Is it possible to still be pregnant after a negative test?

A pregnancy test will only be positive after their has been implantation and there is enough hCG to be detected by your test. You should be able to get an answer 12DPO (12 days past ovulation.) The earlier you test, however, the more likely it is that the test is a false negative. (IIRC, I read somewhere that four days before a missed period ~75% of pregnant women get a positive test.) Because of this, after my first couple of cycles, I gave up on testing at the first possible moment because it just made me crazy. My thought process was, "It's a negative. ::sadness:: But it might not really be a negative! ::hope:: "I'll just test again tomorrow." Then the cycle repeated itself the next day and I just made myself miserable.

You should also take a look at a few posts about "symptom spotting." TTC has a tendency to make a lot us read more into our symptoms than is really there. Progesterone causes symptoms like sore breasts, etc. that we associated with PMS and pregnancy. Since progesterone is necessary for implantation, we have an increase in these symptoms after ovulation whether we are pregnant or not. I have had some health problems for years and thought I was aware of my body and how it works before TTC. I have learned, however, that I was not as aware as I thought and that I am not immune to issue spotting. Sore breasts? Cramping that happened a lot sooner in my cycle than I thought it did normally? Nausea above and beyond normal? Weird bloating? Gas? Yep, those happened. Nope, not pregnant.

The bottom line is this: Testing too early is crazy-making, so a lot of us don't do it. The symptoms you are having don't mean you are pregnant because "symptom spotting" is a trap that many, many, many of us fall into, even if we are aware of our bodies. While it is possible that you did not yet have enough hCG in your system to get a positive, but you really are pregnant, be prepared for the very real possibility that you aren't. (Of course, I sincerely hope you are pregnant! Good luck!)

/r/TryingForABaby Thread