BHCG Levels

[JDLM]

Hi everyone!  I was hoping someone could shed some light on something for me.  I went for blood work today and my levels came back at 17 000 and I am roughly 7 1/2 weeks opregnant.  When I had my blood lasted tested on Nov 31/07 they were at roughly 4 500.  

Can someone tell me, are these numbers rising too slowly?

Thanks!

[kjbutcher]

I was actually just in the middle of agreeing the alaysha before I got distracted.  I forgot about the leveling off point and the 72-96 hours.  so i will revise mine to say that it should be no more than 144000.  If you go by the 96 hour mark, your numbers are actually MUCH better than mine were.  The point of mine is to not worry.  Please dont let me freak you out at all.  I really had the exact same thing happen and everything ended up perfect.  I really hope all goes well on wednesday!  It was probably very expected by the doctor to not see a h/b at the last u/s.  Going by my situation, everything seems very normal!  Everybody is so different as you can tell by normal levels being between 7650 and 229000. I found it so hard to believe that they put such specific terms to something so unpredictable.  I know when I get pregnant again, I wont put too much thought and worry into HCG levels as long as they hit 5, meaning pregnant!   (I say that now but you watch, I'll be right here again asking the same questions.)
also, my doctor actually called and warned me of a miscarriage because of the numbers so even if the doctor is worried, they can be very wrong!  But if they arent worried, that is an even better sign.  I'm glad alaysha cleared that up so quickly for you.  I'm sorry for my misleading and somewhat disturbing post.

[JDLM]

Thanks for the information, it helps to have something to go by even if it does differ drastically.  At my last ultra sound they couldn't find heartbeat and I am scheduled to have my next one on Wednesday so I guess I will know better then.

[alaysha]

Okay before all these people freak you out levels double in the time frame of 72 hours and will start to level out and decline by around 8 weeks. Here is what the American Pregnancy Association says about them:

The hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (better known as hCG) is produced during pregnancy. It is made by cells that form the placenta, which nourishes the egg after it has been fertilized and becomes attached to the uterine wall. Levels can first be detected by a blood test about 11 days after conception and about 12 - 14 days after conception by a urine test. In general the hCG levels will double every 72 hours. The level will reach its peak in the first 8 - 11 weeks of pregnancy and then will decline and level off for the remainder of the pregnancy.

Also you can't determine how far along you are based on level since they can differ dramatically from person to person mine at 5w6d were 32,000 and we didn't even see a heartbeat for another couple of days. Here is the AVERAGE levels for pregnancy depending on the weeks... just take a look at how different they can be:

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

Also even if you haven't seen a heartbeat on an ultrasound yet then don't be too concerned I've heard of people not seeing it until 8+ weeks. It all just depends on the position of the baby, how skilled the ultrasound tech is and how good of a machine they are using. I'm not sure if you have spoken to your doctor yet but if he/she isn't concerned than I wouldn't be.

[Leanna26]

Mine at 6 weeks 2 days were 17,245. Have you had an ultrasound yet? The dating may be incorrect, you maybe only be around 6 weeks.

[kjbutcher]

doctors say that the numbers are supposed to double every other day.  So according to the doctors your numbers should be at 144000.  However, mine did the same thing.  They only rose 20%.  I currently have a healthy 3 month old baby boy.  Did you have a u/s?  That will really be the deciding factor.  By 7 1/2 weeks you should see a heartbeat.  My doctor did not do anymore blood work once I had my u/s.  They said seeing the heart beat over rides any blood work results.  They also said if they didnt double the first time, they probably wont double again so more blood work would only worry me.  I would ask for a u/s asap to find out for sure.  Good Luck!

[alaysha]

They sound pretty darn close to me considering levels rise every 24-72 hours and as you get further along (and the number gets higher) it can start taking up to 96 hours to rise or even leveling off and declining a little. But honestly they sound like they are making it to me. What did your doctor say?