1.2 u/L - Serum Total HCG

[shoegirl36]

Hiya All,

I had two positive pregnancy tests last week so my GP referred me for a Beta HCG blood test to confirm. She called me today and told me that she wants to retest in 2 weeks to see what the 'trend' is. What does this mean? She also said this level is quite normal in very early pregnancy but I've done the worst possible thing and doctor googled and there's mixed comments. Some say HCG won't be present unless you're pregnant, some say we all have low levels at all time and some say 1.2 is very early pregnancy levels etc. Could you please share with me your views and experiences.

I have attached my consultation and also my blood report from the NHS app.

Basically the HCG number on its own doesn't really tell you a lot. Your HCG should approximately double every 48hrs, so repeating the test is needed to make sure your HCG is increasing at the right rate. The "normal" range for HCG in early pregnancy is absolutely massive, which is why a single number doesn't really mean anything and you need the test repeated to show the pattern/trend.

@moosey89 so you wouldn't know just from this number if I were pregnant or not? It's all so confusing

1.2 is unfortunately negative for pregnancy, if you started having positive urine tests at home last week which wouldn't have picked up this low level then the likelihood is that the hcg has reduced since then. If you don't get your period then it's worth having the repeat but if you do given this result I wouldn't bother with a repeat.

@cloudmaker yes I had a few positives last week so I think that's why the doctor wants the repeat test. I guess I'll know more then. The wait will kill me

@shoegirl36 I honestly don't know why your doctor has given you false hope. I'm sorry but this is negative, it's in the normal range for a non pregnant woman, you aren't pregnant.

@cloudmaker thank you for being honest. I guess I'll just have to do what my doctor wants and then see what happens a next. I don't understand why my period is so late then, that's very random for me. My partner is so excited after hearing from the doctor yesterday, I don't know how I'm going to tell him

What type of tests did you use at home, some are known for indents that look like a positive, so it could have been a false positive last week. Given your period is late it could have been a true positive last week but it led to a chemical pregnancy where the pregnancy is lost in the early stages. They are very common, a lot of people that have them don't even know they were briefly pregnant. That could cause your period to be late but it would likely come in the next few days. I personally would complain about your doctor for saying 1.2 hcg can be normal in early pregnancy for someone with a late period, anything under 20 is negative.

@cloudmaker it was on clearblue and easy@home tests. So I'm leaning more towards a chemical pregnancy I believe. That's definitely something I will bring up with my doctor when I next speak to her. Fortunately I'm awaiting an appointment for a gynaecologist clinic so hopefully they can help me too

If it was two different brands then it does sound like a chemical is the most likely explanation. I hope you get to the bottom of things with the gynecologist.

@cloudmaker thank you and thank you for replying

Unfortunately it does sound like a chemical. With the values there's different ones and I never know which is which, I got so confused with a progesterone result once because it used a different measurement to what I'd had before! So frustrating.
Have you had a positive home pregnancy test since the blood test your doctor did?

@moosey89 I only had the test done on Tuesday so haven't tested since, I didn't really want to test again because if I'm having the bloods in 2 weeks i didn't see the point. I can get carried away and almost obsessive over tests of any kind so would rather just wait to see what the doctor has to say.

@shoegirl36 I guess if you got a negative test now then you'd know a bit more, but I appreciate you might not want to get too obsessed with testing. And still no sign of your period?

@moosey89 nope still no sign of period, I'm around CD58 now. I've got heavier discharge than usual but that's about all. I've still been testing LH and this cycle had so many different peak/high results I don't know which one if any are the ones I've ovulated with. I also saliva test for ferning pattern, I know some women are not familiar with this but it's something to do with oestrogen levels. I don't have a regular enough sleep pattern to track bbt unfortunately but am thinking of trying to track this again from my next cycle.