PLEASE HELP - hCg levels not double

Hello:

First off, I am hoping to be a dad, but some of the my wife's hCg levels are making us a nervous wreck.

We went in on 3/5/08 to the OBGYN to get a blood test for HcG levels and her level was 43000. The doctor asked us to do another test on 3/7/08 and her level is 46800. The nurse called to say that since the level did not double she wanted us to come in and do a Sonogram tomm. We are a nervous wreck right now and very very anxious.

The nurse told us that her progestrone levels were "normal and good". We believe we are 6-7 weeks pregnant.

A lot of poeple say that hcg levels are supposed to double, but our didnt.Should we be concerned, or ust treat this as a number.

We dont believe we have had a miscarriage before (not that we know of) and there is no history of miscarriages in the family either. It is just so frustrating to talk to a nurse who does not give you any information at all.

We are hoping to be first time parents and are anxious to hear from more eductaed folks like you. please help us!

[kjbutcher]

First of all, this is the most frustrating time of a pregnancy.  There really arent answers to give.  Pretty much all symptoms are symptoms of miscarriage and a normal pregnancy.  There is nothing that a nurse can tell you at this time.  I went through the same thing this time last year and also was very frustrated with my doctor and nurses.  I since learned that they really had nothing to tell.  They just didnt know.  There is no way to know.  Now to your question...yes hgc levels are supposed to double.  Mine did not and i had a healthy baby.   Mine did go up 20% in two days though.  The only way to know anything for sure is the ultrasound.  If you see a heartbeat, it voids all blood test numbers.  If you dont, it may be too early, so dont make any rash decisions.  Usually you need to be 7 weeks to see the heartbeat, some people dont see it till 8-9 weeks.  Good luck!

[rolrblade]

Sorry, correction. The nurse has called us in on Wednesday (3/12/08) for an ULTRASOUND.

Can someone please help answer our question!

[rolrblade]

Thank you KJButcher. Can you suggest something good to do for my wife to take her mind off this.......these are very anxious and nerve racking 2 waiting days.

[rolrblade]

Can anyone else please respond? Thank you....we just dont know where else to trun for help.

[GNicole]

If I remember correctly once your numbers are pretty high like 43,000 they don't double every 48 hours. You could google HCG to get some answers. Did she have a blood test prior to the one that was 43,000? My first pregnancy ended in miscarriage but my HCG never got above 100. 43,000 definitely sounds good. Did they order another blood test?  
It seems like some doctor's offices are very unsympathetic, I had a horrible experience when I had the miscarriage. I am sorry you are going through this, I know the waiting is the hardest part. I would demand to be seen sooner. You could always go to the ER. Good luck to you and your wife! :)

[rolrblade]

Hello Nicole:

Thank you for your response. I did read up on the American Pregnancy association that says that hcG levels peak beween 8-11 weeks (yeah right, what a large gap ! )

We did not get an HcG test before the 43000 one. That was our first test. The decent news is she is not cramping and no spotting yet. In the second test, last friday, her numbers were 46,000.

I hate it when doctors office lose all human emotions when they talk to their patients.

Please keep us in your prayers, ....... 2 days of waiting is killing us!

[GNicole]

I will keep you in my prayers, I know how hard the waiting is!

[jennyb473]

Below is a guide from americanpregnancy.org on HCG levels.  If you think you are 6-7 weeks pg, her numbers sound great.  HCG stops doubling every 24-48 hours once it reaches like 5000 - after that it takes 48-72 and then even up to 96 hours to double the higher it goes.  So them asking for repeat HCG in 2 days based on 6-7 weeks and a number that high was really stupid if you ask me....all it does is freak people out.  The doctor's office should know better than that.  BUT - it went up, that is the best part.  Don't freak, stay calm, tell your wife to relax.  The ultrasound on Wednesday would be the logical next step regardless of what her numbers are doing.  And like the other poster said, u/s is much more accurate display of what is going to happen than HCG - so if they see a hb that is great - stop getting HCG done at that point!  But also, remember a hb cannot always be detected at 7 weeks, so it may take another one in a few more weeks to confirm it.  If there is no bleeding or heavy cramping or any other indication of mc, then RELAX and enjoy!  Best of luck to you!!!

Guideline to hCG levels during pregnancy:
hCG levels in weeks from LMP (gestational age)* :

3 weeks LMP: 5 - 50 mIU/ml
4 weeks LMP: 5 - 426 mIU/ml
5 weeks LMP: 18 - 7,340 mIU/ml
6 weeks LMP: 1,080 - 56,500 mIU/ml
7 - 8 weeks LMP: 7, 650 - 229,000 mIU/ml
9 - 12 weeks LMP: 25,700 - 288,000 mIU/ml
13 - 16 weeks LMP: 13,300 - 254,000 mIU/ml
17 - 24 weeks LMP: 4,060 - 165,400 mIU/ml
25 - 40 weeks LMP: 3,640 - 117,000 mIU/ml
Non-pregnant females: <5.0 mIU/ml
Postmenopausal females: <9.5 mIU/ml

[rolrblade]

Thank you very much for the support and awesome advise.

You guys are a great bunch. If anyone has anymore information to share, please let me know. I will update the status on this blog once we get the U/S done on Wednesday!

[GNicole]

Yes please let us know an update! Good luck on Wednesday!

[BabyHardiman]

Can I ask you why they took her HCg levels?  Around here that is not the norm unless you have a history of previous micarriage.

Her numbers look good, I think you should go out and buy "What to expect when expecting", your gonna need it!  =)

Good luck and you guys are in my prayers as well.

[rolrblade]

I dont know why these doctors do what they do.....sometimes I just feel that they are tring to rip the insurance companies. What they dont realise is the anxiety it causes normal people like us.

I just hope everything is okay :) This just assures me that however far science can take us..... there is STILL GOD! Try guessing HIM :)

[rolrblade]

Well, we spoke to the Nurse a few mninutes ago to see if we could get an earlier appointment, but the doctor is on leave. Tomm the doctor has a surgery scheduled.

The nurse told my wife "In the event of an unfortunate reason then she could schedule us with another doctor" .

Now this has TOTALLY freaked out my wife and me too upto a certain extent.

What do I do?

[rolrblade]

Friends:

I have posted an update above. Bumping this thread so that we dont lose visibility

[BabyHardiman]

Has your wife experienced any spotting at all or extreme cramping.  I still can't understand why the would do an HCg count without a justified reason.  This does nothing but worry, and add stress that is totally uncalled for.

I want you to undestand that they may not see anything on the ultrasound other than a sac... it may be too early to see a heartbeat.  Why not just wait until the eighth week?

[rolrblade]

No she has not experienced any cramping or Spotting at all. I too am confused why they did a second HcG test. I understand that they may not see anything but the sac, but I believe we need to do this ultrasound atleast for our peace of mind!

Keeping our fingers crossed and hoping and praying for the best

[rolrblade]

Update:

Bumping up so that we dont lose visibility

[kjbutcher]

they may have done the hcg to verify the pregnancy and to see how far along she was to know when to make the first appointment.  I have no idea what to tell you about what to do to keep her mind off of it.  I went through this for 2 weeks because I was spotting at 5 weeks and the u/s wouldnt show anything until 7 weeks.  Nomatter what I did i worried all day every day.  It will be this way for a few more weeks even if you get good news tomorrow.  If you see the heartbeat, by the end of the day she will have something new to worry about.  That is just the way the first 14 or so weeks are.  Good Luck.

[Rtarbox]

All I can say is good luck. As everyone else has said, if she's not bleeding or cramping, i'd try not to worry about it too much. I just got past the 14wk point - I'm 15w3days now, and they're right. It's just hard that early. As to keeping your minds off it, it's not perfect, but try to do something together, go to dinner and a movie, something couple-oriented. You guys sound fine to me, but even if everything's not okay, you still have each other. (Sounds cliche, I know, but it works - my partner and I went through me bleeding twice so far, and a car accident, and the baby's still fine, knock on wood.) So, good luck, and try to concentrate on you!

[rolrblade]

Thank you all for responding. Bascially, we both went to work today, because if we sit at home.... the anxiety will eat us. Atleast this way we can keep our mind off it.

I will provide an update on the ultrasound tomm. Just curious. She is 7 weeks + 2 days as of today. What should we expect to see on the ultrasound? Are there any specific questions / things to look for that we should ask the doctor / technician?

[rolrblade]

Bumping^^^

ANyone knows what we should expect to see at 7w 2 days u/s?

[Mommy2be2]

I have done a lot of reserach online re hcg levels in early pregnancy, and everything I have seen says to not make too much of hcg numbers.  I personally think it is good just to be within the average range, per your numbers posted above.  My levels are also not doubling as my OB-GYN says they should be, but my levels are much lower.  13 DPO=50, 15 DPO=73, and 19 DPO=181.  I'm sure you've already seen this info, but I thought it was "hopeful":

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/duringpregnancy/hcglevels.html

"In about 85% of normal pregnancies, the hCG level will double every 48 - 72 hours. As you get further along in pregnancy and the hCG level gets higher, the time it takes to double can increase to about every 96 hours."

I interpret this as the other 15% of women's hcg levels rise at a different rate.

My OB-GYM is going to do a vaginal ultrasound next week, when I should be approx. 6 weeks gestation.  I have a friend that had a vaginal ultrasound at 7 weeks and they were able to detect a heartbeat.

We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers!  I am going to keep thinking positively until I know otherwise.  I say as long as your wife still has pregnancy symptoms and a rising hcg level, then you're still pregnant!  Keep us posted!

[Mommy2be2]

I found this post re HCG with a response from Dr. Keith Downing:

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/311421

[rolrblade]

Thanks a million. This clears some of my doubts.

I am just going to hope and pray for a good ultrasound tomm,

Will update this post once we get back from the doctors tomm.

[rolrblade]

Bump^^

Ultrasound today. will post update as soon as we get back from doctors

[jennyb473]

any news on the ultrasound today?

[rolrblade]

Sorry for the little late post. Yes, we did go and get a V U/s yesterday and saw the little grain of rice WITH the heartbeat. Our bean has a heartbeat of 151 and is 7W1d along. Boy, is that a relief!

The doctor said no need for any more bloodtests and has asked us to come in for another u/s after a month on 4/9/08. She did mention that we are still not out of the danger zone (1st Trimester) and that we should take care, but medically everything was looking good.

I grilled her about why the nurse pretty much freaked us out about the HcG levels and her response is below and I quote (I know a lot of people are looking for this answer).

"In 60% of normal pregnancies the HcG levels double approx every 48 hours. There is a limit to which it can double, after which it just rises at a different level.In the other 40% the Hcg Level just rises at different pace. Since your wifes Hcg did not double, I wanted to be on the cautious side and do an ultrasound, since i suspected that she has peaked the level and could be further along than we thought"

Yeah right! maybe the nurse should have told us this explaination! The doctor also said, and I quote " Now that we have a good and strong heartbeat, there is no need to do any more bloodwork, since U/s trumps all bloodwork. See you back in 1 month"

I will keep this blog posted and updated as we get along.

Thank you all very much for your support and prayers. You dont know how much me and my wife appreciate it.

[GNicole]

Congrats, that is great news! Keep us posted. :)

[jennyb473]

that is great news - I agree the nurse should have been more detailed in her explanations so she wouldn't have freaked you guys out - but not everyone has the bedside manner you would hope for.  Glad all is well and keep us posted on her progress throughout!

[kjbutcher]

Congratulations!!!  I know it is hard to not be upset with the nurse, but if she would have gotten you all excited and told you about the percentages, would you have felt better?  Probably not.  What if you were having the miscarriage and then you would have been absolutely devistated if she would have given you too much hope.  I think once you get past the first trimester (really it is week 10 you are looking to get to) you will see the attitude of the doctors and nurses change and you will begin to understand what was going on.  I felt the same anger and frustration and once I hit the 12 weeks point I saw the light.  I have heard from a ton of people who had the same thing happen and they all had the same complaint.  I think it is a general practice/statment that is made in this circumstance. Their attitudes do get better, trust me.  for now, enjoy your picture and stay positive!  Congratulations!!

[BabyHardiman]

What a relief!  I am so happy for you guys.. nice heartbeat!

[Mommy2be2]

Just wanted to give you an update... My HCG was up to 1104 yesterday, and I was able to get a vaginal and pelvic ultrasound.  We were able to rule out ectopic pregnancy, and we found a sac in my uterus!  It's only measuring 5 weeks, instead of the 5 weeks and 5 days that we thought based on my LMP.  My OB-GYN says I must have conceived late in my cycle.  I'm going back next week to get another ultrasound, and we should be able to detect a heartbeat and see the fetal pole and yolk sac!  I'll feel much better then!