hcg levels are high but struggling to see baby on scan

Hi, i had my hcg levels taken last tues 16th dec they read 2160 then on thurs 18th dec i had an internal scan done, they doctors couldnt find any baby in my uterus they repeated bloods on friday 19th dec and the levels had doubled to 5460, had another internal scan done and they could see something measuring 5mm.... they thought it was ecptopic so i had surgery... couldnt find anything in my tubes so they have now ruled out ecptopic..... i have to have another scan on wednesday 23rd dec to see if that measuring 5mm has grown, they said for someone with levels that high they should be able to see a good sized baby..... my head is now all over the place i just want to know everything is ok with my baby and it is growing well......

has anybody else had or heard something like this??

[Elaine Brown, MD]

Hi!
You are indeed a mystery!
Most of the time, by the time the level reaches 2000 a sac is visible SOMEWHERE!
Certainly by the time the level are over 5000!
The fact that the level is doubling, suggests that the pregnancy is growing normally.
If the level begins to drop, that means that something is going wrong.
If you were my patient, I'm not totally sure what I would do!
I guess, I would continue to monitor the levels as long as they were rising, and continue to do ultrasounds to look for the pregnancy.
You may have an abdominal pregnancy--with the baby is a very unusual location.
I would have a very low threshhold for recommending methotrexate--which is a medication that can dissolve an abnormal pregnancy--simply because a pregnancy that is in the wrong place can cause major problems for the mother if it begins to bleed.
I hope the mystery is solved soon and you have a healthy baby!
Dr B