can birth control give you a false positive?
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Causes of an incorrect test result. Though pregnancy tests are highly accurate, there's still room for error. A few issues can affect your results, but your birth control pill isn't one of them. The hormones in your birth control pill don't affect a test's ability to detect hCG.
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What can cause a false positive? Getting a true false positive – one where you were never pregnant in the first place – is incredibly rare. Pregnancy tests detect the hCG (human Chorionic Gonadotrophin) hormone in your body, which is only present when you're pregnant.
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Otherwise, beliefs that birth control pills, antibiotics or vitamins C and B interfere with pregnancy test results aren't backed by evidence, Tomaka says. 5.
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You might get your period a few days after a positive pregnancy test and assume you had a false-positive result. However, it could be that you were pregnant but miscarried very early on. “It's not that the test is wrong—it was completely accurate at picking up the hormone [hCG]," Dr. Williams says.
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The RPR test also can produce false-positive results, suggesting you have syphilis when you actually don't. One reason for a false positive is the presence of another disease that produces antibodies similar to the ones produced during a syphilis infection.
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They're not foolproof, however. It is possible to get a positive result when you're not actually pregnant, which is called a false-positive. If you've been looking forward to a positive pregnancy test result, a false-positive is disappointing. The good news is they're rare.
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False Negative Pregnancy Tests However, this is not always the case. False negative pregnancy tests do occur. In fact, it is possible to have a negative result on a pregnancy test and actually be pregnant.
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Can it mean you are pregnant? Breakthrough bleeding on the pill doesn't mean your birth control is ineffective. Pregnancy is unlikely if you are consistently taking the pill as prescribed. If you have missed a dose or have symptoms of pregnancy, your doctor can perform a pregnancy test to rule it out.
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OPKs are known to give false positive results for women with PCOS and other ovulatory issues [1]. They sometimes also give false negative results, which can be based on the cutoff point of the test, or simply that the test is not optimised for the natural level of LH for the particular user.
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A pregnancy test works by detecting the hCG hormone, which is usually only present in your body if you're pregnant. A positive pregnancy test result will mean you are almost certainly pregnant. Getting a true false positive – when you were never pregnant in the first place – is incredibly rare.
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In fact false negatives – where the pregnancy test says you're not pregnant but you actually are – are more common than false positives. However, it's also important to say that this shouldn't give you false hope. A negative pregnancy test is still most likely to mean you're not pregnant.
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False negative pregnancy tests do occur. In fact, it is possible to have a negative result on a pregnancy test and actually be pregnant.
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While the most reliable contraceptives on the market today are hormone based, the hormones in these methods are usually estrogen and progesterone. Neither estrogen or progesterone impact pregnancy tests. Taking a pregnancy test at the wrong time can absolutely cause a false negative.
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Effects of the pill The hormones in your birth control pills won't affect a pregnancy test's outcome. However, some birth control pills affect the lining of your uterus. The hormones in birth control pills thin the lining. This makes it difficult for a fertilized egg to attach.
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A false positive can also occur if you have recently given birth as your hCG hormone levels are still high - and your body has not realised it is no longer pregnant. There are certain medications that can interfere with your hCG levels and lead to a false positive result.
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A test will only show a false positive if you have hCG in your system for another reason such as you were recently pregnant, are taking fertility medications containing hCG, or if you have a medical condition, like some rare ovarian cysts.
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Could a positive result be wrong? Although rare, it's possible to get a positive result from a home pregnancy test when you're not actually pregnant. This is known as a false-positive.