HCG Excessive?? Not matching scan image

[Mathie2017]

Hello

I’ve been TTC for 5 years. On Tuesday 18th Dec I had my first ever positive test, this was 11days past a 5 day frozen embryo transfer. As you can imagine I was completely overjoyed. On Christmas Day I had a small bleed, started a few bright red dots, got slightly heavier than spotting but quickly turned to brown spotting. As this pregnancy was through ICSI I’m still on medication to sustain it. I called the clinic and they took me in for bloods yesterday (thurs 27th), technically 5 weeks and 4 days pregnant. fearing the worst I expected my bloods to be low and for them to tell me the pregnancy was not viable even though I’ve felt very pregnant, particularly nausea and fatigue.

When the nurse called that afternoon she advised my HCG levels were nearly 37000 and the doctors wanted me back in for a scan.

The scan showed the gestational sac and yolk sac however no fetal pole. Is it normal to see fetal pole before 6 weeks? Dr said that HCG levels don’t match what they were seeing on the scan and I’ve to return next Thursday (3rd) for another scan.

Can anyone shed some light, it’s yet another week of torture wondering what’s going on and preparing myself for the worst. Why are my HCG levels so high for my stage of pregnancy?

Hi OP, didn't want to read and run. I'm on my 4th pregnancy this year, though not assisted, and have had it go both ways in similar circumstances, so thought I'd mention in case helpful.

First one was as you describe - sac, yolk but no fetal pole. It ended in a MMC unfortunately, confirmed after a week's wait, which showed no progress.

Second one was a suspected ectopic, had one in June so extra worried (it was gas! 😬). My hCG was, said the consultant, too high for what he was seeing on screen. I can't remember the numbers, not as high as yours, but hCG was about a couple of weeks ahead of what was on the screen - estimated at 4.5 weeks by scan. All that was visible was a black dot. I had to go back a week later and it was all good news, now measuring just right for hCG and showing progress. Just had my 12 week scan today and all is still well.

What I took away from all this is that measurements very early on are more of an art than a science. They are dealing with millilitres and the equipment can't always see everything. So there's a lot of 'wait and see'. With the suspected ectopic, I did slightly lose my nerve and asked the consultant to just tell me honestly if it's bad news, because I'd been there before. He said that, genuinely, it was too hard to say with these things without having two results side by side.

I'm afraid it's that very fraught wait and see week for you now. Everything crossed for you! I have to say I felt far more nauseous and sick with what is ny current pregnancy, even when stuff wasn't visible, so I think that's a good sign.

Btw, I'm sure you're googled everything already, but 37,000 is normal for 6 weeks, so not wildly excessive given where we think you are. And these things are only ranges anyway.

m.huggies.com.au/pregnancy/early-stages/symptoms/hcg-levels

Thank you StargazyDrifter for taking the time to share your experience. Congratulations on your pregnancy, so pleased to hear things are going well after a frightening start for you.

I Have fallen into the trap of googling everything, have freaked out about molar pregnancy possibly even though I know this is rare in ICSI.
It’ll be a tough week but as my husband says it’s out of our hands. I desperately hope my experience reflects yours now. I certainly feel very pregnant!

Thanks again, wishing you a very healthy happy journey into motherhood

Thank you! 😊 Likewise all best wishes to you. Let us know how it goes!xx

I had super high HCG in both my pregnancies. With the first, I didn't know until my 12 week blood tests. They called me in as it was unusual but it turned out to be nothing to worry about.

Second pregnancy, I had a bleed at 5 weeks and went to the EPU. Scan showed only an empty sac and the nurse was concerned because my high HCG levels indicated there should have been more visible in the scan. I went back at 7 weeks and there was a heartbeat. My HCG levels at the 12 week tests were so high again that in conjunction with my increased age, they tipped me into the high-rise for Downs.

Both pregnancies ended up being completely fine with two very healthy DC born at term. Some people do just produce a lot of HCG, so hopefully this is the case for you too.

Childrenofthesun, Thank you! That is so reassuring. The responses of the nurses and doctors can sometimes raise the anxiety levels! My heart and head are telling me that things are going to be ok one minute then I become crippled with panic the next thinking ‘what if’. Your experiences give me some more hope, I need to try to keep focusing on what’s going well x

Had the scan today, Dr didn’t seem concerned about the level of HCG for the stage of pregnancy and also commented that what was seen on the scan last week was what he’d expect to see. Today we seen a tiny but strong little heart beat and all is looking exactly as it should, thanks again ladies for helping to keep me sane this week by sharing your positive experiences with me!