Am I pregnant or could this be something worse?

[RedVelvet27]

Hi all!
I'm new to posting in here but I read a lot of threads since my pregnancy with twin babies in 2019 ended in miscarriage.
I'm 43 and not actively trying for a baby. I'm convinced I'm in perimenopause but my doc thinks that's hogwash. He's a guy sooo...
Anyhow I had a normal period on Nov 18th 2021. I then had some light brown spotting on Dec 4th and 5th. I thought nothing of it because again the irregular periods I've had in the last year led me to believe I'm in perimenopause.
But around the middle of February I had a weird feeling telling me to take a pregnancy test. In the evening mind you so not fmu. It was a pink dye. I have 2 teenage Daughters and a 24 year old Daughter so I'm pretty familiar with the instructions. To my shock, low and behold, it was positive in under the 3 minute mark.
Fast forward to today, March 5th, and I have since taken somewhere between 5 and 2 million tests. Both pink dye and clear blue. Morning and evening urine. ALL FAINT LINES, positive but FAINT in under the 3 minute mark. I know what pregnancy "feels" like and I don't feel pregnant. I'm a DD cup naturally but with every pregnancy miscarriages and successful, my boobs are ginormous. I know every pregnancy can be different but that's just my personal experience. But I've had no symptoms. None. Aside from occasional nausea but I attribute that to stress.
I'm wondering if anyone has had this happen? I'm deathly afraid of the few other "reasons" that we as woman would produce detectable HCG. What are the chances of cervical or ovarian cancer giving faint positives each time!? I've had cancerous cells in my cervix for a while and have upcoming punch biopsies but I've never had multiple faint positives. I've also read a lot of people saying menopausal women can produce low amounts but my endocrinologist told me a while back that isn't true. I don't know what's going on but maybe some similar stories would give me insight?
I do have an appointment with my oncologist on the 10th of March but I'm driving myself mad here. There's no way it could be a pregnancy with consistent light lines and no symptoms right?
ANY input would help. I'm an orphan and all I have is my Daughters and my partner but I have no one to talk to about this because I don't want to worry them

Hi sorry to hear you're going through all this it must be very stressful! I don't really know what to suggest other than is there anyway you could get a scan ? At least that way you'd see if there was a pregnancy, if not see a baby maybe a sac ?

You would definitely expect lines to get darker but I would also expect that if it was an HCG producing tumour. My guess would be a non viable pregnancy, OP. I hope you’re okay. What a lot to process.

So you've been getting positive pregnancy tests with 2-3 weeks and there's a chance you've been pregnant since November, but you haven't tried to actually see a doctor/ contact a maternity unit/ have a scan??

I think you need to do that asap. By far the most likely thing is that you're pregnant. If you're not, the medical professionals will investigate the alternatives with you.

I wish you all the best OP.

I actually didn't even begin to think I was pregnant untill mid February when I took a test. At that point my period (if I counted Decembers light bleed) was only a week or so late.
Otherwise yeah I could never wait that long to find out.

That's my concern, that they're just staying consistently light.
Hopefully the appointment with gynecological oncologist will sort it out but I'm going to be pushy on checking for ovarian cancer on top of the cervical cells they've found cuz something ain't right

Thank you for your insight

I'm in a similar boat op. Was speaking with my Dr about possible early menopause. No period for mooonths.

I believe I ovulated before Christmas, and then had a period, after which I used opk's. I ovulated right on cue for a 28 day cycle but I'm now on cd34, 19dpo and getting faint lines on cheapies. They are slowly getting stronger though.

Had serious sickness and dizziness on the day I could have had implantation and then it dropped off but came back and I needed to spend most of that week lying down.

Dizziness and nausea have now tailed off pretty much but I've had very wet, clear discharge on and off, slightly flooding so I've had to go to the toilet and check it's not period - and my boobs started getting sore today.

I've been reading up on chemical pregnancies and now, today, blighted ovums (thanks pregnancy board) and now I learn of this possibility of tumours!

God only knows what's going in but I wish I'd get a definite answer either way. I'll be getting a frer on Monday if this carries on.

I’m not surprised you’re feeling stressed about this OP. I would get a doctors appointment first thing on Monday and hopefully they’ll refer you for bloods to check if there’s any rise in HCG or even better, a scan. Good luck x

Out of interest, are you getting positive ovulation tests? There can be an overlap with HCG and LH. It’s not common but if your LH is particularly high, it’s possible it could register very slightly on a pregnancy test, especially if your HCG level is already naturally quite high (not necessarily because of cancer. Everyone has a smidge of HCG varying from 0.+ - around 4 mul) and for some people, that combined with very high LH might well result in a faint line.)

Ask your gp to refer you for a scan. I had several missed periods but hadn't considered pregnancy. Got a positive test and they got me in for a scan two days later. Was over half way.

Have you heard of the hook affect OP? It is rare but it could be what’s happened, especially if your December period wasn’t a period! If you’ve got any cheaper tests can you do one with diluted urine?

Oh my word I'm sorry you're going through this! And yeah I only recently found out that in rare cases ovarian cervical and Colon cancer can increase HCG levels but it is a rarity. It's hard not to stress over the what ifs. I hope you get clarity too

@ChickinMarango I have read about the hook effect but didn't even think about that.
There are a couple of sets of twins on my Momma's side and before my brothers suicide he cracked a double yolk egg and said "you must be having twins".. but then I lost twins in 2019. I didn't know about diluting urine so I will try that thank you!

I swear sometimes no matter how much experience we have it just helps to talk to people that have gone through similar experiences so thank you all for your thoughtful ideas and supportive comments. I feel like every time I see my doctor he hardly listens to my concerns and it took me a while to get this particular oncologist but I know I need to push the issue because there could be something wrong or as was mentioned I could actually be farther along than I am. I would be shocked if I fell pregnant while going through chemo treatments. I'm starting to get my health back and if I have been given the gift of a child it would be a miracle that I would cherish.
The unknown is scary but it's easier to navigate through it with peers who are traveling the same road. So again thank you all so much

@CantStandMeCow I have never had an ovulation test but only because I was always so fertile that if my neighbor got pregnant I swear I did too 😂 my Mamaw had 16 children, she was Native American and hillbilly and fertility runs in the family. But maybe I do naturally have higher HCG you could be right. That would explain the tests never darkening!

@LottyD32 I forgot to tag you in the answer above that was directed at you with my apologies but also please don't lose hope because your lines are getting darker and the sore boobs for me at least were always the best pregnancy test! I never had a pregnancy where my boobs weren't sore. Also I know the whole "everything happens for a reason" seems cliche but I believe it must, and if this pregnancy doesn't stick for you it could be for a reason you may never know!
I've seen a lot of women experience chemical pregnancies and as if their bodies were gearing up for the real thing they'd go on the next month or so to a successful pregnancy.

I'm not a religious woman per day but spiritual because of my Native American background. I believe when I miscarried twins in 2019 that maybe just maybe my Momma needed those babies more than me in the afterlife.
I would be shocked if this is a viable pregnancy but I would embrace it.
... My child could be the same age potentially as my grandchildren! My 24 year old has none yet but her and her fiance are buying a house and working on starting a family. My almost 18 year old has autism and a family is the last thing she needs to think about. My youngest Daughter will be 16 in July.. she's been the baby for 16 years! So it would be quite an adjustment but one we'd welcome with open arms.

Good luck to all of you no matter what you're striving for and struggling with ❣️

I had a very similar experience a few years ago when my period didn’t arrive and I took a test. Usually when I’m pregnant I already know and I take a test to confirm, but this time I didn’t feel pregnant and I was taking a test because I was 5 days late and was trying to rule it out. Like you I got a faint line….. there was 2 tests in the box so I waited a week and took the other, it was still just as faint as the test a week earlier. I made an app with my gp and told her something is wrong!!!! She didn’t agree and said a positive is a positive I said nope you are wrong this isn’t feeling right, she agreed to send me to EPU but thought nothing was wrong. I got to EPU (early pregnancy unit) explained to the nurse there about my faint lines never getting darker, about the zero symptoms, she took a urine test and again the line was barely there, she said to me I believe you and a woman knows when something is wrong. She scanned me and there was nothing at all to be seen besides a thickening uterine wall, she took blood to check my hcg, this was a Monday, I told her the doctor had also took blood on Friday, she said she would get it from the lab and compare them, I got a call 2 hours later telling me this was an emergency, my hcg was rising abnormally and they believe I’m having a pregnancy of an unknown location. They wanted to go in key hole surgery to find and remove the baby, or give me a chemo injection to dissolve it.
It was awful but I knew something was wrong, my doctor called me and apologised to me for not believing me.

Have you ever taken a pregnancy a test before? Is it possible you just have a higher hcg than normal that a test can detect. I say you must get your hcg checked two days apart to find out what it’s doing as of course in pregnancy it should double every 2 days ish.

[quote RedVelvet27]@LottyD32 I forgot to tag you in the answer above that was directed at you with my apologies but also please don't lose hope because your lines are getting darker and the sore boobs for me at least were always the best pregnancy test! I never had a pregnancy where my boobs weren't sore. Also I know the whole "everything happens for a reason" seems cliche but I believe it must, and if this pregnancy doesn't stick for you it could be for a reason you may never know!
I've seen a lot of women experience chemical pregnancies and as if their bodies were gearing up for the real thing they'd go on the next month or so to a successful pregnancy.[/quote]
Thanks, but I will be shocked if this sticks. This will be the 4th, 1 mmc and 2 cp's, and I had really strong symptoms until they failed. I know every pregnancy is different but I want to prepare for the worst so anything else is a pleasant surprise if you get what I mean.

I woke at 7.30am and went back to sleep until just now, 11.10am, which is unheard of for me so maybe thats another positive sign. I know I'm reaching but 🤞

And positive vibes op, who knows, you could be having twins again. And I've got twin sisters too!

@Nikki037297 that's incredible! I'm so glad you pushed for more testing because our instincts as women are strong!
I have taken other tests; on my 24 year old Daughter we well as 17 and 15 year old Daughter I knew I was pregnant straight away before the test confirmed but took one nonetheless. I also took one in 2019 which I subsequently miscarried but I had no doubt in my mind that I was pregnant and no doubt in the dark lines on the test. I feel like something like that must be going on with me. No signs of ectopic pregnancy as there would be many other pains and symptoms.
I'm determined to push this very hard with my oncologist on the 10th of March. My gut is that there's just something strange going on similar to your feeling.
I'm glad you came out of that medical emergency. Peace be with you.

Upon taking the sage advice of @ChickinMarango I diluted my fmu and proceeded to get yet another faint positive...
I think I may go into the ER today (I'm in America) and I may have to bring myself to tell a tale in order to get a scan so I am more prepared when I see my oncologist on the 10th. I may go in and tell them that I have recently found out I'm pregnant (which I feel horrible because I just know I'm not) and am having cramps (which I'm also not). At least that way they can do a scan under the premise of a risky pregnancy. This will be much faster than trying to get a referral and seeing a gynecologist. I know my oncologist and while he specializes in what he does as far as cancer treatment he is narrow minded and doesn't listen to any concerns outside of what he's treating.
It's horrible the lengths we have to go through to be actually heard. It's either a pregnancy, viable or not, or something else that is causing a rise in HCG. Whether that's cancer or tumors or just simply a sudden higher HCG baseline.. process of elimination. It's all I can do
All of your insight truly has been helpful. I will definitely keep this thread updated for anyone who is experiencing similar issues.

Could you find someone with a Doppler if you cant get a scan ? Can you pay for one in America ?
I think I'd have to know asap . Hopefully it's the outcome you want .

This may sound like a random question, but I'm in a similar situation and clutching at straws. I don't suppose you've had a covid vaccine recently?

I have been getting faint positives for two months now , no period after the 2nd Pfeizer early Jan. According to my GP it is nothing to worry about and is a normal side effect after the vaccine.

@gunnersgold you actually can buy these on Amazon. If I don't go to the ER that may be an option.
Unfortunately all of my friends are about my age (I'm 43) and a lot of them are grandparents so none of them have a Doppler but thank you for the idea!
If I did get one maybe one of my 3 daughters could use it in the future because I would have no other use for it 😂

Oh wow @letmesleep123 I have not heard of that but yes I've had both vaccines and a booster! That one is new to me! I will bring that up if or when I go to the ER that's quite interesting