Suspected miscarriage - how long before hcg drops?

[Pipkin23]

I experienced bleeding and period like cramps at 4 weeks 3 days of pregnancy (2 positive tests). The bleeding was light, started off brown but did turn to red blood (sorry if tmi) but mostly stopped after 2 days. Today is the fourth day since the bleeding and now only small amount of brown blood when I wipe. I rang my local EPU when bleeding began but they wouldn’t see me as it was too early in pregnancy.

Now I’m wondering if I have definitely miscarried or not. How long after the bleeding should I wait before taking a home test? The not knowing is making me so anxious, but I don’t want to get a false positive if my hcg hasn’t dropped. Any advice really appreciated.

Hi Pipkin23.
I'm so sorry that you are going through this. Can I ask why is it that you don't want to get a false positive? Emotional reasons or the cost? I had a MMC (so slightly different to you) last year which resulted in an op in the end but it took weeks and weeks for for my tests to show negative. I bought a big batch of 60 cheapies from Amazon for £7.99. For me personally it was important to see that negative and know that I could try again when ready. I feel like you should be getting some support here, if not from your local EPU then maybe your doctor? x

I've just had a look at my blog and it took a whole month for me to get a negative pregnancy test after having the op to remove the foetus. So it can take a while. Perhaps it depends on how far along you are etc too and your individual case. x

Hi Jessica,
Thank you for responding, I’m really sorry to hear about your loss.

It’s purely getting my hopes up (if hcg is residually high) that I’m worried about with doing a test, but I think I will do a test tomorrow. I do feel a bit let down by my GP and EPU, it just seemed like they weren’t that interested when they knew it was so early in the pregnancy. Doctor just told me to contact EPU and they said it was too early to know and to test again & let them know if it was still positive in a week’s time. Just feel like I’m in limbo waiting and nobody is very interested. Do you know if I’m correct in assuming that because the possible miscarriage happened so early in the pregnancy that the hcg would drop very quickly? x

You will have to do what EPU have suggested, as excruciating a wait as it will be. A scan won’t show anything right now at all. The test would likely be negative within 2-3 weeks from a chemical pregnancy.

Thanks for your advice, ladies. I did a cbd test this morning and it was negative. While I’m sad, at least we know where we stand now and the wondering is over. x

I’m sorry for your loss @Pipkin23. I too had an early loss at 4+3 about 10days ago. Tests were negative as soon as I stopped bleeding.