Questionmy period was about a week late and i took two home pregnancy tests and both came back positive, so i went to the doctor to get a blood test done and that test also came back positive. A day later i began to have a slight period and now i took a home pregnancy tset and it came back negative. could this be because i have a cyst on my ovary? and if so what should i do?
AnswerDear Ashley,
No - an ovarian cyst would not give a false positive on a pregnancy test. The hormone which is tested for (hCG) is present pretty much only when a pregnancy exists or if the woman is being given the hormone by injection, such as with fertility treatments.
The bleeding may or may not have been a miscarriage. Vaginal bleeding can occur frequently in the 1st trimester of pregnancy and may not be a sign of problems. Bleeding can be a sign of miscarriage but does not mean that miscarriage is imminent. Studies show that anywhere from 20-30% of women experience some degree of bleeding in early pregnancy. Approximately half of pregnant women who bleed do not have miscarriages.
However, this may be a chemical pregnancy. A chemical pregnancy is the name given to a pregnancy that ends very early in the 1st trimester. Unfortunately, chemical pregnancies are actually quite common. In fact, between 50-60% of all first-time pregnancies are thought to end in miscarriage. A large majority of these can be attributed to chemical pregnancies.
With chemical pregnancies, many women don't even realize that they have experienced one. This is because the vast majority of these miscarriages occur within the initial six weeks of pregnancy. During this time, typical signs of pregnancy are not always present just yet and a missed period may not have happened yet, making it somewhat unlikely for most women to take a pregnancy test. As a result, many women don't even know that they were pregnant in the first place. However, because pregnancy tests are becoming increasingly sensitive, it is now possible for women to detect pregnancy up to 3 days before their period is due. As a result, more and more women are able to recognize their pregnancies ahead of time, making it more likely that women will detect a chemical pregnancy.
Usually, a pregnancy will be confirmed by a positive urine or blood pregnancy test. However, within weeks, these hCG levels begin to drop rapidly, signifying an end to the pregnancy. In addition, no gestational sac or evidence of pregnancy will be seen via ultrasound and a miscarriage will eventually occur. This is because it is believed that chemical pregnancies occur when the fetus dies almost immediately after conception. This happens before an embryo has a chance to implant in your uterus where it can grow and develop.
I would suggest that you return to your doctor's office for another blood pregnancy test to confirm whether or not this has occurred. Just explain the situation to your doctor or his/her nurse and they should order the test for you to find out exactly what has gone on.
I hope this has helped you and answered your question. I wish you well.
Brenda
