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Is A Negative Pregnancy Test Done 5 Weeks Post A Surgical Abortion Accurate?
Posted on
Thu, 10 May 2018
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Thu, 10 May 2018
Answered on
Fri, 3 Nov 2023
Last reviewed on
Question : Hi Doctor,
I am asking this on behalf of my girlfriend as it seems Im more worried that she is.
My girlfriend had a surgical abortion done on 4 April, and we have been having protected sex ever since 10 days after the surgery. I guess the surgery was fine as she was not bleeding much and she felt fine after the surgery, all pregnancy symptoms were gone in 3-4 days, but then she was not feeling right in the 3rd week (Frequent urination) so she took a urine test from a clinic but the result is fine.
It's been 5 weeks now and she's feeling nauseated suddenly few days ago until now, so I advised her to take a pregnancy test on 8 May (35 days / 5th week post op), the test was negative. I understand that the hcG level should drops to zero after 2-3 weeks and a negative pregnancy test is expected if the surgery went well. I am worried that if she has a new pregnancy now.
My question is, if someone had a surgical abortion and get pregnant again, will the pregnancy test shows false negative in 35 days post op, as her hcG level dropped to zero and now rise again due to a new pregnancy?
She is feeling normal except having nausea, no fatigue, no back pain, no headache, no pregnancy-like symptoms other than this, but worth to mention is that she suddenly likes to eat noodles over rice and ask for spicy food for a few days now. I have been using protection ever since and checked basically everytime if the condoms were fine, but I am still worried if she will get pregnant again, so, is a negative pregnancy test done 5 weeks post op, accurate enough to determine if my girlfriend is not pregnant anymore, nor there is no new pregnancy? or it is still possible for a false negative test due to a new pregnancy?
I am asking this on behalf of my girlfriend as it seems Im more worried that she is.
My girlfriend had a surgical abortion done on 4 April, and we have been having protected sex ever since 10 days after the surgery. I guess the surgery was fine as she was not bleeding much and she felt fine after the surgery, all pregnancy symptoms were gone in 3-4 days, but then she was not feeling right in the 3rd week (Frequent urination) so she took a urine test from a clinic but the result is fine.
It's been 5 weeks now and she's feeling nauseated suddenly few days ago until now, so I advised her to take a pregnancy test on 8 May (35 days / 5th week post op), the test was negative. I understand that the hcG level should drops to zero after 2-3 weeks and a negative pregnancy test is expected if the surgery went well. I am worried that if she has a new pregnancy now.
My question is, if someone had a surgical abortion and get pregnant again, will the pregnancy test shows false negative in 35 days post op, as her hcG level dropped to zero and now rise again due to a new pregnancy?
She is feeling normal except having nausea, no fatigue, no back pain, no headache, no pregnancy-like symptoms other than this, but worth to mention is that she suddenly likes to eat noodles over rice and ask for spicy food for a few days now. I have been using protection ever since and checked basically everytime if the condoms were fine, but I am still worried if she will get pregnant again, so, is a negative pregnancy test done 5 weeks post op, accurate enough to determine if my girlfriend is not pregnant anymore, nor there is no new pregnancy? or it is still possible for a false negative test due to a new pregnancy?
Brief Answer:
Abortion does not cause false negative test.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
After a surgical abortion the pregnancy test takes 3 weeks to become completely negative. After that if she conceives again the test will show a positive result. IT does not show a false negative result.
The pregnancy test is accurate. To be more sure you can get her blood HCG levels evaluated. The chances of false negative urine test are less than 3%. Wait for her next periods and in case the periods are delayed then do a repeat test to be more sure.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Rakhi Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Rakhi-Tayal
Abortion does not cause false negative test.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
After a surgical abortion the pregnancy test takes 3 weeks to become completely negative. After that if she conceives again the test will show a positive result. IT does not show a false negative result.
The pregnancy test is accurate. To be more sure you can get her blood HCG levels evaluated. The chances of false negative urine test are less than 3%. Wait for her next periods and in case the periods are delayed then do a repeat test to be more sure.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Rakhi Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Rakhi-Tayal
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Remy Koshy
Hi Doctor,
It's you again! Thanks for the reply but I am quite worried.
So you're suggesting that the test will show negative (Which it did) after 3 weeks pos surgery, and if she conceives again it will show positive result. Is that possible that she's done the test too early so the test showed false negative? Let's say, if she ovulated after 2 weeks post surgery and conceived around the time, will the test show false negative after 5 weeks of surgery (3 weeks after ovulation)?
She's been feeling nauseated and eating quite a lot lately, she's not feeling fatigue, headache, back pain, abdominal pain, etc (she has quite a few pimples breaking out lately though), and she's more energetic than me even she's been sleeping less than I did for a few days?!?!?!
I cannot explain the reason why and she doesn't have a lot of pregnancy symptoms. I don't know if its PMS or not, except nausea and suddenly like to eat noodles and spicy food, she's feeling totally fine.
Anyway, except the pregnancy test question above, would you also please tell me what symptoms will a person have if she's having a new pregnancy right after an abortion? Is it possible for someone to have ONLY nausea with no other symptoms in early stage of pregnancy? My girlfriend had multiple symptoms prior to her surgery though?!
It's you again! Thanks for the reply but I am quite worried.
So you're suggesting that the test will show negative (Which it did) after 3 weeks pos surgery, and if she conceives again it will show positive result. Is that possible that she's done the test too early so the test showed false negative? Let's say, if she ovulated after 2 weeks post surgery and conceived around the time, will the test show false negative after 5 weeks of surgery (3 weeks after ovulation)?
She's been feeling nauseated and eating quite a lot lately, she's not feeling fatigue, headache, back pain, abdominal pain, etc (she has quite a few pimples breaking out lately though), and she's more energetic than me even she's been sleeping less than I did for a few days?!?!?!
I cannot explain the reason why and she doesn't have a lot of pregnancy symptoms. I don't know if its PMS or not, except nausea and suddenly like to eat noodles and spicy food, she's feeling totally fine.
Anyway, except the pregnancy test question above, would you also please tell me what symptoms will a person have if she's having a new pregnancy right after an abortion? Is it possible for someone to have ONLY nausea with no other symptoms in early stage of pregnancy? My girlfriend had multiple symptoms prior to her surgery though?!
Brief Answer:
There may not be any symptoms of pregnancy.
Detailed Answer:
Hello.
Thanks for writing again.
Yes. If she conceives again the test will become positive again. It can be too early to do the test. But usually the test shows a positive result if the periods are overdue by a week. After the abortion sometimes it takes 4-8 weeks for the ovulation to resume. It is difficult to conceive again so soon after abortion.
The test should be positive three weeks after ovulation if she is actually pregnant.
There may not be any symptoms of pregnancy after an abortion. The symptoms vary from person to person and there is a wide range of symptoms. We cannot predict a pregnancy only based on the symptoms. A positive test is a must to confirm this.
Hope my answer is helpful.
Do accept my answer in case there are no further queries.
Regards.
There may not be any symptoms of pregnancy.
Detailed Answer:
Hello.
Thanks for writing again.
Yes. If she conceives again the test will become positive again. It can be too early to do the test. But usually the test shows a positive result if the periods are overdue by a week. After the abortion sometimes it takes 4-8 weeks for the ovulation to resume. It is difficult to conceive again so soon after abortion.
The test should be positive three weeks after ovulation if she is actually pregnant.
There may not be any symptoms of pregnancy after an abortion. The symptoms vary from person to person and there is a wide range of symptoms. We cannot predict a pregnancy only based on the symptoms. A positive test is a must to confirm this.
Hope my answer is helpful.
Do accept my answer in case there are no further queries.
Regards.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Nagamani Ng
Good morning doc,
Thank you for the reply and I know you've been trying to ease my mind again and again. I have few more questions to ask but I guess it will be it.
I know it varies from person to person but are you suggesting that most people, or on average, women won't be ovulating so soon? I've read a lot on the internet and people says it's actually easier than usual to conceive straight after an abortion (surgical one)? Will a period be delayed not only because the abortion but also due to the delay of ovulation? People say after an abortion a woman can still have a period without ovulation, it's getting 6 weeks after abortion soon but my girlfriend has no period coming yet. As said she's been feeling nauseated for a week now and I don't know why (she may have some stomach upset as not just nausea she seems to have hiccups also)
As you suggested, it's difficult to conceive so soon, plus that I've been using protection all the time, I guess the possibility of she getting a new pregnancy is very low, the negative test also indicated the abortion surgery is a successful one.
The nausea just came out suddenly a week ago, and that's what I read on the internet, "you may experience pregnancy symptoms in your first few periods after an abortion", this is what I don't understand, if a urine test indicates not pregnant, doesn't it mean the hormone is draining out of the woman's body? How come pregnancy-like symptoms can still appear if pregnancy hormone is already drained?So the final question is, is it normal for women to experience pregnancy-like symptoms before their period after an abortion like PMS?
Thank you for the reply and I know you've been trying to ease my mind again and again. I have few more questions to ask but I guess it will be it.
I know it varies from person to person but are you suggesting that most people, or on average, women won't be ovulating so soon? I've read a lot on the internet and people says it's actually easier than usual to conceive straight after an abortion (surgical one)? Will a period be delayed not only because the abortion but also due to the delay of ovulation? People say after an abortion a woman can still have a period without ovulation, it's getting 6 weeks after abortion soon but my girlfriend has no period coming yet. As said she's been feeling nauseated for a week now and I don't know why (she may have some stomach upset as not just nausea she seems to have hiccups also)
As you suggested, it's difficult to conceive so soon, plus that I've been using protection all the time, I guess the possibility of she getting a new pregnancy is very low, the negative test also indicated the abortion surgery is a successful one.
The nausea just came out suddenly a week ago, and that's what I read on the internet, "you may experience pregnancy symptoms in your first few periods after an abortion", this is what I don't understand, if a urine test indicates not pregnant, doesn't it mean the hormone is draining out of the woman's body? How come pregnancy-like symptoms can still appear if pregnancy hormone is already drained?So the final question is, is it normal for women to experience pregnancy-like symptoms before their period after an abortion like PMS?
Brief Answer:
You have understood correctly.
Detailed Answer:
After an abortion- medical or surgical, the ovulation does not start so soon. The period can be delayed due to delay in ovulation or due to the hormonal changes.
Hiccups with nausea are more suggestive of gastritis rather than a pregnancy related symptom.
The pregnancy like symptoms after abortion are not related to the hormonal levels. It is related to the psychological causes- the body does not accept that the pregnancy is no longer there.
Yes it is normal for women to experience pregnancy like symptoms after an abortion like PMS.
Regards.
You have understood correctly.
Detailed Answer:
After an abortion- medical or surgical, the ovulation does not start so soon. The period can be delayed due to delay in ovulation or due to the hormonal changes.
Hiccups with nausea are more suggestive of gastritis rather than a pregnancy related symptom.
The pregnancy like symptoms after abortion are not related to the hormonal levels. It is related to the psychological causes- the body does not accept that the pregnancy is no longer there.
Yes it is normal for women to experience pregnancy like symptoms after an abortion like PMS.
Regards.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Yogesh D
Answered by
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