Are your tubes tied and you skipped a period? Did you take a pregnancy test and it was negative?
If so then you probably let out a big sigh of relief.
Soon the relief you felt was gradually overcome by fear that the pregnancy test was wrong!
You probably asked yourself can you be pregnant with tied tubes and a negative pregnancy test?
You need to know it is possible to be both pregnant and also have a negative pregnancy test but it is not that common.
This article will explain more… keep reading.
Can you get pregnant with tied tubes?
Yes. You can become pregnant with tied tubes if your tubal ligation fails.
It is a popular misconception that tubes come untied after 5 to 10 years. The is false. Tubes DO NOT COME UNTIED.
If tubes don’t come untied then how do you get pregnant?
No procedure is 100% successful. Tubes don’t come untied but they can HEAL OPEN after tubal ligation with small holes that let sperm get through the end of the tied tube. Once the sperm have escaped through the small hole they can gain access to your pelvis, find an egg and fertilize the egg. This fertilized egg will often get trapped in the tube and start growing. This is called an ectopic (or tubal) pregnancy.
- If your tubes heal open with a small hole then only small amounts of sperm get through. You may get pregnant in 1 year … or it may take up to 10 years. This is why doctors like to tell you that your tubes could ‘come united’ in 10 years.
- If your tubes heal open with a large hole then large amounts of sperm get through and you may get pregnant within the first 5 years.
Most pregnancies after tubal ligation are ectopic pregnancies.
An ectopic pregnancy is a serious condition and you need to see your doctor right away… so it is important that you diagnose accurately any pregnancy after your tubes have been tied.
Can you be pregnant with a negative pregnancy test?
Skipping periods and having a negative pregnancy test is an all too common occurrence. It can cause women severe stress, anxiety, and confusion.
If you missed a period and really think you are pregnant… but your test is negative then you probably are not pregnant…but there is always that chance!
There are two main ways you can be pregnant with a negative pregnancy test result:
- You tested way too early
- You bought a poor quality pregnancy test
The most common reason a pregnancy test is negative and the woman is actually pregnant is because they tested too early. The hormone levels are too low to be detected.
So it is technically possible you can be pregnant with tied tubes and a negative pregnancy test.
Testing too early: Avoid the temptation!
We know you may be stressed out about the possibility of being pregnant. You really want to know the answer but you need to try to avoid testing too early.
Most women ovulate about 14 days after their period starts. The egg only lives for 24 hours…so your prime fertility window is 14 to 16 days after your period starts. This is when you actually become pregnant. Another way to think of this is that you become pregnant two weeks BEFORE your periods starts.
As soon as the sperm fertilizes the egg, the egg starts to release HCG hormone. This is the pregnancy hormone. The HCG is very low after fertilization. HCG levels are not easily detectable when you first become pregnant.
Most urine pregnancy test will turn positive a week after you miss your period. The early response tests can turn positive a week BEFORE you miss your period.
What is the best kind of pregnancy test? Blood or urine?
If you want to know the answer to can you be pregnant with tied tubes and a negative pregnancy test, then don’t test too early and get a good quality pregnancy test.
What is the best kind of pregnancy test?
Contrary to popular belief you don’t need to start with a blood pregnancy test! The best pregnancy test may surprise you because the best pregnancy test is not a blood test. The best kind of pregnancy test is a good quality urine test.
Blood pregnancy test can be accurate, but blood pregnancy tests can commonly give falsely positive results and mislead you into thinking you are pregnant. Why?
All pregnancy tests will detect pregnancy hormone Human Chorionic Gonadotropin or HCG. This hormone is produced by the pregnancy, circulates in the blood, is removed from the blood by the kidneys, and is excreted into a woman’s urine.
Some people have other proteins in their blood which can be very similar to HCG. Occasionally, when blood pregnancy tests are done on these patients the test may pick up these similar hormones in the blood and give a falsely positive test result. This is why a blood test can sometimes give you a false positive result.
Since the kidneys filter the blood and excrete pure HCG into the urine a good quality urine test will give you a better test result than the blood test.
This is why a good quality urine test is the best test to give you a ‘yes or no’ answer regarding pregnancy.
The best test is a urine test done with a good quality early response urine pregnancy test.
Don’t trust those cheapie-joe dollar store pregnancy test results! Go get a good quality, early response urine test. It may be a good idea to buy at least two of these tests.
How to trust your pregnancy test result? Follow this advice
As we said before, get a good quality pregnancy test and read the directions first! There is a reason they include comprehensive directions with each pregnancy test kit!
The most common error people make with urine pregnancy test is not reading the test directions and rushing to take the test and get a result. They just need to know.
Just like baking a cake, you need to read the test kit directions and follow them exactly.
Often the instructions will tell you to read the test result within the first 5 minutes and do not read the test after 5 minutes. So what do people do? They leave the test on the counter and come back an hour later to look at it….”just in case”. Many times they will see a false positive result called an evaporation line.
Evaporation lines are the most common reason get false positives….this means your test turns positive but you are not really pregnant. Why evaporation lines happen is more of a test design issue and is beyond the scope of this article. Just follow the directions and through the test in the trash after your time is up…and dont pull it out of the trash latter to look at it ‘just in case’.
If you think you are pregnant and your urine test is negative then this is what you should do:
- Make sure you are using a good quality early response urine pregnancy test
- If the first test is negative wait a week and repeat the test again
If you have a negative test and repeat the test in one week and that test is also negative… then you are likely not pregnant. You can breath a sigh of relief: YOU ARE NOT PREGNANT!
Again: Read the instructions and follow the instructions!
Getting pregnant with tied tubes? Is your test negative or positive
Follow our advice above. Get a good quality urine pregnancy test and test when you miss your period. If the test is negative then wait a week because if you are pregnant you need time for your pregnancy hormone levels to rise. After a week has passed repeat the pregnancy test to see what the second result shows.
If your second test is negative then you are not pregnant!
If the second test is positive then you probably are pregnant.
If your tubes are tied then see a doctor ASAP! It is possible the pregnancy is in your tubes…and if the pregnancy is stuck in your tubes that can be a life threatening situation.
Don’t freak out because you have some time to figure it out….about 1 to 3 weeks. You should call your doctor right away if your pregnancy test is positive after your tubal ligation because they will need to see you as soon as they possibly can see you.
Can you get pregnant with tied tubes and have a negative test result? Yes…but if you follow our advice, repeat the test and you are not pregnant then you can breathe a big sigh of relief. You can trust that your tubal ligation is working as intended.
Sometimes this entire experience awakens the desire to become a mom again. If you then you are not alone…this happens to many women who think they are pregnant after their tubal ligation.
Don’t lose hope because you can get a tubal reversal surgery. Dr. Charles Monteith is the Medical Director of A Personal Choice Tubal Reversal Center and he specializes in reversing tubal ligation.
For more information visit his comprehensive website: Tubal Reversal Surgery With Dr Monteith: A Personal Choice
