To ask if pregnancy tests don't always work?

[nirvanaviolet]

I had sex in mid-May - a one off one night stand. We used a condom, however we think it might have broken - I wasn't 100% sure. To be safe, the next morning I got the Morning After Pill and took it whilst at the pharmacist.

Obviously, I know the MAP isn't 100% effective, and for the last couple of weeks I've had random nausea (but no vomiting), been off my food, feeling a bit dizzy, having vivid dreams and generally not 100%.

I've taken two pregnancy tests however both have shown up as negative. I'm a bit worried they could be wrong though - how reliable are home pregnancy tests?

Of course I might have just convinced myself I'm pregnant due to the panic of the morning after pill... But is it worth booking a GP appointment just in case?

FWIW I have never had regular periods so while I've not had a period since then, that's not unusual for me either!

TIA

If you've tried 2 and they are both negative then you aren't pregnant. It's too soon for the hook effect and too late to not show up.

Your going to get people here telling you their sisters cousins cat has this situation though so all you can do is worry until you come on your period.

As far as I know, you can't get a false positive. So neg is always neg.

Thanks - I think maybe I'm just paranoid! I keep seeing videos on Facebook of people giving birth and not even knowing they're pregnant and worrying that's going to happen to me

You can get false negatives, but that is generally from a test being taken before the hormone levels are high enough to be found by the test.
But if the hormones are high enough to be causing symptoms a test should pick it up so less chance of a false negative .

Yes i tested too early with my second. I knew I was pregnant. I could tell. I retested a week later and I got a positive test

As far as I know, you can't get a false positive. So neg is always neg.

No, you're interpreting that the wrong way round. If the test says positive, it's almost certain you're pregnant.

But you can sometimes get false negatives, where you might still be pregnant despite the test saying no. OP, go and see a doctor and make certain.

The general tests measure the level of the HCG hormone to determine pregnancy. Sometimes you can be pregnant but have low HCG levels and so you can get false negatives. I took several home pregnancy tests when pregnant with my twins and they came up negative so I went to see my GP only to be told that the tests they use initially are the same you get at home. Thankfully by that point (I was 8 weeks pregnant it turned out) my body was producing just enough HCG to get a very faint positive. My situation of course is not par for the course, but it’s worth going to see your GP - even if it’s just to give you peace of mind xx

I had false negatives including one at my GP surgery at around 6 weeks pregnant. It happens.

Your doctor won’t have a super sensitive test, nor will a physical examination show anything.

The pregnancy tests used by GPs are less sensitive than the First Response and ClearBlue tests, so use one of those if you haven’t already

Not my sister's cousin's cat, but I had a colleague who was ttc, took a pregnancy test and was negative, so we went out on the lash.

She gave birth to a healthy girl 7 months later. Her GP test showed as negative too (I think nowadays there's no difference between GP and OTC tests). She had a strange hormone thing - and whilst I find it highly unlikely that you have that, especially combined with having taken the MAP, it's something to bear in mind if you don't get your period soon.