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What Causes A Faint Line In An HPT And Negative Beta-hCG Blood Result?
Question: I have been getting 'surges' of positive hpts from XXXXXXX 29th until today. Took a blood quantitative on 29th but it was only 1.82. Forward to today and got another series of positives again blood was 1.86. Pregnancy symptoms galore. Since these tests go positive then fade and then go positive again over course of the month, what the heck is going on? Oh, I also had an ultrasound on XXXXXXX 29 that showed a fluid filled sac in uterus with 12 mm lining, tubes looked great and no follicles on right ovary but on follicle on left ovary (maybe corpus lithium?)...so no abnormalities there except for whatever was in uterus making all different brands of hpt's positive...whew, long story!Tech called it a cyst so he told dr that but he never looked. Or measured it! test are testing for hcg but there isn't reall any in the blood..so contradicting! Help please!
Brief Answer:
Some clarification given on test results and some advises
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thank you for asking at healthcaremagic.
I carefully read your question and understand your concern with it and the need for more clarification.
I also saw the picture you have uploaded. To clarify it, this home pregnancy test is negative as it is only one line (in the control section, that is to confirm that the test works properly). If there is a second line at the T section (test) than the test is positive. Did you have one line or two lines in the pregnancy tests you had? If they were only one line than very likely they were negative home pregnancy tests. If you had two lines than they were positive pregnancy tests.
I carefully read the information on the ultrasound. It is good you had one done. Is it an abdominal ultrasound or vaginal ultrasound. If the doctor checked you by placing the probe on your lower abdomen we call it abdominal ultrasound and in this case it is not the best test to do to visualize the pelvic organs. A vaginal ultrasound (with a vaginal probe) would be the best examination for this. Can I kindly ask you to upload the result of the ultrasound so I can also read it?
There are cases when home pregnancy tests come out positive and blood tests come out negative (this might happen when home test is done early and after that the pregnancy is lost) but this should not happen several times in a month- a woman normally produces an egg a month and this should happen only once. If you are having positive pregnancy tests often in a month while blood test for BHCG is negative (this confirms you are not pregnant), than you might need to use a different brand of home pregnancy tests just to make sure is not related to it.
If you are trying to get pregnant please take folic acid daily so your pregnancy is healthier.
So to conclude:
1. please upload the ultrasound result so i can read it and have a better idea what is going on
2. if you would like to have a pregnancy, please use daily folic acid 400-800 mcg/day till 13 weeks pregnant- this way you will have a healthier pregnancy
3. if the home pregnancy test develops only one line, than it is negative (does not show you are pregnant)
4. try using a different brand of urinary tests to perform the home pregnancy tests.
I hope there is some clarifications for you with this message but please feel free to write me and upload the ultrasound report.
Kind regards,
Antoneta Zotaj, MD
Some clarification given on test results and some advises
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thank you for asking at healthcaremagic.
I carefully read your question and understand your concern with it and the need for more clarification.
I also saw the picture you have uploaded. To clarify it, this home pregnancy test is negative as it is only one line (in the control section, that is to confirm that the test works properly). If there is a second line at the T section (test) than the test is positive. Did you have one line or two lines in the pregnancy tests you had? If they were only one line than very likely they were negative home pregnancy tests. If you had two lines than they were positive pregnancy tests.
I carefully read the information on the ultrasound. It is good you had one done. Is it an abdominal ultrasound or vaginal ultrasound. If the doctor checked you by placing the probe on your lower abdomen we call it abdominal ultrasound and in this case it is not the best test to do to visualize the pelvic organs. A vaginal ultrasound (with a vaginal probe) would be the best examination for this. Can I kindly ask you to upload the result of the ultrasound so I can also read it?
There are cases when home pregnancy tests come out positive and blood tests come out negative (this might happen when home test is done early and after that the pregnancy is lost) but this should not happen several times in a month- a woman normally produces an egg a month and this should happen only once. If you are having positive pregnancy tests often in a month while blood test for BHCG is negative (this confirms you are not pregnant), than you might need to use a different brand of home pregnancy tests just to make sure is not related to it.
If you are trying to get pregnant please take folic acid daily so your pregnancy is healthier.
So to conclude:
1. please upload the ultrasound result so i can read it and have a better idea what is going on
2. if you would like to have a pregnancy, please use daily folic acid 400-800 mcg/day till 13 weeks pregnant- this way you will have a healthier pregnancy
3. if the home pregnancy test develops only one line, than it is negative (does not show you are pregnant)
4. try using a different brand of urinary tests to perform the home pregnancy tests.
I hope there is some clarifications for you with this message but please feel free to write me and upload the ultrasound report.
Kind regards,
Antoneta Zotaj, MD
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Kampana
Sorry did not clarify...it was a transvaginal ultrasound. All my home tests have 2 lines (very faint and hard to catch on a pic)...will upload 2 of my better ones. I will have to try and get copy of ultrasound soon but being over weekend, may be difficult. I have been taking a prenatal, with 800 mg folic acid in it, since this all started just in case, as a precaution. I have tried First Response, Clearblue plus, first signal line tests with all very faint lines...not squinters but a line. The Clearblue digital did come up with not pregnant though. I am thinking pituitary hcg possibly. My hpt's surge like opk's....seem strange that there was something on ultrasound though that looked like a round gestational sac (I have been pregnant before). I asked tech how big it was and he said probably 2 mm or so which would put me in 4 week range ( he never measured it)...and hpt's are not getting darker....will see if I can get that report off to you soon though....thank you for your time!
I guess the contradicting evidence here is that these tests (which, at the lowest of 10 mui) are positive when there is only 1.82 of hcg in blood.....how can there even be squinters if blood hcg is that low? Tests done with stopwatch (lines showed within 3-4 minutes) and according to the instructions perfectly. Very, very faint but can hold at arms length and see them. The last pic isn't very good for 2 top tests but shows the line better on bottom test. Thanks
I guess the contradicting evidence here is that these tests (which, at the lowest of 10 mui) are positive when there is only 1.82 of hcg in blood.....how can there even be squinters if blood hcg is that low? Tests done with stopwatch (lines showed within 3-4 minutes) and according to the instructions perfectly. Very, very faint but can hold at arms length and see them. The last pic isn't very good for 2 top tests but shows the line better on bottom test. Thanks
Brief Answer:
These might be evaporation lines- that might cause a false positive test
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thank you for the clarifications and the uploaded images. I am able to see a very faint line in one of the images at the T section.
This faint line with a negative blood test for BHCG means most probably you are not pregnant.
Sometimes it might happen that we get those faint lines and they are called evaporation lines. These happen very early in pregnancy (does not seem your case as the blood test twice ruled it out- and this is a more accurate test than urinary test). It also can not happen that twice in a short time you develop early pregnancy loss- so it is very unlikely it is related to early pregnancy loss.
The other cause of faint line at the T section (evaporation line) happens also if the test is read after the urine is dried, which means you read the test a little later than what is recommended by the user guide.
If you are taking any medications, some of them might cause an interaction with the test accuracy. Urinary infections due to increased protein in urine might cause the test to be falsely positive also.
So to conclude:
1. do not worry about the faint positive pregnancy tests, they seem evaporation lines and nothing to worry.
2. make sure you continue the prenatal vitamins with folic acid
3. do the pregnancy test if your periods get delayed only
4. read the test within the time that is recommended in the user guide and do not read it after that
5. if you take any medications or have a urinary infection (burning and frequency with urine) than it might affect the accuracy of the test also.
6. I would not worry about a brain problem or other hormonal problems as if the BHCG was really increased due to one of those causes. It would still be found high in blood but with no pregnancy in the uterus. So, the fact that BHCG in blood is low this means that it is not related to any brain problems or related hormonal issues.
Please don't be anxious and I wish you will be able to have a pregnancy soon.
I hope this is helpful and answers your questions but please feel free to write to us in case more clarification is needed on this.
Kind regards,
Antoneta Zotaj, MD
These might be evaporation lines- that might cause a false positive test
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thank you for the clarifications and the uploaded images. I am able to see a very faint line in one of the images at the T section.
This faint line with a negative blood test for BHCG means most probably you are not pregnant.
Sometimes it might happen that we get those faint lines and they are called evaporation lines. These happen very early in pregnancy (does not seem your case as the blood test twice ruled it out- and this is a more accurate test than urinary test). It also can not happen that twice in a short time you develop early pregnancy loss- so it is very unlikely it is related to early pregnancy loss.
The other cause of faint line at the T section (evaporation line) happens also if the test is read after the urine is dried, which means you read the test a little later than what is recommended by the user guide.
If you are taking any medications, some of them might cause an interaction with the test accuracy. Urinary infections due to increased protein in urine might cause the test to be falsely positive also.
So to conclude:
1. do not worry about the faint positive pregnancy tests, they seem evaporation lines and nothing to worry.
2. make sure you continue the prenatal vitamins with folic acid
3. do the pregnancy test if your periods get delayed only
4. read the test within the time that is recommended in the user guide and do not read it after that
5. if you take any medications or have a urinary infection (burning and frequency with urine) than it might affect the accuracy of the test also.
6. I would not worry about a brain problem or other hormonal problems as if the BHCG was really increased due to one of those causes. It would still be found high in blood but with no pregnancy in the uterus. So, the fact that BHCG in blood is low this means that it is not related to any brain problems or related hormonal issues.
Please don't be anxious and I wish you will be able to have a pregnancy soon.
I hope this is helpful and answers your questions but please feel free to write to us in case more clarification is needed on this.
Kind regards,
Antoneta Zotaj, MD
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Arnab Banerjee
Answered by
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