Ever heard of borderline blood test? What is it supposed to mean?

Question

Has anyone ever had "Borderline Blood Test" and came out positive later?
I am 12 days late on my period.. i have almost all the symptoms of being pregnant.. mainly the lower abdominal cramping and tireness.. i took 3 hpts.. the first one a negative, the second one a faint positive, and the third one a negative again.. I took a blood test yesterday and got the results today.. The doctor said that it's at borderline.. He told me to go back for a retest on the 26th of this month.. But that is too long from now.. i want to know the results now so i can be careful of what i do.. I was just thinking... isn't it either a yes or a no.. how can it be at borderline.. has anyone experienced this and later got a positive? OR does anyone know anything or ever heard of a borderline blood test?

Answer 1

The simple answer is that if it's possible (and it sounds like it is), then act like you're pregnant until the 26th.

There are a number of things a "borderline" result could mean... including an egg that got fertilized but didn't grow.

In that scenario, your body would have responded immediately, producing the hormone and preparing for a full pregancy.... and only later realized its "mistake", and stopped producing it. (This would account for the - + - pattern in the urine tests.)

Or, your body could just be slow "kicking into gear" with the hormone levels. (Maybe on one particular day, your urine was a little more concentrated, so held detectable amounts.)

I understand exactly how hard the waiting game is. I went through something similar (though not with blood HGC tests) back in May. I know exactly how hard it is to live with "I MIGHT be pregnant) for several weeks... especially with the holidays (and family get-togethers) looming. But really, time is the only thing that will tell, here.

Here's good thoughts for you & your family. Try to hang in there....

Answer 2

Call your dr back and ask exactly what the result was--it should be a number and anything over 5 is considered pregnant. Your level should double every 2-3 days so tell him you want another test in 3 days to see if your level rose or went down. It sounds like your dr either isn't doing his job very well or thinks you are going to miscarry. Call him--it's his job to explain things better!

Answer 3

Levels of hCG in pregnancy


Human Chorionic Ganadotropin (hCG) is a hormone that can be detected in the urine and blood of humans. This hormone increases during pregnancy so it is common to measure the rise in level using Home Pregnancy Tests ( or HPTs, which measure hCG levels in the urine) or a hCG Beta test (which measures hCG levels in the blood serum). The hCG Beta is much more sensitive then the Home Pregnancy Test and you can usually get a positive result much earlier with a blood test than with the HPTs.
Usually the reference values for hCG Beta are as follows:

Men: less than 5.0 mIU/ml - Normal

Women: Non -pregnant - less than 5.0 mIU/ml - Negative/normal

*Borderline - Between 5.0 to 25.0 mIU/ml (you could be pregnant)

*Positive - Higher than 25.0 mIU/ml

(*) These are values within the first week and few days after conception.
When you are pregnant the level of hCG increases and usually doubles every two to three days. It then reaches a maximum level by the second or third month of pregnancy, followed by a decrease occurring in the third trimester.

Here are typical hCG Beta values in pregnant women up to 22 days post-retrieval (DPR) or days post-ovulation (DPO).

DPR or DPO Amount of hCG in mIU/ml

10 5 - 50

12 10 - 100

14 20 - 200

16 40 - 400

18 70 - 800

20 140 - 1600

22 180 - 3200

Here are the hCG Beta values given by the number of weeks after ovulation:

after the 1st week and 2 days 5.0 to 50.0 mUI/ml

Between 1st and 2nd week 5.0 to 500.0 mUI/ml

Between 2nd and 3rd week 100.0 to 5,000.0 mUI/ml

Between 3rd and 4th week 500.0 to 10,000.0 mUI/ml

Between 4th and 5th week 1,000.0 to 50,000.0 mUI/ml

Between 5th and 6th week 10,000.0 to 100,000.0 mUI/ml

Between 6th and 8th week 15,000.0 to 200,000.0 mUI/ml

Between 8th and 12th week 10,000.0 to 100,000.0 mUI/ml

Note: The levels of hCG for pregnant women with twins or more are usually higher than the values above, which represent the typical values for just one baby.

Answer 4

Depending on the type of blood test... it can be border line. The most common test uses 4.9 & under not pregnant and 5.0 and above is pregnant see how it could be border line now?