blood test

[stilltired]

I should really stop reading stuff on the internet and scaring myself, but here goes, I really, really need some insight on this:
I don't have a clue how long my normal cycle is.  Got off the pill in late September.  It was clockwork on the pill, 25 days on the dot, but could be longer or shorter off the pill.  I am not trying to get pregnant and it is a BAD time for me to have a baby.  I've been on lots of medication to treat Lyme, etc, that could be very harmful to a fetus.

LMP: 10/3
possible conception date: 10/25
First HPT: 11/13 Negative (with first morning urine)
Second HPT: 11/15 Negative (at night)
Third HPT: 11/17 Negative (with first morning urine)
Blood test at doctor's office:  11/19 Negative

Today: 11/29 still no period.  Very bloated, especially abdomen, feel like I've gained a ton weight but according to scale I've only gained 2 pounds.  Absolutely no other pregnancy symptoms.  In fact, I feel great.  I thought everything was fine because a blood test was negative, but I had to go and read some stuff and now I'm reading that the blood test might have been too early?

I've been on spironolactone for acne, which is a diuretic.  I reduced my dose in late October and have only been taking it intermittently now, which could explain for the bloating, as I might be retaining more water than I did when I was on the higher dosage.

However, I've heard that diuretic medications can cause a false negative pregnancy test.  I can see how this would interfere with a urine test if the diuretic is diluting the urine, but can it also cause lower levels of hCG to show up in the blood?

Also, another awful thought is if levels of hCG are too low to detect in the blood 25 days after conception could that mean miscarriage or something wrong with a pregnancy?

[stilltired]

Thanks...I should clarify, it was 25 days after possible conception date, NOT 25 days after missed period.  I'm not sure when my period was due, although my last period before unprotected sex was 10/3.  All the dates are in my first post, but the blood test was more than 3 weeks after possible fertilization.

[KM604]

They may be able to tell my doing an exam and feeling your uterus....I can't say for sure.  But an hcg test of <5 is considered NOT pregnant.  But I had mine tested the day after my first missed period and my hcg was 180.  Now the hcg can vary from women to women, but you would definitly have a positive 3 weeks later.  I can tell you that your period will most likely be a little off after going off the pill.  My first 3 periods were anywhere from 1-3 weeks late (then I got pregnant) - so I sometimes went almost 7 weeks without a period.  Your body will just need time to adjust.  

[stilltired]

also, I forgot to ask, I had an appointment with a vulvovaginal specialist a few days ago to follow up on a condition I have (it's basically an inflammatory vaginitis condition similar to lichen planus that I've had for years).  She knew I had the pregnancy tests, etc, and she did an exam and checked things out concerning the vulvovaginal condition, she's a gyn by trade so she would have been able to tell if I were pregnant by now, right? (I'd have been 4 1/2 weeks pregnant at the time of the examination).

[stilltired]

Thanks, that makes me feel a little better. I thought blood tests were nearly 100% accurate, but then I've been reading about people who had hCG levels of only 2 for the first several weeks of pregnancy, and that wouldn't be picked up by most tests, including a qualitative blood test.  
But I would think an hCG level of 2 would not be possible by around 3 weeks after conception, would it?  Even if I didn't have an egg fertilized till 4 or 5 days after intercourse, by the time I had the blood test it was still around 3 weeks after.  Or if you had a level that low wouldn't it mean something was wrong?

[alaysha]

It would of detected the pregnancy by a blood test 25 days after a missed period. No medicine would be able to interfere with it because it is directly checking your blood. Also it can detect levels that are extremely low and everything over 5 is considered positive. Considering that levels double every 24-72 hours you would of come up positive already. If there was an early termination or something is wrong with the period and you didn't bleed it out then your levels would most likely be rising abnormal but they would be present until you did bleed it out.

Honestly I don't think your pregnant. Getting off birth control and really mess with your cycle and I wouldn't think it to be very weird for you to completely miss one.