Pregnancy of unknown location at 5 weeks

[Chanceandhope]

Hi all, after a very complicated ivf journey which resulted in severe OHSS i am now distressed because at 5w4d no gestational sac was seen when doing a scan. My hgc levels are increasing and are at 2800 so dr was saying that something should have been seen on scan and they suspect an ectopic pregnancy.
I will be scanned again next week but just hoping to hear if anyone had a similar experience that turned out ok ?

Sorry you are going through this it sounds so stressful. With my current pregnancy at 5+3 all they could see on my scan was 'something that looked like' a gestational sac but they wouldn't confirm. They also warned me it was perfectly normal to see nothing at all before 6 weeks. 2 weeks later there was a baby measuring 7+5 with a HB. A PUL was ruled out as my HCG was doubling as it should. Have they done repeat bloods? I had a PUL last year and my HCG didn't rise above 500 and only rose 30-50% every 48hrs. If your HCG levels are doubling it is more likely to be a viable pregnancy!

Thank you for sharing.
Hgc was increasing by 80% every 48hrs between week 4 and 5 but the last 2 blood tests showed that it doubled.
Dr was not very encouraging she said over 2000 hgc a gestational sac should be visible... i know there is nothing I can do now and just wait and see but it is hard not to stress about it all.

Do you remember what your hgc levels were at 5+3?

I was told at the EPU that the actual numbers don't mean anything. All that matters is that they double. Mine were crazy high - 12,000 at 5+3 but still all they could see was a sac! If you research online it says that with a level of 12,000 a HB should be visible so I was seriously worried it wasn't a viable pregnancy. The EGU weren't concerned at all and said all women are different. They have been right the entire time & I think in your situation they wouldn't have been concerned as you are before 6 weeks (many women don't see anything on a scan before then). Is your doctor a specialist in this area? Their advice seems to completely contradict the advice I was given! It's great your levels are rising so well and strange they have called it a PUL this early Hopefully your next scan will go well!

Hi!

Similar happened to me. I went to EPU due to some spotting and pain in my left side at 5w+1 and no baby was seen.

HCG levels were 637. They then went up to 2300 when I was next tested 3 days later. They said it fits with the scan that it's just early days

I then went for another scan 4 days after my 2300 hcg level check and they saw the tiniest sac and said I was more like 5 weeks than 6+1.

When I went for my 12 week they dated me 4 days behind.

Now almost 21 weeks with a baby girl.

Hope all works out for you but thought I'd share my positive story!! ♥️

Thank you for sharing @Gemmaemilyx ! It’s great to hear stories like this as they give me some hope, it will be a long 4 days until my next scan.

I don’t think my dates can be wrong because it was ivf so I know exactly when the embryo was transferred. I am hoping things were a bit slower because I was so sick with OHSS and baby is catching up now x

Fingers crossed for you! Keep us updated xxxx

Wishing you luck on your scan! Hope it goes well xx

How did it go @Chanceandhope? Hope you are doing ok. Forgive my ignorance but I assumed with ivf they put the embryo in your uterus and so you wouldn’t need to worry about an ectopic so this has really opened my eyes.

I had an ectopic in October and I hope this isn’t the case for you but if it is you’ll be in good hands and I promise things get better xx

Hi @Chica1990, sorry to hear about your ectopic pregnancy hope you are healing well.

I don’t actually know the reasons why there is a higher risk of ectopic with ivf than natural pregnancy. Statically this occurs more often with fertility treatment but looking at some academic studies there seems to be different reasons given for this.

My scan today went as well as it could be but I decided I don’t want to see that dr anymore.
We saw a gestational sac , yok sac and even a tiny heartbeat but the baby was very small for the gestational age so I have to do another scan next week... there is still hope!

Thank you all for your supportive words!

During the last few days I tried to meditate a lot and also did lots of reading and saw that it is possible to still have a healthy pregnancy even when a baby is not visualised at the “discriminatory hgc levels” of 1000 -1500.

I was very upset at the doctor for not giving me this information and leaving me to think it was a miscarriage or ectopic ... no other option, she actually said: “ this is abnormal and is not looking like it will be a viable pregnancy”.

Today we saw the baby, and it is very small for the gestational age so I have to do another scan next week but I will be going to different hospital. I am very happy but still anxious.
Because I had severe/critical OHSS and had many interventions during week 4 of the pregnancy it is classified as high risk so there will be frequent scans/monitoring.

This has all been very stressful, we have had 7 rounds of ivf in the last 10 years ... I have a gorgeous 9 year old son who i still can’t believe is in my live ... I am so grateful!
We have also lost 2 baby girls in the second trimester of pregnancy due to development issues with the babies, so pretty much aware this will be an anxious week by week for us fearing it could happen again.

I pray and hope this baby will grow and develop into a healthy much waited for addition to our family.

Sending you love!! I've heard dating a pregnancy in early scans is very off (a week off in my case) so keeping my fingers crossed everything goes well ♥️ xxx

Hi,
I’ve come to this thread looking for a similar situation/Story. I started trying in March this year for my first pregnancy and was elated when I took a test on Wed 8th April to see a positive 1-2 week pregnant result. I took 3 test to be sure, I knew it was early as I was only 2 days late into my period. Then 3 days later (this weekend - Saturday) I started to spot and then small clots and by this morning I had a full on what was just like a normal period with cramps but the only difference was back pain. I went to early pregnancy and they took a internal scan and couldn’t see anything as I would only be 4w+2 days since last period. They have take bloods to check my levels and I need to go back on Tuesday to see if any increase or decrease... I have resigned myself to decrease as I can’t imagine I’ll have a chance after this.. it’s so disheartening to have sheer joy then defeated within space of 5 days. It’s also so worrying being my first time, you can’t help but panic.

Hi @Che3087, what I learned from this whole situation is that scans before 7 weeks are not reliable. Doc also told me that my hgc wasn’t doubling like it should but looking back on it now I realised that they took them apart less than 48hrs as some was afternoon some in the morning so they probably would have been double if they had been taken exactly 48hr apart.

I am sorry to hear about the worry you are going through, I hope you are able to get answers on Tuesday and that you find strategies to help cope with the uncertainty... meditation seems to work for me but it’s not for everyone! hope everything works out for you x

Thanks @Chanceandhope it’s so deflating isn't it. I feel like I already know in myself it’s 100% miscarriage after my visit today to EPU and then the amount of bleeding I’ve had all day. The bloods and results this week I doubt will show an increase on my hcg levels, I guess I’m just preparing myself and resigning myself. It’s tough. I wish you all the luck and I hope things go well for you. X

Hi could I ask what the outcome was for you please x