Been reading some of the posts, tot I'd share my experience for my last cycle, hope it helps.
My luteal phase is 14 days, means that AF normally arrives on the 15th day after ovulation. Last cycle, after some brown spotting on DPO10 and DPO11, and having tender boobs, I decided to test on DPO13 and got a BFP.
Happy of course, but the next two days had some cramping. I never cramp during my normal cycles, and I tot maybe it was my uterus expanding cos of the pregnancy. However, my BBT did not turn triphasic so I decided to test again on DPO15 (the day AF is due) and I got a BFN. Boobs also not so tender.
So i had what you would call a 'chemical' pregnancy, where the HCG level is high enough to give you a BFP, but maybe the egg has not implanted well or maybe the body rejected the egg because the egg is no good, etc, etc, and so the body decides the pregnancy is not viable and the HCG level drops and you have a BFN.
Over the next few days, my cramping continued (actually my body trying to purge the egg). I went to the gynae on DPO17 and he confirmed the miscarriage. He v-scanned my uterus and gave me painkillers for the cramps (altho i didn't take, cos the cramping was bearable). I also did a blood test and my DH did a SA. I then waited for my body to expel the egg.
The same day (DPO17), I started bleeding, like AF but it's heavier than normal AF, and at one point, there was a clear jelly-like clot. The bleeding lasted about four days.
I went back to the gynae a week later and he scanned and and checked everything and assured me that it's just a one-off. My blood test and DH's SA results were fine. The message is that i can conceive so just continue whatever I've been doing and don't worry. He also advised me not to wait and to try again as soon as possible.
Chemical pregnancies are, if you believe what you read, very very common, and most women don't realise they had one because the BFP only appears if you test early and you only see the BFP for maybe one or two days. If I had not done early testing on DPO13 and if I had waited until my AF was due, I would have just gotten a BFN and just go on to the next cycle.
So a word of caution - if you can't take the emotional roller-coaster, then PLEASE DON'T TEST BEFORE YOUR AF IS DUE. I was really really upset and miserable, but am all right now. [IMG=http://www.singaporemotherhood.com/forumboard/clipart/happy.gif]
If you think you have had a chemical pregnancy, please get a checkup done to make sure that there are no problems. The most common cause is problems with the egg, but there could also be other problems, like problems with the uterus, etc, which should be addressed.
Anyway, to end off, let me assure everybardee, if you think you've had a chemical pregnancy - life goes back to normal pretty quickly. If I count my CD as if my MC bleeding was AF, then I ovulated on CD19, and now am in my 2WW. [IMG=http://www.singaporemotherhood.com/forumboard/clipart/happy.gif]
Keep the faith!