very small fetal sac 21 days after ivf transfer

[ABabyMakes3]

I had my 1st ob scan today, 21 days after ivf transfer (counting transfer as day 1) & dr was concerned that fetal sac was very small & not dark on ultrasound. Said he sees a fibroid that is shadowing it which might be good & there's a possibility that I have twins & fetal sac is slower to develop. hCg level today was 2,271 (& more than doubled each of first three beta bloodtests from 20.1 to 55 to 118, ea 48 hrs apart). He's concerned it could be ectopic pregnancy but I've had no pain, no spotting/bleeding, etc. Should I be worried? Have you see viable pregnancy after  3 wk fetal sac not showing well? What can I do to improve outcomes? I have to go back for ultrasound again tomorrow & he said he'd take more time, look at ovaries, tubes, etc. I'm scared and nervous. Thank you for replying quickly!

[ABabyMakes3]

Thanks so much RockynRobyn. I'm sure you're next! Baby dust is in the air!

[RockynRobyn]

Congratulations. I'm so happy for you, I hope I'm soon!

[ABabyMakes3]

Hi all. Just had to share the GREAT news! We had another sono today and got to hear the baby's heartbeat --wow! It was 160 which he said was nice and strong, it's 4mm in size and he believes I'm about 7 wks preggers! My RE wants me to come back in 10 days for one last heartbeat monitoring just to be cautious, then he's releasing me back to my OBGYN. Yay! Happy weekend baby news!

[bny807]

YEAA congrats! honestly i really don't know why your dr is concerned at all!!! sounds like everything is perfect to me! plus i think the sac should be dark inside thats usually how it is i believe!  i would count from the day of retrival or fertilization.. but add 2 weeks to that.. so if it was three weeks ago, you'd be 5 weeks.. etc.. YEAA good luck and congrats! : )

[ABabyMakes3]

Hi thank you all so much for helping to put my mind at ease! I had my 2nd sono today and the sac was easier to see (a little larger but not as round as he'd like it w/ a white ring and a little darker inside) and my hcg went from 2271 yesterday to 3308 today, yay! The dr said he's still worried about me as he said once hcg is over 2000 it's in the discriminatory stage and the sac should be more viewable but as long as I don't have pain or spotting/bleeding, he is hopeful. He has me coming back in on Fri which will be 3w4d from transfer to do another sono and hcg so hopefully everything will keep progressing positively. Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts! I hope the twin baby dust rubs off on me too Meggs!

Oh, quick question, I'm still not clear on how to count the actual weeks/days of preg...do I count the day of transfer as day 1 or day of retrieval? At one point, he told me since it was 3 wks past transfer, he'd count that as 6 wks but today he said that wks don't matter as much when you're looking at hcg levels so I'm a bit confused.

Thanks again for all your help! I'll keep you posted on my progress.

[Tanker Chic]

If he is seeing a sac and your hcg is more than doubling, I'm not sure where he is coming from with the ectopic.  I'm not sure about the sac not being dark, but my gestation sac measured small at my 5wk4d, 6wk4d and 8wk3d ultrasounds.  I don't remember by how much at each u/s, but at the last one, I think it was measuring around 10 days behind.  The embryo was measuring good and growing like it was supposed to so Dr said it was just one of those unexplainable things that happens sometimes.  He said he had seen it before and if embryo is growing good all should be fine.  I'm now 13wk6d and no problems so far.  There are also a couple other ladies on here who had small gestation sacs but pg progressed fine.  

Congrats on your pg!!  

[meggs523]

I agree with bny807.  I think it's too early.  My first ultrasound showed literally a dot at 5 weeks, and they said it could be the sac or it could just be fluid.  I would give it another week, because around 6.5 weeks, we clearly saw two embryos!  (yes, I'm having twins after IVF) I think it's a good sign the your hcg keeps doubling!  Good luck!  Keep me posted!

[ABabyMakes3]

Thanks so much for your reply. It's so difficult to have this much uncertainty and not be able to do anything but wait. I have another sono tomorrow so I will keep you posted. I pray that it's twins waiting to surprise us! Congrats on your pregnancy!

[bny807]

Hello! and congrats!!!  so how far along do they think you are? 5 weeksish?   if so then it would be expected to see nothing or if anything it be very small at this point. my RE won't even sono anyone until 7 weeks, since they expect to see not much until then.. also with beta's doubling like they are supposed to and no bleeding ectopic is less likely.. do they have another sono scheduled?? sounds like things are how they should be at this point! congrats on the pregnancy and happy healthy nine months! keep us udpated!