Pregnancy Test Confusion!! - Salt Lake City,UT

Updated on March 30, 2010
B.W. asks from Salt Lake City, UT
23 answers

I am a day late. I took a pregnancy test this morning, and it was negative....about 30 minutes later, I looked again, and if I tilted the test to either side, you could barely see the plus sign. My husband could see it too. But it was SO faint, I'm wondering if I'm playing tricks on myself!! Anyone had this happen?

UPDATE: We are trying to conceive. I also woke up this morning feeling SO nauseous. I'll take a test in another day or two if I don't start my period and let you know. THANK YOU!!!

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So What Happened?

It's been 5 days....still no period and a negative hpt this morning. I called my OB, and he said that I probably just ovulated later than I thought. I could still be pregnant...so now I'm just waiting for either a period or a positive test! Driving me nutty!!!

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H.J.

answers from Minneapolis on

I would only consider anything that shows in the time frame. usually something like no longer then 5 mintues....but tests vary. Wait a few more days and test early morning again and see what happens!

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J.R.

answers from Los Angeles on

It's worth taking another test in a few days, but the truth is that there is a reason the instructions tell you to read the test within a short timeframe. Chances are it's a false positive because it sat for so long. But if you're trying to get pregnant, I hope this one's just a very early positive!

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B.S.

answers from Houston on

If it is negative at the time frame you should check it...then it is negative. If it sits for awhile it can become a false positive. Sorry.

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A.H.

answers from Dallas on

Hey Becca,
You have to wait 3 min. if its negative at 3 min then you should disgaurd it....after 30 min, it could be the evaporation line.....when i took my pregnancy test it came up positive immediately although it was very faint......took on the next day and it was darker. You should take another and only wait the 3 min.

Good luck!

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B.D.

answers from Denver on

Get a digital test where there is no confusion on the answer. It will either say the words "pregnant" or "not pregnant". Cannot get any clearer than that.

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K.M.

answers from Fort Collins on

When I first got pregnant, none of my at-home tests were positive but I was feeling all the symptoms (sore boobs especially). I took a test at the doctor's office and they told me theirs was negative as well. So, I sat through a visit with the doctor and was about to leave when the nurse came rushing out with the test to show me an extremely faint line. She was about to throw it away when she took another look. I asked if there was any doubt and the doctor reassured me that if there's a line, no matter how faint, it's positive. Sure enough, we had our boy nine months later! :) I would think it'd be the same for home tests since it seems false-positives are unlikely. Best wishes!!

Let us know the outcome! :)

H.K.

answers from Gainesville on

I am pregnant and the day after i was getting negative readings and like you, I thought the other line was almost there. I tried another and still it was negative. After six days I took two more tests that were positive! With my other two pregnancies the positive showed up the day after I missed my period. I dont know why it took so long this time to show up!

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H.S.

answers from Salt Lake City on

With your period being just recently due, then I would think that you would only get a faint line for positive anyway. I had this experience and took a test 5 days later - yep, I was pregnant. You can't get a line if you aren't pregnant.

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E.E.

answers from New York on

it is probably a positive test, it can be very faint, maybe you didn't notice it at first. good luck!

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C.C.

answers from Salt Lake City on

our line was so feint it was barely there, I had so many people say oh, no when it is faint its a false positive--I was SO confused. retested a week later. still positive, not as faint. so I peed on the most technologically advanced stick I will ever pee on in my life just to see the words "pregnant"
and I was still scared when I got my blood test done that somehow they were all still wrong! lol
its a stressful and wonderful time
and my doctor confirmed to me that there is NO such thing as a false positive, if the HGC is there its only because you are preggers.
good luck with it all

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C.T.

answers from Denver on

Hi Becca - give it another few days or even a week and do the test with your first pee in the morning. Your body takes a little while to ramp up those pregnancy hormones that the test detects.

Hopefully congratulations are in order! Good luck!

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N.D.

answers from Houston on

I hate the test with the lines. My husband bought these the last time we were trying to conceive and I had to go get the ones that say Pregnant or Not Pregnant because of that very same reason. It turns out we were pregnant after all, but couldn't read the line test! lol Good luck!!

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T.W.

answers from Denver on

You are pregnant! Even the faintest sign is a positive. Go ahead and take another one but, if I was a bettin' gal I would vote baby!

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J.S.

answers from Detroit on

It took us a couple of months to conceive both our kids, I am pregnant and due in July with our second. I gave up on the pregnancy tests with the lines and got the idiot proof ones that said Pregnant and Not Pregnant. A bit more money but you have no question when you get the results! Good luck!

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A.O.

answers from San Francisco on

I have had the same experience but was not pregnant (having a faint + sign). If you guys are trying there is a possibility that your brain will convince your body that it's pregnant when it's not, even to the point of giving you symptoms. But wait a while before taking another test. Like Jo L. said, there may not be enough hormones in your system yet. Try not to be too heartbroken if you aren't pregnant though, most the fun is in the trying.

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J.L.

answers from Colorado Springs on

In my experience, if you are pregnant those things will light up like a christmas tree. lol

I say wait a few days and take it again. Since you are only a day late there may not be enough hormones in your system to really set the thing off.

Good luck!

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I.G.

answers from Seattle on

What you are seeing is likely an evaporation line. When you wait too long to read the test the reagent in the test sometimes becomes visible as a faint line.

For a reliable result you must read the test within the time given on the package.

I would recommend that you test again in a few days.
Good luck!

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K.M.

answers from Fort Collins on

I am pregnant with my 4th child and when I took the pregnancy test I had a very, very faint line (I had to tilt it too, just to see it). I asked my kids if they could see a line (thinking they would have no clue what I was holding in my hand), and they said, " yes, so your pregnant?" Oops, they found out before my husband did.
I took a dollar store test everyday, to see if the line got darker and a week later is when I saw a big difference. I felt like my mind was playing tricks on me too and it is really hard to wait a week for something as exciting as that.
Good luck! :)

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L.C.

answers from Denver on

it could be a +, but it also could be an evap line. Check out www.peeonastick.com they have pictures of several brands pg tests, both + and- and evap lines.

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J.Z.

answers from Columbus on

A negative test will turn positive after the recommended timing (like after 10 mins it turns). You could still be pregnant but I would wait a couple of days and retest.

Also - I was just told this about negative tests by my ob's office a couple of weeks ago so this is where I got my info.

Good Luck though!!!

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L.D.

answers from Albany on

Could it have been faint before and you didn't notice it? That happened with my second son. I took a test and didn't see anything at first. I never would have thought to tilt it but for some reason I did and could very faintly make out a second line. I was told to wait a week and take another and sure enough it was a much darker second line.

With my 4th son I am pregnant with now, I took a test when I was a couple of days late and it showed negative. A week later I still hadn't gotten my cycle so I took another test and again, there was a faint line. I didn't understand why it was suddenly showing a faint line! I called the 800 # and was told home tests don't usually start to show anything until you are 11 days pregnant and of course the line is going to be faint at that point. Sure enough, I took a few more tests over the next week or two and the line just kept getting darker and darker. For some reason my cycle had changed that month so I got pregnant a week later than I should have "calendar speaking". Needless to say, I will be getting a tubal this time since my cycle is not trustworthy - it had jumped from 28 days to 45 just the month before I got pregnant!!

Definitely wait a week and take another test. That's the only way you are going to know for sure. Good luck and I hope you get the result you are looking for.

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M.K.

answers from Provo on

I got a negativetest when I was just sure that i was pregnant. Waited a week and got a positive for sure.

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S.G.

answers from Cheyenne on

You said you looked 30 minutes later...was that within the time limit listed in the intructions? Usually it will tell you how long the test applicator is valid to be read (1 hour after, 30 minutes after, 10 minutes after, etc....) If it was within that time limit, no matter how faint that line is, it's positive. When I was preg with my daughter, there was no doubt about the line. When I was pregnant with my son, 4 tests came back negative before I got one with such a faint line I could only see it when I stood right next to the window. I finally went and got a digital one that says "Pegnant" or "Not pregnant" just to be sure. Since you are only a day late, there may not be enough HCG's (I think that's what it is?) to make the line definite, so I'd say wait a day or 2 and then do a digital one.

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