Understanding Chemical Pregnancies & HCG Levels: A Comprehensive Guide

Question
Hi,I'm 27 and have two little girls age 4. Recently I was told that I had a chemical pregnancy. Many hpt read positive and the blood test read a hcg level of 6. I had my period on 12-10-05 and by the 15th I had a positive hpt.  I just got my period on 1-11-05, like usual. Is it possible that I was never really pregnant? This has happen at least six times in the last two years. My mother has a tumor in her brain that causes hormone imbalances. Is that possible for me?  

Answer
I doubt that you were ever pregnant. If your last period started on December 10, the earliest that you could have ovulated would have been after December 23 and could only have conceived if you had sex on December 22,23,24, or 25. A preganncy test does not show a positive result until 14-21 days after conception. If you had a positive HPT on December 15, you must have conceived prior to November 25 and you would not have had a peeriod on December 10. A value of 5-6 HCG is considered a negative result. Perhaps you are not performing the HPT correctly. Remember that you must read the results within 3 minutes and the lines must be bold and dark. Any faint line must be considered to be a negative result. If you have regular periods, I doubt that you have any brain tumor, although I don't know your history or exam. Brain tumors are not genetically inherited.