how long before my levels return to normal

[Fozzie1977]

i have a short 21 day cycle but unfortunately had an early miscarriage at 4 weeks. TMI probaly but passed a few small clots and bit of bleeding which stopped after three days. Go said that since i was only 4 weeks along my hormone levels should go back to normal quickly and after my next period we could try again. anyway i still feel really bloated like i did when i got my BFP and don't ask me why but i did a pregnancy test yesterday and it is still showing positive 10 days after m/c started. i am now freaing about eptopic pregnancy or stuff being left behind and don't know what to do. any advice??

[Irishmammybread]

Did you have a blood test for HCG levels or a scan?
After my miscarriages at 11 and 12 weeks it took quite a few weeks for my blood HCG levels to drop down to normal, so a urine pregnancy test would still have been positive. I was rescanned several times until they could confirm it was resolved.
When I miscarried at 6 weeks I wasn't scanned or had a blood test till a week later, but by then everything was back to normal .
If I was you I'd contact your EPAU again for advice.

[Fozzie1977]

thanks for your reply. just wish my body would get back to normal but i guess it takes time. I am off to my GP tomorrow for something unrelated so will ask her. thanks again.

[willitbe]

Fozzie - you could still be pregnant, bleeding even with clots does not mean that a pregnancy has ended. At 4 weeks a scan would have shown nothing so I assume you were not scanned at the time. It sounds like GP assumed you had an early miscarriage without testing your hcg levels to see if they were rising or falling.

You need to go back to GP to get referred to EPAU, or if your local EPAU will see you without a referral you can go straight to them.

A miscarriage at 4 weeks would have the test returning to negative within a few days. Don't be worrying about ectopic or stuff left behind, until you have it confirmed whether or not you have a pregnancy within the uterus still. At this stage you should be able to see on a scan if the pregnancy is located in the uterus (although you are still in early days so it can be difficult).

I hope that the EPAU are able to reassure you soon as to what is happening.

[Jollyb]

I second what willitbe said. I had an early MC 'at 4 1/2 weeks and my test became negative very quickly.

If you're still getting a positive test 10 days after the bleeding I think there is a chance that you could still be pregnant.

Contact your local EPU tomorrow morning to see if you can self refer otherwise ask your GP to be referred in.

[Fozzie1977]

Thank you for your replies. Will talk to GP tomorrow. Just worried as this was my first pregnancy and I am clueless lol. Still mega bloated and keep getting told I look pale. Will keep u posted. x

[Fozzie1977]

hi to anyone reading. went to doc and she said to do another pregnancy test. tested positive this morning so i ahev to go for a scan in case i have had an incomplete miscarriage. really worried now. :-(

[willitbe]

Please Fozzie - it is much much more likely that you are still pregnant.

Incomplete miscarriages happen at a much later stage not at 4/5 weeks. Please stop worrying, it won't do any good, and it will make things worse. Scans rarely pick anything up at less than 5 weeks other than a thickened womb lining. Do not let your GP worry you with talking about incomplete miscarriages, it is rubbish. If you have miscarried (which I am not convinced about) any remaining product will come away with your next period or be naturally reabsorbed. No action would be taken by the hospital at this stage other than monitoring your hcg levels.

The scan you are being sent for is to see if you have a viable pregnancy still. Or if your uterus lining is still thickened and you are slowly reabsorbing the pregnnacy (I had this with a six week pregnancy, my pregnancy tests gradually got fainter over 5 weeks then I got a negative pregnnacy test and my next period arrived.)

The important thing they need to do right now is measure your hcg level, if it is more than 1000, they should scan you, if it is less than 1000, they should retest after 48hours to look at if the levels are falling. If the hcg levels are not falling they will need to scan anyway to check for pregnancy of unknown location.

Please try to keep a positive frame of mind until you know what is going on.

[Jollyb]

Please let us know how you get on. I completely agree with Willitbe - highly unlikely the positive test is due to retained products. At 4 - 4 1/2 weeks there is very little to be 'retained'. You are far more likely to still be pregnant.

They should scan you and if they don't see a sac check your blood bhcg levels. From your post I'm guessing you're around 6 weeks by now so you would expect to see a sac if your pregnancy is viable (unless your dates are out).

Good luck

Ps have you had any more bleeding since?

[Fozzie1977]

willitbe and JollyN- thank you for your kind replies. i am going on Monday morning for the scan. feeling a bit less worried now about everything. just ready to accept whatever happens on Monday. I am just a bit clueless over this whole pregnancy business and imagine the worst. no more bleeding since last Wednesday. No pain or anything just a little twinge that feels like a normal mid cycle twinge. Just feeling a bit lost really. Glad it is the weekend tomorrow. thanks again. x

[Jollyb]

How are you doing Fozzie? X

[Fozzie1977]

hello there. Started bleeding quite a lot on Sunday so went to A & E as advised by GP. They did a blood test and urine test and urine test was negative. told me to keep my appointment for EPU for the next day and as no sever pain sent me home. Went to EPU yesterday who had not been told why i was there or about my visit to A & E so had to go through the whole story again. No scan done- said the HCG levels in blood were enough for a positive test but the levels could be back on their way down again so i have to go again for another blood test and will get the results tomorrow. did another urine test but no idea what result was. i am just so fed up now to be honest. bled yesterday again but seems to have stopped now

thanks for asking. x

[willitbe]

Fozzie - It is good that your levels are so near negative, it means it is nearly all over. I had 6 weeks where the levels were going down too slowly, and several blood tests to endure while monitoring the decrease of the levels.

I take it since the urine test was negative in a&e (their tests are not sensitive!) that your hcg levels are less that 100. This should mean that your negative test should be in less than a week.

It is hard having to go over the story in hospital so often, it is very painful, talking about it. I hope that the fact that it is near the end and that you won't be having to be having too many more visits to the epu again is some comfort.

I have had 12 miscarriages and have had plenty of a&e and epu experiences that were a nightmare. This is hard as it is your first pregnancy and it has sadly ended with a miscarriage, try to be kind to yourself. Take time to grieve for the pregnancy loss and physically give yourself time to recover. Your next period may be delayed too, don't let this worry you. I hope that you have some people around you who will be able to look after you at this tough time.

[Jollyb]

Fozzie - so sorry to hear that. Be kind to yourself. Miscarrying is an exhausting business. Please remember the likelihood is that you'll have a healthy pregnancy next time.

[Fozzie1977]

hi there. Just a final update to my story and def a sign that you have to listen to your own body as i knew something wasn't right. Anyway, had another blood test for HCG levels yesterday and not dropping fast enough. Internal scan showed no problems thankfully and i was diagnosed with a pregnancy of unknown location. Treated as an ectopic so had the methotrexate (spelling?) injection. gotta have another blood test sunday and wednesday and fingers crossed it has worked. just glad to know finally what is going on. Thanks for all your support and advice. x