HCG blood test and viablility

[NicAnn]

Ok, so with all my birth knowledge, I cannot doctor my own fertility/pregnancy! I just go crazy. :)

I'm pregnant. I estimate myself being at 5-6 weeks, based on LMP and the date I believe was conception. However, I had a miscarriage earlier in the year, so I went to get a blood test done last night. My level is 918, which indicates 3-4 weeks. I'll go in tomorrow for another to see if levels are rising.

 

Has anyone been in this situation that they could share stories? I am feeling like this one will end in a MC because I just don't feel pregnant. Which is unusual for me.

 

Thanks!

[sbgrace]

My low HCG numbers didn't turn out good but it's the doubling times that matter. I just looked up and that number looks like it might be in the normal range for 5 weeks anyway? Is that possible?

 

I'm sorry for your previous loss. :grouphug: Was your other miscarriage an early miscarriage? I mention only because I had a series of early losses that turned out to be low progesterone. The doctors finally figured it out and my boy's first trimester was progesterone supplemented.

 

Again, I'm not sure your number is really low for five weeks.

[Momof3littles]

ITA I would get doubling time checked. It does slow down a bit eventually too.

 

With my 2nd child, I had good doubling but due to irreg. cycles had a really early US. The OB at the time (before I switched into a midwifery practice) couldn't see anything except for "an empty sac" with their US. It was really, really early and I had some idea of dates. She insisted they should be able to see more based on my hcg number. I thought I recalled from my reading that wasn't necessarily the most accurate. Dating from betas alone is pretty tricky because the variation can be pretty huge. I think the sac was pretty consistent with *my* dates, but not the dates she wanted to use based off of my beta number.

 

I went a week or two later to a hospital with a good US machine (OB admitted her in office one was not the greatest) and there was definitely a baby.

 

The normal range in those early weeks is enormous. Implanting a day or two "later" than average, or a 2.5 or 3 day doubling time for the beta, etc. can all have an influence. If you are doubling and start off with a high number vs. a lower number the whole thing is going to really vary.

 

I had a low beta with my oldest (31 or something like that at 12dpo) and he is a living, breathing 7 yo. My betas doubled fine w/ him, but my first number was low for the date, if that makes sense. eta: I had an IUI so we're pretty sure the dpo number was accurate.

 

Hang in there.

Edited November 2, 2011 by Momof3littles

[WiseOwlKnits]

My first beta for the pregnancy following my ectopic was 31 at 3.5 weeks. He's a happy 4.5-year old now. :)

[gardenmom5]

Ok, so with all my birth knowledge, I cannot doctor my own fertility/pregnancy! I just go crazy. :)

I'm pregnant. I estimate myself being at 5-6 weeks, based on LMP and the date I believe was conception. However, I had a miscarriage earlier in the year, so I went to get a blood test done last night. My level is 918, which indicates 3-4 weeks. I'll go in tomorrow for another to see if levels are rising.

 

Has anyone been in this situation that they could share stories? I am feeling like this one will end in a MC because I just don't feel pregnant. Which is unusual for me.

 

Thanks!

 

with my last child, I was so shocked to have a + test, I did lots of research on false positives.

 

HCg levels can vary greatly in women. HCg builds up to a peak, and then starts to decline. Some women never produced enough to even show a positive test - yet they were pregnant and delivered a healthy baby. a qualitative (multiple tests to determine HCg pattern) would be more acccurate than a quantiative. (one test.)

the fact you don't "feel" pregnant would be more worrying for me than HCg levels. But not every woman does . . . :grouphug:

[Stayseeliz]

There is such a huge range for HCG numbers. Don't get worried yet. I agree just to see how fast the numbers go up. I'm a "slow" HCG producer so my numbers were always in the low side.

[redsquirrel]

Been there. With my second, it did get off to a slow start and then jumped. It did double but hardly. I remember the nurse sounded quite surprised that she was scheduling me for an early viability u/s. It was clear she didn't think we were going to make it that far.

 

It is not unusual to not feel pg until at least 6 or 7 weeks. I remember saying that I would feel so much better if I would just barf. Then I started barfing and regretted my words. Yes, some women do feel pregnant earlier, but it is in the realm of normal to not feel pg even at 5 or 6 weeks.

 

I hope it goes well.

[Rivka]

I think the absolute value of the HCG level doesn't mean very much - what's important is the doubling rate.

 

I know how much it stinks to have to wait for the second test, though, and how impossible it is not to try to interpret and reinterpret the single result. Best wishes to you.

[chicagoshannon]

That sounds about right for 5 weeks. When I was pregnant with dd at 4 weeks 1 day my level was 59 and 2 days later it was 140 or so. Like everyone else said its the doubling time that matters anyway.

[PeacefulChaos]

Ok, so with all my birth knowledge, I cannot doctor my own fertility/pregnancy! I just go crazy. :)

I'm pregnant. I estimate myself being at 5-6 weeks, based on LMP and the date I believe was conception. However, I had a miscarriage earlier in the year, so I went to get a blood test done last night. My level is 918, which indicates 3-4 weeks. I'll go in tomorrow for another to see if levels are rising.

 

Has anyone been in this situation that they could share stories? I am feeling like this one will end in a MC because I just don't feel pregnant. Which is unusual for me.

 

Thanks!

 

Based on what I know about pregnancy, HCG levels really mean almost nothing, as far as the number itself goes. It's the doubling that matters.