This week I had one of the biggest scares of my life! For those who follow me, you know I have 3 children and, after my youngest daughter was born, I had a tubal ligation during my delivery due to issues with DHEG (pregnancy-specific hypertensive disease) and the risk of developing pre-eclampsia.
Pregnancy After Tubal Ligation?
However, women who have had a tubal ligation still ovulate1, right? My period was late for 2 cycles, that is, about 60 days, and that’s why I decided to take the test to rule out a positive result once and for all. I wasn’t having any symptoms, nothing felt different, just the absence of my period.
Even though I knew I no longer have the tubes and it would be nearly impossible for a pregnancy to happen, the urge to take a test was stronger and so I decided to do it. I called my sister, who was at work, and she stopped by the pharmacy.
She brought the test recommended by the pharmacist, even though I had already said I wanted a certain brand I trust. Well… Urine in the cup, test inside, and to my surprise, the second line appeared! I was in shock, I swear I wasn’t expecting it… I have had a false positive pregnancy test before, but I consider this one the most striking, in terms of line color and test time.
Well, since I’ve been through this for many years, I’ve never trusted a Grav test as absolute certainty. So, I decided to do another test that same day, but this time from another brand, the Confirme. This time, I got the correct result: negative! That’s right, ladies, I got a false positive pregnancy test! My period came 2 days later with a very normal flow, nothing that would suggest the test should have been positive for real.
What Can Cause a False Positive Result?
It was certainly the brand, a manufacturing error, or the raw material used in production. It’s not hard to find stories online of women who had a false positive pregnancy test with that manufacturer. The funny thing is, they keep selling a lot!
Can Pharmacy Pregnancy Tests Go Wrong?
Anyone who reads my posts knows that the test I don’t recommend and that can go wrong is precisely the brand I used, the Grav test, because I have already had false positive pregnancy tests with it, and not just once. In fact, there have been a few, and I confess that the previous ones even brought me to tears of disappointment. A false positive pregnancy test2 crushes the hopes of someone trying to conceive and, as everyone who’s been trying for a long time knows, repeatedly getting negative results is tough.
Which Test Was Used?
The test I took was the pen type. Although more expensive, it seems the easiest to give an error. The false positive appeared within 5 minutes, and for anyone seeing it in person or in a photo, you’d swear it was a real positive—especially since the leaflet says that regardless of test line color, the result is positive. Big mistake… That’s why, ladies, before getting your hopes up over a faint result, it’s better to confirm with another trusted brand3.
If there aren’t any other options, then the best thing to do is take a beta HCG test, whether it’s quantitative or qualitative, to be sure of the result.
What to Do With an Incorrect Test?
Be very careful with a false positive pregnancy test. If you can, document it with photos and send it to the company responsible as a complaint. They have a duty to maintain product quality to avoid mistakes that can be devastating for those trying to conceive.
Kisses and see you next time!
