Superdrug own brand Pregancy Tests should be recalled from sale

[DuchessK]

I have been TTC for years, tried different things last month so when my period was late I bought a pregnancy test, I was in Superdrug and chose their own brand one only because it has pink lines, I read on here that the blue lines are easier to misread and that pink was better..

Anyhow I took the test, followed the instructions perfectly and got 2 pink lines, a positive result, to say that I was delighted was an understatement. I checked my dates and it meant that I would be 4 weeks.

However.... I had a niggling doubt, as we sometimes do so I went to Boots and bought more pregnancy tests, twin pack got a negative results, today I bought 2 more, this time an expensive brand and again negative.

When testing using these type of pregnancy tests the results are meant to be 99% accurate, so much so that the GP surgery won't normally doubt the result or retest but will refer for a 12 week scan (in normal circumstances obviously).

If I hadn't of retested I would have spent the next 8 weeks thinking that I was pregnant.

So I go to the Superdrug website, read the reviews and it seems that these tests give false positive results, Superdrug's response is to offer a refund and they are still on the shelves being sold to people like me!

AIBU to think that Superdrug should take this more seriously and recall the product while they investigate?

Yes it could be a chemical pregnancy but I tested straight away with another product, my hormones wouldn't disappear within a few minutes would they? Plus the other other reviews too?

I'm so sorry OP.

It could well be though, that the tests are faulty and it's just unfortunate that you (and others) fell into the 1%.

But if there is any doubt in your mind that the tests are giving false positives, report it to Trading Standards. It's not going to do any harm doing that is it? If the tests are ok, nothing will happen to them or the company.

All the best in TTC. Hope you fall pregnant this year sweetie. ❤️

Insta - Evaporation lines are well known about and accepted without asking for recall of products. Maybe it's a stronger looking evaporation line than usual.

Having been ttc since last year and spent a LOT of time on the conception boards it seems that the Superdrug tests are in fact renowned for giving false positives.
Also the OP wouldn't necessarily have started her period if she suffers from an irregular cycle. No test is 100% reliable but these seem to be giving a larger than average amount of false positives and I do believe they should be recalled until they can be tested to be working correctly.

Sorry you've been disappointed OP, it's very hard the whole ttc journey. I'm currently 9wks pregnant with my first at 39yrs old so don't give up hope xx

i used the poundland ones because they use a very simple test, are accurate and cheap!

OP, if you nose around the pregnancy boards there are tonnes and tonnes of false BFP on Superdrug tests.

They recently 'improved' them and they give out false positives to anyone and everyone regardless whether they are pregnant or not.

I appreciate your AIBU? But unless all the posters replying on here have frequented the boards, read all the bad press and seen all the false positives or experienced it themselves then they will argue you wrong until they are blue in the face.

So. I maybe the only one who says YANBU. Not at all.

It's giving women false hope I really feel for them. Not nice.

YANBU. The conception board has been full of people either getting false positives or avoiding these tests like the plague due to bad reviews.

You are right that I would unlikely spend 8 weeks thinking I was pregnant, that was an emotive reaction but with my cycles it could be weeks before a period, therefore would assume pregnancy then a M/C.

I previously had a silent miscarriage (viable pregnancy earlier confirmed with scan at EPU) and didn't know about M/C until 12 week scan so this made me fear similar hence the response that I could spend 8 weeks thinking I was pregnant when not.

GP and EPU have offered repeat bloods next week but said no sign of increased hormone level and in these circs they don't offer weekend testing, no point stretching their resources further.

Anyhow back to the AIBU if anyone else has had similar could you visit the website and add your product review? I will get a large tonight

Very common for some tests to register positive earlier than others. Not common at all for a false positive. Definitely worth pulling a test that did this, people make a lot of decisions based on a bfp (I needed to take expensive medication for example). However, how can you be sure that the people saying they had a false positive did not turn out to be pg?

Have read more posts and that does sound really shitty of Superdrug. As if getting the price of the test refunded could make up for that. Could mumsnetters affected coordinate a complaint/campaign?

Iggi999 my thoughts too

I'm so sorry that happened to you, I can't imagine what a kick to the stomach it was finding out you weren't actually pregnant after ttc for a long time

Urgh OP, that's awful, to have your hopes built up like that. really sorry

hope you get a real positive soon.

When I found out I was pregnant with my daughter , I used a Superdrug own brand one. It was positive. But clearblues were negative. I had to wait like a week for the clear blues to become positive. As they are not as sensitive as the Superdrug ones

So re test in a few days or so.

It's very unusual to get a false positive.

This happened to me with a Superdrug one in 2003 when I was a student and did not want to be pregnant. The doctor thought I was mad 'a positives a positive' she said but gave me another pregnancy test and it was negative!

I only ever took one pregnancy test,

It was positive.

I didn't have any reason at the time to think to test again to double check.

No one tested me since.

Luckily for me there was a baby when they scanned me.

Would have been a shock if there hadn't been!

Slightly OT but the cheap one step ones from Amazon are really good and sensitive. I got a positive at 9dpo when I was pregnant with those. Good luck with TTC!

I didn't think there was such a thing as a false positive with pregnancy tests. False negatives yes,but false positives? How odd. Must be something wrong with the test for that to happen.

OP I'm sorry this happened to you. We were TTC for 5 years before we had our DS, so I feel your pain. We have several miscarriages, and spent so much money on pregnancy tests. My advice re pregnancy tests - buy the cheaper ones. You can bulk buy them online (eBay for example). I think I paid £5 for a pack of 20, 10 pregnancy tests and 10 ovulation tests. I got results up to 3/4 days before a missed period, and ovulation tests were very accurate (proven by blood tests).
That aside, yes it's possible it was a chemical pregnancy. However if they are claiming themselves that women have had false positives, it's something they need to deal with. I'd definitely contact them, and explain about TTC, and it's really not appropriate that they are still being sold when they know there is an issue with them. That false hope is awful, and they are responsible for so many women experiencing it when they should take the faulty tests off the shelves.
Again, sorry you've been through this OP. Sending baby dust, and best wishes

Sorry if I misread you redsky

They should definitely recall them if false positives are definitely occurring.

If your AF hasn't arrived then could it be you are pg but earlier than you thought and only the SD test has picked up the hormone? This is even more likely I feel your AF is v irregular. I'd wait a week and test again with FMU if no AF. I hope this works out for you

Wait. Are you SURE you're not pregnant? False negatives are more common than false positives. When did you test? Do you have photos?

I had false negatives with both my DC and my doctor told me false negatives common enough.

False positives he said were extremely unusual. YANBU sounds like Superdrug are being irresponsible

On the conception and pregnancy boards you do see quite a lot of people using tests in ways they aren't supposed to use them - studying them after the time limit has passed mainly, or cracking them open. I did this when I was TTC too (it's very tempting) and I ended up with very convincing lines on them.

Not saying this is what happened to you OP but there should really be a sticky in the conception board regarding 'false positives' and how to test properly. There are loads of women out there convincing themselves they're suffering from multiple chemical pregnancies because they think a First Response will never throw out a line when opened, but they're wrong, and causing a lot of worry and heartache to themselves. Pictures of what a true positive should look like would help too.

I had a strong pink positive with a Superdrug test a few years ago. I took the other one in the pack of two and it was negative. Several different brands of pregnancy tests done over the next few days were all negative. i was not pregnant, and my period turned up (I had irregular cycles so difficult to predict when I was due).

It was NOT an evap. It was not left for too long. It was a clear pink line that showed up almost immediately. I was crushed, but didn't make the effort to complain. The many pregnancy tests I have bought since have never included superdrug brand tests though!

So sorry for you OP. I hope next cycle works for you.

Hope it is a positive.

Please don't waste anymore money on expensive tests. 3 for £1 in Poundland or even cheaper on eBay - never had any problems with them

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