No help from NHS services

@Akemi this is obviously your choice but I would be very very hesitant to book a private scan in your shoes. If you are willing to spend that money I think it would be better spent on two private blood tests to track HCG.

I say this as I've obviously had multiple scans revealing horrible news. The private clinics have photos of babies everywhere and gender reveal cannons and keyrings with ultrasound photos etc etc, pregnant women in the waiting room with good news.

If you go to EPU for a scan it's much more sensitive. If you're spending money I would pay for two HCG tests and if they show HCG that's stagnating or rising less than expected use that information to get a scan at EPU at 6 weeks.

Having an NHS which is free at the point of access means having to make certain concessions - healthcare isn’t free in Australia so I’d imagine that’s why you can get testing there

hcg testing isn’t an accurate diagnosis of ectopics - I had perfectly doubling of hcg and ended up with two ruptured live (heartbeats presents) ectopics

@Akemi by 20dpo yes I’d fully expect to see more than 1-2 weeks on the clearblue tests

if you can afford one then a private scan is an option - £90 isn’t too bad - that’s what I’ve paid in the past x

IVF is different, in that you do get blood tests and early viability scan. But in a normal pregnancy via NHS or HSE in Ireland that's not the norm.... most likely due to lack of resources to be honest. Weeks 6-12 are looked after by the Early Pregnancy Units with very little resources and staffing, so are on a referral basis only for the most part (albeit some offer walkins, they won't always just give you bloods or a scan because you just want them).

Unless there is clinical reasons for needing EPU referral, you just either wait it out or go private.

In the UK the NHS can’t afford a blood test for every possibly pregnant person. Generally you are or you are not and you’ll find out later on. Australians pay to see the GP, Brits don’t. OP is perfectly able to pay to get private bloods done if she wants to but it’s not clinically necessary and therefore doesn’t require public funds.

No one is mocking OP.
We are trying to reassure her and explain why she is not being referred for early scans and blood tests. The NHS simply doesn’t have the resources to spend on reassuring anxious women who are going through very normal symptoms.

Wow that is completely different then how it's done here. Even with ivf, the clinics dont take hpt as validation only beta hcg blood work and its done 7 days apart and then if all is well with the doubling rate they book your viability scan. In all pregnancies you have to be referred to the hospital for midwife care if going public, through your gp and if your low risk then you have what is called shared care between your gp and the hospital.

The OP has specifically referred to the NHS though so is in the UK.

GPs generally don't do bloodwork, it's done at the maternity hospitals and much further on. The first scan is generally around the 11/12 week mark unless there is a clear medical need or history requiring early scan. Lots of people in the UK get private reassurance scans from 6+ weeks though.

In many trusts you self refer to maternity care and don't even see the GP early on.

In australia blood tests are standard protocol for every pregnancy. After a positive hpt you see your gp for a blood test to confirm and your able to get another blood test to make sure at that point its possibly viable then you have a viability scan at 7 weeks to check a heartbeat and that everything is measuring well and in the right place. Gp where I live absolutelty want to see you amd do your blood work we even have early pregnancy screening blood work.

GP bringing people in for bloodwork in these circumstances isn't the norm protocol.
I think everyone is being understanding but also trying to explain clearly that what the OP wants isn't necessarily what the medics do in these circumstances.

Im so sorry your going through this uncertainty.. your gp should have got you in for blood work and tested a couple of days apart to see where your hcg is headed even if this did nothing but calm your mind. Im really disappointment in these womans lack of empathy for your situation, this is suppose to be a support group not a mockery of your feeling and worries and more love and understanding should have been given. You havnt been heard by anyone what so ever and im so sorry your alone in this right now. I looked at your tests that you uploaded and they look to be alright considering the tests you are using, also clearblue digital is not reliable as hcg levels vary greatly from person to person and even from pregnancy to pregnancy. My advice to you is find another doctor asap and have your blood work done a couple of days apart to check for correct doubling. I dont know where your from but where I am from you can order private blood tests online for a cost, so maybe thats something you can look into if you cant find a doctor to help you.

Between 5 and 6 weeks I think. My "period" was only 1 day late, but it was heavier and a bit more painful than normal. So I assumed that was a chemical and did a test a few days after it ended to check the positives I'd seen had gone and we were ready to try again. I'd just follow the Drs advice, if they've told you to go then go.

I just told them the Dr had told me I needed to come to be referred to the EPU, and then the facts about the bleeding and the positive pregnancy tests. I also had some on and off pain still in my ovaries, but that's also not totally abnormal for me as I had that when I was pregnant with my daughter and I get ovulation pain. They got me to wee in a cup but didn't actually do a pregnancy test in the end, or ask to see my positive tests. They just triaged and rung up the EPU, who then gave me an appointment spot that day. Probably took a couple of hours in A&E in the middle of the day, and then the appointment was an hour after that. It does feel silly you can't go straight to the EPU, but that's their process.

When I had my chemical I had very light tests before my period, almost couldn't see them light, then what seemed like a normal period. Then 1-2 weeks after that I was testing very strongly positive, so you can still test with high HCG even after a chemical depends on how your body works. My EPU doesn't do walk ins or Dr referrals, I rang the Drs and they told me I needed to go to A&E so I did. I'm not sure why you wouldn't if you're so worried and that's what they advised, that's the support available. They sent me to the EPU, who then did a scan and I got a "pregnancy of unknown location" diagnosis, and they monitored my HCG for 3 more weeks until it came down from 95 to under 10 so they can be sure the pregnancy had passed in case it was ectopic as they couldn't rule that out. They also said next time I'm pregnant I can ring them directly to arrange an early scan, as I'd had a PUL so they want to monitor closely. I know it was a chemical now, but it was good to get the reassurance of the monitoring and I was also scared about an ectopic so I get the concern.

The GP can't do anything, and the only way to EPU for the first time in my area is through A&E, which sounds the same for you. It's also perfectly possible you could have a sub chronic haematoma that then cleared up, and this could have caused the bleeding and you are still pregnant. Many cases of this.

Early pregnancy support services are crap on the NHS @Akemi and conflicting area to area - many areas will allow a self referral others only via a GP and that’s if you can get a bloody appointment these days. Private healthcare insurance very rarely covers pregnancy so are useless also.

Looks like your tests are getting darker which is positive - word of warning on those cheap test strips is that the darkness level can be misleading ….. I had twins and my tests never really got that dark. I’ll be told off for saying it but I’d use the clearblue digital with weeks indicators - I used them alongside blood testing so can say in my case that they are very accurate - you’d be wanting to see the 2-3 weeks come up at least maybe 3+ but then I didn’t get that until 20 DPO twins

you can have private scans earlier than 6 weeks - that would at least potentially rule out an ectopic as the sac should be visible at this point in your uterus - viability would just be inconclusive if you do do it earlier as you may not see a heartbeat

My problems are not real enough it seems.

No one is denying you are worried and that any bleeding in early pregnancy is a concern. What most people are saying is that in the absence of very, very heavy blood lost and/or pain, there is very little the health services can do.
If you had experienced multiple miscarriages or had had a previous ectopic then very early monitoring would be advisable.
Early miscarriages are very, very common.

Testing, scans and what have you will not change the outcome.

Just to clarify, the vast majority of people kn the thread who have said the GP won't do anything is because your tests ARE GETTING DARKER.

You have just now again uploaded tests with a very clear progression, and pretty dark lines tbh.

We are more concerned about how stressed out you are getting and trying to ease your mind that despite saying your HCG is erratic, there's no evidence of that in all the tests you uploaded.

We wish you all the best obviously.

I agree with this. I’ve been pregnant 3 times. First pregnancy no bleeding, all fine, healthy baby. Second pregnancy had an early scan due to pain, all fine at that point with a heartbeat, no bleeding until 12 weeks then I miscarried. Third pregnancy had bleeding on/off for several weeks, sometimes heavy, had early scans, healthy baby. It really is just a watch and wait. There’s very little that can be done at this stage and any referrals to EPU are based on strict protocol.

OP has had 'real' symptoms of heavy bleeding. Her faint positives only appeared after this.

Many women continue to have “periods” throughout pregnancy. It’s not unusual.

a friend of mine didn’t realise she was pregnant until she felt the baby kicking at 5m- she’d had monthly bleeds as normal so no reason to think she was pregnant.

I had my period last week starting on Tuesday with 1.5 days of medium to heavy bleeding after 2 days of heavy spottting

Apologies if I misunderstood but when I read period, I thought you meant your last period! I did ask in my first post if you've had bleeding since getting a positive preg test and you said 'brown spotting'. Wishing you all the best.