It may be possible that they were wrong. I don’t know what happened at the ER, so I can’t tell for sure of course. However, ovarian cysts should not normally be painful. If it is a cyst, and it is painful, it may be because it is bleeding into itself – it’s not very bad, just painful. However, an ectopic pregnancy is of course a possibility, but it is unlikely if you don’t have any of the risk factors and if your HCG is zero (HCG is the ‘pregnancy hormone’ – did they do a pregnancy test at the hospital?).

The major risks for ectopic pregnancies are:
-salpingitis (especially from Chlamydia)
-previous tubal surgery
-prior ectopic pregnancy

If you’ve ever had a chlamydial infection, you are definitely at risk for an ectopic pregnancy. The way to test this is by doing a pregnancy test, not at home, but at the hospital. They can measure the HCG level in your blood and urine, and if the HCG level is zero, there is no pregnancy, ectopic or otherwise. If the HCG level is in the ‘funny’ range (ie not high enough for a normal pregnancy, but still present), they can look into it further using an ultrasound.

SO: if the HCG has been tested and was negative, it’s not an ectopic pregnancy (but it may still be something else). Get your HCG tested again through your doctor, and ask about getting an Ultrasound. I hope your pain resolves!