I missed my period last month, but I am spotting now. What could be the reason?

Question

Hi doctor,

I have normal periods every month that are regular. This time I got a spotting but missed the periods last month. After that, I got nausea, back pain, weakness, and food aversions. I did a urine pregnancy test four days ago, and there was a very faint positive line. But the doctor said that the beta HCG blood test is negative, which I did today. What could be the reason for this? I am currently taking Glyciphage 500 for diabetes.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I went through your query. It is always known that blood pregnancy tests, which reflect quantitative beta hCG (Human chorionic gonadotropin), are more sensitive than urine tests. The most common causes of false-positive urine pregnancy tests are:

1. Error in using the kit in which the evaporation line is usually mistaken as the double-positive line, at times expired equipment is used or if the urine is not concentrated enough (that is why one should always use the first pass urine in the morning). It is also essential to follow the instructions and wait for a more extended period to interpret the results. Recent medication use like fertility medications, psychotropic drugs, Dopamine, and anti-seizure medicines.

2. Urinary tract infection- it releases inflammatory byproducts, a protein that gives false-positive results in the urine.

3. May be due to a ruptured corpus luteum cyst.

So do not worry. It is well known that hCG (if present) doubles every 48 hours in early pregnancy. So you can repeat after two days (blood beta hCG) to see the trend. If it increases, then there might be a pregnancy. On the other hand, if still negative, you can be reassured that you are not pregnant. I hope this helps you with your query. Feel free to reach out with any further questions.