Are my hcg levels alarmingly low?

[isntsheluvly07]

I went to the dr last week b/c I took a pregnancy test and it was positive.  My hcg levels were only 98.  I happened to go to the naval hospital (b/c we are military) and the drs didn't seem very well informed b/c ob wasn't their speciality.  I had to go to urgent care b/c I couldn't get an appt and the person I saw wasn't a dr but a nurse practioner or something.  Anyways he reported to me that 98 was low for how far along I was and I probably wasn't still pregnant.  I didn't think I was that far along, I know I conceived Oct 7 making the dr visit exactly 3 weeks from conception. And for 3 weeks 98 seemed pretty normal to me.  But I just learned that drs count how far along you are from the first day of you last period meaning I was actually 5 weeks. So considering that 98 did seem low.  I went back to my general practioner and he ordered a test for me 2 days after the first one.  My hcg levels about doubled.  But they were still only like 180 something.  For 5 1/2 weeks that still seems relatively low compared to other women's results I've read about on the web.   Also around the time I would normally have had my period this month I had what I thought was a very light "period" (I didn't know yet I was pregnant so i thought it was a period.)  This concerned my dr but after he talked to the head resident of OB he reported that light bleeding is very normal in early pregnancy and he said what I described didn't sound like a period or a miscarriage which was great news.  Anyways when he called me w/ the news that my results doubled he said this was the best possible news I could get but that he still couldn't promise that it would be a normal pregnancy which was very disconcerting. So I guess I just need some peace of mind.  I feel pregnant, I still have all of the symptoms, but my low hcg levels are making me nervous to get excited. I just want to start enjoying my pregnancy and making plans but I'm scared I'm going to get my heart broken.  Do these low numbers indicate that I'm GOING to miscarriage?  

[alaysha]

Levels dont really matter since the normal range for them can be so different. They say that at 5 weeks the normal level range is 18 - 7,340. You are at 98 so that is more than the lowest reported for a healthy pregnancy. Plus they are doubling which is what matters a lot more.

[evthing4reason]

I'm not sure but i think that the fact they doubled is a very good thing. remember when you read the average for the numbers there is a wide range of what they could be. So your best bet (i think) would be to keep getting your numbers checked and try to wait another week or two for a ultasound.
Some of the other women will hopefully have more to add