Understanding Ultrasound & HCG Levels in Early Pregnancy

Question
I had an ultrasound at 16 days past ovulation (I know when I ovulated due to the charting of bbt and use of OPK's). All that was seen in the ultrasound was a thickening of the lining and MAYBE the start of a sac, but it was too small to really tell. I also had a beta test done the same day (16 dpo) and my levels were 1,232. Don't these levels seem high? And shouldn't we have seen more on the ultrasound with these levels? Thank you.

Answer
Until 5 weeks gestation, we rarely see anything on sonogram. Between 5-6 weeks, we can see an empty gestational sac, but no fetus or fetal heartbeat. AFter 6 weeks, we see a fetus and a fetal heartbeat. Weeks are counted from the first day of your last period, not from the date of ovulation. A pregnancy test will not show a positive result until 14-21 days after ovulation. The best time to take a pregnancy test (or HCG value) is seven days after missing your period. At 1-2 weeks (from the first day of your period) HCG values range from 50-500. At 2-3 weeks from the LMP, the value is 100-5000. Between 3-4 weeks it is 500-10,000. Between 4-5 weeks it ranges from 1000-50,000. Your value is within normal limits for a pregnancy of 2-3 weeks from your last period.