Confusing hcg Levels

  My question concerns hcg levels...I was taken to the er on September 16 for abnormally severe cramping and bleeding two weeks before my period was due.  They suspected an early miscarriage, but a quantative hcg level of less than five lead them to believe it was just an early period.  Two weeks later, I began to "feel" pregnant as I had with my son--another quantative hcg level was run on October tenth and this one was 130.  They wanted to confirm a viable pregnancy, so two more quantative levels were run--October 14 with a result of 1030, and October 21 with a result of 24,000.  According to my doctors office, a level of 24,000 indicates an approximate 7-8 week pregnancy, but how can that be when the tests run on September 16 were all negative?  
  Thanks,
  Sarah  
Dear Sarah:
Please look back through some of the other hCG questions.
You have an hCG pattern that is doubling at about twice the rate one would expect. The most common explanation is a twin pregnancy.
An hCG level has poor correlation with the dating of pregnancy: pregnancy is best dated from an ultrasound examination.
Keywords: pregnancy, hCG, dates
This infomration is provided for education purposes and is not a medical onsultation. If you have specific questions, please contact your physician.