Possible missed miscarriage?

[lmercer]

My LMP was 8/16/07. My pregnancy symptoms have been minimal, mainly frequent urination and breast tenderness.  On 10/9, I had an appointment w/ my doctor; she gave me a quick pelvic exam and said that I was around 7 ½ weeks pregnant, and scheduled me for an ultrasound to confirm her date.  And here’s where things take a turn for the worse:

On 10/9 I had a transvaginal ultrasound that showed a sac and fetus, but no fetal heartbeat (Would fetal movement be too early at this point?) My doctor decided to give me the “benefit of the doubt” and scheduled another ultrasound for me, but in the meantime had me take 2 blood tests to check on my HCG levels. The 1st  test was done on 10/11; it showed a count of 45,482, which according to her accounts, was right in the middle of where my levels should be during my 1st trimester. The 2nd blood test (done on 10/15) showed my levels at 46293; a slight increase. My second ultrasound on 10/15 did not show any fetal growth/movement/heartbeat (and the sac/embryo measured at 6 weeks, 2-6 days).  The doctor at the radiology office said there’s a 98% chance that I’ll miscarry.

This is my 1st pregnancy and its hard to believe this is happening. I discovered my pregnancy on my Birthday (9/11), and I’m an avid runner/yogi and eat healthy. While I’m sure these factors have nothing to do with while I may miscarry- it’s a tough pill to swallow right now.  My symptoms include breast tenderness, mild cramping (very sporadic) and fatigue.

I opted for the natural miscarriage, which my doctor says should occur within the next two weeks. I’m scheduled for more blood work next week to see if my numbers have started declining.

I’ve read on several websites that HCG levels begin to plateau between 8-10 weeks and can take anywhere from 48-96 hours to double. Based on your experience, do you feel my chances are slim with carrying this pregnancy to term or do I still have a few weeks to spare? Any advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your time,
lmercer

[casablancas]

As your HCG isn't doubling and there has been no growth or heartbeat I'm afraid your doctor is right that there is a 98% chance you will miscarry, I had a similar situation with my first pregnancy, I was supposed to be 10 weeks and went for an ultrasound and the baby had stopped growing at 8 weeks and there was no heartbeat then. We had seen the heartbeat previously at 6 weeks so the baby must have died 2 weeks after that. I decided to go for the operation as I wanted it over with as soon as I could so that we could try to get pregnant again. It is a horrible thing to have to go through but miscarriage is so common, 1 in 5 pregnancies end this way and it is just natures way.  I am now pregnant again, 6 weeks tomorrow and am hoping that the same thing doesn't happen again.  Never give up hope that your next pregnancy will be successfull.

[alaysha]

You said you found out you were pregnant on 9/11... that means that you probably ovulated around 8/30 and you could of ovulated later... so that is about 6 weeks since ovulation... however during your ultrasound its possible that they are measuring from your last period which would put you at about 8 weeks... its really hard to tell which way they are doing it but usually they do it from LMP

Hcg level are supposed to double every 24-72 hours but as they get higher the levels can take longer to double sometimes taking as long as 92 hours or more.

I would wait it out maybe get a repeat ultrasound in a week to see if anything has changed.

[lmercer]

Hey,

My transvaginal u/s were 5 days apart; one on 10/10 when I was 71/2 weeks and the 2nd around 8 weeks. I'm pretty sure my LMF was on 8/16- It was so painful I left work early that day; although I'm hoping that I ovulated late. The lab showed the fetus/sac gestational age was around 6-6 1/2 weeks on both ultrasounds w/ no growth change. I'm also concerned that my HCG levels aren't doubling either.

How'd your calculations come up to 6-6 1/2 weeks? Boy I hope you're right!

[alaysha]

How far apart were your ultrasounds? At about 7 1/2 weeks you should be able to see a heartbeat however it is possible that you aren't as far along as you originally thought. By my calculations you would be around 6-6 1/2 weeks in which it is possible that it is too early to see a heartbeat and since ultrasounds can be up to a week off there may have been an increase in size. How far apart were your ultrasounds?