How soon can I expect my period after my hcg drops to zero

[Lisadengel]

I am new here.  I had surgery on 6/27 for an ectopic pregnancy.  The day of the surgery my hcg was 11,500.  The day after the surgery, it dropped to 3700, which was excellent.  I just had the first follow-up hcg yesterday and it went all the way down to 83.  The next follow-up is next week.  Once it falls to zero, how fast can I expect my first menstrual cycle?  I can't TTC for a few months, so that's not a problem, but I would love to get an idea from real people who have been there.  I know everyone is different, so I would love some answers from a bunch of people if possible to get a good idea of what I am looking at.  The docs say it can take up to 6-8 weeks from the date of surgery.  Thanks for your help.

[machellebrown22]

After my m/c and d&c in April, my first AF didnt show up until 5 1/2 weeks later.. your doc is right, anywhere from 4-6 weeks is normal....Some docs also state that anywhere from 4-12weeks is considered normal as well so hang in there. Good luck to you and sorry to hear of your loss.



Machelle'

[Lisadengel]

Thanks for your help!

[silo]

Hey!  Machelle and I are practically in the same exact boat.  She and I both miscarried in April and had a d & c within a  couple of days of each other.  We BOTH had our first cycle on the same exact day as a matter of fact. (5 1/2 weeks after the d & c.)  Everything is pretty back to normal with me which is pretty nice, now it's just back to square one again.  Good luck to you, let us know how you're doing from time to time.

[Lisadengel]

Thanks so much for the feedback.  Everyone seems very nice on this forum.

[annie f.]

I was treated with methotrexate for a suspected ectopic in early June (it turned out not to be one but that is a whole other story...).  Anyway, my HCG went down to zero within about a week.  I am fairly sure that I ovulated within 10-14 days of that (weirdly enough I had symptoms of ovulation for about 5 days).  Basically, my body treated the miscarriage like a period an I ovulated nearly on schedule two-ish weeks after my HCG was zero.

[Siren]

Please everyone, send your wishes this way that my HCG begins to drop - otherwise, I don't know what to do!!!  I have experienced either a miscarriage or an ectopic that was miscarried all on its own (docs aren't sure yet) but my HCG continues to very slowly rise... I would just LOVE it if it started dropping, b/c I want this whole thing to be OVER with - enough of the agony... this all started when I was 5 weeks along, and now I'm almost 9 weeks along... this is getting crazy!!  Anyway, just wanted people to keep their fingers crossed for me...thx!

[thunder214]

My hcg never did drop, it just kept slowly rising and then out of the blue, I started to m/c.  I believe he bulk of it was yesterday, however I had heavy bleeding for about 1 week leading up to it.  According to my LMP I was at around just under 8 weeks.  I had an u/s at 6.5 and it showed that the sac was at about 4 -4.5 weeks.  So we are guessing that is when it stopped developing and it took that long for my body to finally decide it was time to let go.  I know how you feel though, it is pure agony not knowing what is going on.  Try to keep your mind busy, that is working for me.  Hopefully that will work for you. I wish I could offer better advice, but I couldn't find anything better than that, it didn't help 100%, but it does help a little.

[annie f.]

Did you ever ask your doctor about methotrexate?  It's definitely kind of nasty stuff and I am totally an herbal tea drinking, organic vegetable eating sort who usually resists that kind of thing.  I consented because my doc said I had an ectopic and scared the **** out of me.  It ended up that she was wrong, but I found that out much later. However, the methotrexate literally dropped my HCG to zero in about 8 days and my body is really pretty normal at this point.  My only side effects were some nausea.  Also, did they check to see if you have an ectopic that is somewhere besides your fallopian tubes?  I'm so sorry that you are still dealing with this so many weeks after it began, I can only imagine how anxious and unsettled you must feel.  Good luck and take care.  Annie

[Lisadengel]

Well, it turns out that I am ovulating today which means that my first period shouldn't be far behind.

[Siren]

The doctor did talk a bit about methotrexate, but said he wouldn't want to do that just yet - they still want to 'wait and see' - I guess because the HCG is so low, it's not at a point where it's harming me or threatening my life, etc... I just want things back to normal.  Basically, my HCG at last count was less than 300, and my next test is sometime next week.  I think that if the HCG is not on its way down, and is still climbing slowly, they will think about drugs or something like that.  The reason they're cautious to do anything is that they can't find 'any physical evidence of pregnancy' i.e. there is nothing they can see at all in the U/S, so that's why they can't operate, etc... I also think they're hesitant to give the drug b/c they can't see where it is or what it's doing... they're sort of baffled by me.  I'm a case for the textbooks, for sure!!  But I haven't bled in almost two weeks, and no more pain (however, the HCG levels that showed an increase were AFTER I stopped bleeding and had pain).  I figured that after bleeding and having pain for 3 weeks straight, the levels would go down - but no, they defy all logic and continue to go up... who knows what's going on??  My hubby and I just want the emotional closure to it... until it's back down to zero, we are just in limbo... *sigh*

[Kim22]

This is specifically meant for Siren. I am also in question about what's going on with me right now and my dr. isn't sure either. Waiting for another hCG level result. My story is long and won't explain it all right now, but wondered if you had gotten any answers. I have joked with my husband that I am a textbook case and thought it was funny that you had said that as well. At this point I don't know if I'm still pregnant, have miscarried, or have an ectopic. U/S yesterday showed nothing. HCG levels aren't where expected for where they think I am (LMP 5/31/03). Friday they were 42 and Monday up to 117. Low, but increasing. Will find out todays test results tomorrow. Any ideas or sugestions from anyone?? I found this sight by chance and found it helpful to hear others' concerns because I have been on a rollercoaster. One day news is good, but not so promising the next.

[Siren]

To Kim22 -



I am happy to hear I'm not the only one going through this, but of course I can sympathize with your situation and the pain you are going through.  I still do not have any answers.  The last time I saw the specialist was 2 weeks ago, and he told me to wait 2 weeks until I got another blood test.  So I did the test today and should have results tomorrow.  I just have this nagging feeling that the numbers have gone up, since I have defied all logic thus far!  I don't know what they'll do then... Interesting thing, though... my HCG continued to go up even AFTER I stopped having bleeding and pain... but they said they could not find 'any physical evidence of pregnancy'.  I thought it was all over, but two days ago, I began bleeding again.  No major pain or anything, but definitely heavier than a period.  I thought to myself, maybe this is my period, returning to normal... but, from what I've heard, it takes 4 to 8 weeks to get a period after a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy... this has been only two weeks since I stopped bleeding, though!!  So, I think it's probably caused by whatever caused this in the first place.  I'm just hoping it's not anything SERIOUS and that it just goes away on its own.



My thoughts are with you - I will keep you posted on what happens with my test results, and please keep me posted with yours.  Hang in there - it will all be resolved soon, one way or another.



Siren

[Kim22]

To Siren:



Thanks for your response. I heard from my dr. this morning that my hCG levels went down to 63, so she thinks it's a miscarriage. She contacted an OB/GYN specialist and this was her thinking as well. However, I need to go back for ANOTHER blood test tomorrow to see if it continues to go down and not fluctuate back up. I'm ready for this to be over. It's been stressful not knowing what is going on with me. I'm sick of bleeding, needles, and wondering what the next test will determine! Hope you get the answer you're looking for.

[Siren]

***Finally*** some clarity!  For the first time in weeks and weeks, my HCG has begun to drop.  It had been steadily going up very slowly since I became pregnant, and continued to go up even after all the bleeding and cramping was over.  Doc says it's dropped from 285 (my all-time high) to 265 and he's encouraged by the trend - there is an end in sight!! I asked him why I'm suddenly bleeding again and he said it could be that there was some leftover tissue, and now that my body has begun to expel it, the levels are beginning to decline.  He wants one more blood