare reactions:

1. Mouse hCG antibodies are used on the test line portion of the test, some women's hCG may not react correctly with this, giving either a false positive or a false negative.3

2.Some women have a low level of hCG-like material circulating at all times, this may cause a false positive in rare cases, especially in very sensitive tests.3
3.Some tumors may also cause false positives.3

1Source: http://courses.washington.edu/pwpbw/preg/sld003.htm University of Washington

2Source: http://epregnancy.com/info/preconception/ptest-results.htm Myria Network, ePregnancy

3Source: http://www.mcl.tulane.edu/classware/pathology/medical_pathology/prenatal/03pregnancy.html Tulane School of Medicine

Answer 4

Positive results are hardly ever wrong... it detects a hormone that it wouldn't be able to detect if you weren't. False Negatives are more likely cause its a possibility that it just didn't pick up on the hormone yet. It is possibe that the test is defective or picking up on something else (like a medication) which are pretty rare also. So go to the dr or if you want to know for sure first take another one, maybe a different brand!
Good luck!! YAY!

Answer 5

not usually - CONGRATS YOU"RE PREGNANT!!!!!

www.peeonastick.com will explain chances of false positives but it highly unlikely.

since you're prego, you'll get tons of unsolicited advise...consider this your first :)

after 3 months whenever you go to the grocery store pick up a package or box of diapers. $10 - $20 every couple of weeks will take a huge load off when the baby arrives and you start buying unexpected things. also buy different sizes and brands and tape the receipt to the outside of the package. that way if you buy too many newborn size you can take them back and exchange for 1's or 2's. Walmart is great for this kind of thing.

Congrats and good luck!!

Answer 6

I actually got a "false positive" with the clear blue easy one. I was so excited since my hubby and I had also been trying forever. Went to the doc, did a blood test and came back negitive. A few months passes and I took another one and to my shock it came back postivie. Then my husband and I RAN to walmart and got three different kinds, and they all came back postive. Now I'm 15 weeks! So I would get another kind of test, or just get a blood test done. Don't get too excited until you know for sure! Good luck!

Answer 7

The last pregnancy test I took, forgot the brand, it was a good brand name though, said it was negative, and now I have a baby girl upstairs taking a nap. The lines were messed up ever so slightly, so i called, and they said it was positive, even though the lines didnt show all the way.

Answer 8

Congrats! I don't think that you could get a false positive, i'd take another test just to make sure but i would say that you are pregnant.

Answer 9

Guess what? You're pregnant! A false negative can happen, but rarely to NEVER can a false positive occur. Congrats!

Answer 10

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!
It's very rare to have a false positive due to the fact that the test has to detect the pregnancy hormone to give a positive result.