Are the pregnancy tests at the doctors accurate?

Question

I've heard that the pregnancy test at the doctors are very sensitive, but no more accurate than a HPT. Is this true? I took one and it was negative. I also took a HPT about a week ago and it was Positive. I got a blood test done today, so im just waiting for the results to come in within the next few days :) And yes, I mean the actual pregnancy tests that they give you at the doctors, not the blood tests :] My doctor also told me that since the urine test I took there was negative, that there was really no need for a blood test, but like I said ive heard of these cases where even the urine tests at the doctors were just as accurate as the HPT's.

Answer 1

i got two positive HPTs at home because i held my urine for 6 hours prior to taking the test. i went to the dr. and got a urine test in the mid-afternoon after drinking water and it came back negative because it wasn't concentrated enough. went back 2 days later for a blood test and it came back positive. i was crushed after the negative urine test because i thought that a doctor's office would have a more sensitive test than an HPT, but when i got home and i researched it, i realized that they aren't more sensitive, in fact, some can be less sensitive than certain HPTs. chances are if you got a positive hpt, you are probably pregnant.  

Answer 2

They're the same ones as HPT's. The doctors probably just buy the more expensive ones. It's the blood tests that confirm your pregnancy.

You could go to the drug store and buy the same one as the doctors use

Answer 3

My dr didn't think I was pregnant based on their test (the actual pregnancy test at the office was negative) when I told him that I had already had 2 positives at home, he was floored. He ordered a blood test, and I was 5 weeks. Good luck!

Answer 4

The pee stick tests at the doctor are as sensitive as a good brand of pee stick tests at the store (like First Response).  The blood test is the most accurate and most sensitive way to tell if you're pregnant.  The HPT tells you based on the amount of HcG in your urine which takes a while for your body to excrete it. It is in your blood much sooner.  If the urine test was negative then the blood test could still be positive. It makes more sense to just wait it out. Time will certainly tell.

Answer 5

Of course, there are always exceptions...but don't let these exceptions fool you into thinking that a blood  or urine test at the doctor's office is not accurate.  They are considered very accurate and reliable.  

Surely, a urine test at the doctor's can be rendered inaccurate by a variety of things (medications, liquid intake you might have had, how far along you might be...).

Answer 6

all three times that i knew i was pregnant and went to the dr office for a test it was negative.  i delivered a child each time in about nine months. the last time we had to request the negative test from the dr to get the insurance to  pay...it was my second marriage and the insurance wouldn't pay it i had conceived before the wedding....we had the test the day before we got married and it was negative...baby eight months later...

Answer 7

Both urine tests and blood tests used for pregnancy are used to detect the pregnancy hormone, hCG.  False negatives are more common than false positives, which are actually rare and are generally caused by a faulty test or by an underlying medical condition.  The urine test given at the doctor's office is pretty much the same as the home pregnancy tests you buy over the counter.  If you took a test and it was negative then took another later and it was positive it is most likely that the negative one was taken before a detectable level of hCG was built up to measure.  I am just a bit confused on the sequence of your tests.  Did you have a negative at home then a positive at home followed by a negative at the doctor's office yet he/she are still doing a blood test?  Most generally, if you have a positive either at home or at the doctor's then it is assumed it is accurate.  Any additional checking would likely involve an ultrasound if the accuracy was still in question.