Wish I had never gone for an early scan

[stompinthewoods]

I had a positive pregnancy test last week (2-3 weeks clear blue) but have irregular periods so not 100% sure how far along I am. I had a GP appointment and off handed mentioned I’d had some mild period like pain, the GP said it was probably nothing to worry about but sent me to get an ultrasound.

There was nothing visible on the TV ultrasound, which the sonographer said she wouldn’t expect to see anything at 4 weeks, however the doctors in the EPU have scared the life out of me by saying it’s a pregnancy of unknown location. The doctors said this could mean an ectopic or a miscarriage!

They took my HCG bloods 48 hours apart and although they have gone from 1900 to 3576 they haven’t doubled… I have only spoken to a nurse who said a doctor should be getting back to me with a “plan”.

I wish I had never gone for the scan, I haven’t had any bleeding or severe pain, I am so so so worried and scared now… has anyone experienced anything similar and had a positive outcome? I am really hoping for the best but feel like the staff in the EPU have been very blunt and not said anything to imply that it could just be very early stages and to soon to see anything?

I did wonder why they even bothered to scan at 4 weeks as surely nothing will be visible?!

Partly due to your irregular periods and the possibility of you being further along, but the main one is to rule out an ectopic. They 'might' have seen free fluid on the tube or an anomaly.

I know it can be worrying. My 1st pregnancy, after 4yrs TTC, I'd had right sided pelvic pain even before I got a positive pregnancy test. I was only 4 weeks but sent for a scan and the woman struggled to see anything. She finally saw a tiny streak but couldn't be certain of what it was. She did see some very small fibroid and said that the pregnancy hormones can affect them and cause pain too. I had a repeat scan a week later and a sac could be seen.

I know you have a private scan booked, maybe I missed this but do you have another NHS one booked in?

@OVienna oh no I’m sorry you had such a dreadful experience, that’s awful 😔
@BudgetBuster I am hoping you’re right and it was just too soon! Unfortunately no one from the EPU has got back to me (they said they would…) so I’m very grateful for all the reassurance on here 💖

@7238SM so glad you managed to see your little one at 5 weeks, that must have been a relief!
The EPU were supposedly going to call me with my HCG results and tell me a plan going forwards, which they said would probably include another scan, but they never phoned me back… I did manage to get through and get my HCG number from a nurse but she said “they haven’t doubled so a doctor will ring you” and I’m still waiting for a call over 24 hours later!

I had a MMC in 2020 and was told by EPU that, when I was pregnant again, to arrange an early scan with them when I was around 7-8 weeks - 12 week scan showed baby had stopped growing at around 7 weeks, so I'm guessing that's why but based on PPs this must be the earliest they can see anything on a scan. Hang in there OP!

I had this with my now 15yo. Nothing on a 4 week scan.. then at 6weeks and 5 days a sac with a heartbeat. Fingers crossed for you ❤️❤️

In one of my pregnancies my HCG doubled slower than 48hrs (that’s not uncommon) - I believe it’s 72hrs it needs to but most people say 48. That pregnancy is now a 2.5 year old.

i had many trips to epu (different pregnancies) and I did find they were generally quite clinical and cold. Very little reassuring words. Perhaps a combination of being jaded by their role and not wanting to get hopes up. I think they probably have to tell you what it could be.

If they refuse to scan you again I’d pay for a private scan elsewhere - a medical transvaginal scan not a ‘window to the womb’ just for cute pictures type.

Happened to my sister word for word.
Her baby is now 23 and got a baby of his own.

Just commenting to give some more positivity to you. I ended up with an early scan, couldn’t see anything. Then at 6 weeks I had a transvaginal and even then it was very difficult, they were going to send me away for another week just as the little blip of a heartbeat appeared. Really wishing and hoping this is a happy healthy pregnancy for you

Was there a reason why they sent you for a scan? Mild cramping doesnt usually warrant a scan as its normal in pregnancy.
I think your much too early. Even in a normal pregnancy, fetal pole and sac isnt usually visible on ultrasound until 5.5 -6 weeks.
Pregnancy of unknown location isnt usually a concern at this stage it just means they cant locate anything.
If your periods are irregular , what made you test?
2-3 Just means your hcg is somewhere between 150 and 2000ish mark and urine lags behind bloods. Theres such a vast range . I mean you could be around the 4-5 weeks but impossible to say. Someone could be 5 weeks and on the lower end of hcg and someone might be well into their thousands. They number doesnt matter, its the increase. Its not precisely 48hrs.
I know the wait well, but im afraid all you can do is wait for the rescan to see what it shows

@VioIetMoon i had mentioned the mild period like pain to my GP and along with the fact that my periods are irregular, being unsure how far along I am, so wonder if that’s why they referred me for a scan? I had been testing regularly as we had been TTC for a few months after coming off the pill and my periods stopped in January. GP expected I just ovulated very very late in February or had an anovulatory cycle. I also had really sore boobs (and still do!) along with the no period.

In terms of update the EPU have called back and said they aren’t worried about my HCG, but have booked me in for another scan next week. I am hoping a week and a bit between scans might result in something being visible at the next scan? 🤞🏻

I had two miscarriages in 2024. The first I started bleeding at 10 weeks. I hadn't previously had a scan and when they did scan me they couldn't see the pregnancy. They said it was likely that I had passed the pregnancy the day before when I had very heavy bleeding. This was formally a PUL and I was told they would usually rescan a week later to confirm however as I should have been 10 weeks and had hyperemesis for the last 6 weeks it would be usual for the pregnancy not to be visible. They decided instead to monitor my HCG until it has dropped to normal levels. It took about 3 weeks. They did a test in a & e the day of the heavy bleeding, the following morning in the epu, it had halved in 16h, 48h later and then every 7 days until it was below 20. They monitored the drop and if the rate of the drop had slowed or if it had started to increase again they would have scanned me again.

I was had early scans with the following pregnancy, the first was at 7 weeks there was a fetal pole but it was measuring 10 days behind, they got me back in 2 weeks later. There had been some growth but 2 weeks worth and there wasn't a heartbeat. The epu had a policy that I had to be scanned by two sonographers a week a part to confirm miscarriage so they booked me in with a different sonographer the following week which confirmed the loss. I was given options, as I had started spotting I decided to give my body a few days to see if it would pass it on its own and it did. I did a pregnancy test 3 weeks later and it was negative. I did another 7 weeks later and it was positive. I phoned the EPU and they got me in to measure my HCG as I didn't know how pregnant I was as I had conceived before my first period post miscarriage and they wanted to time my early scan for when it's likely to show something definitive. My HCG came back at over 100,000 and they scanned me the next day and I was over 8 weeks! This one is now a 6 month old baby so my story does finish with some positivity!

In terms of things the Dr might suggest one would be to continue to monitor your HCG to see if it is increasing as they expect. Roughly they want to see doubling for a healthy pregnancy and having following a loss but it's also normal for it to be not quite there.
They might want to rescan you, either have a set period of time for example 1-2 weeks after the last scan to see if they now see where the pregnancy is or it might be once your HCG has reached a particular level.

I had an ectopic pregnancy last week, my HCG levels only increased 1500 to 1700 in 48 hours. I was in absolute agony with one sided pain which was why I was initially checked. It’s good you have been booked in for another scan next week, that should be plenty of time for something to be visible on the scan. I have absolutely everything crossed for you 🤞🏻 xx

@Superscientist i’m so sorry that sounds like such a difficult experience and horrible thing to go through…I am so pleased for you that you got your happy ending and your little one is here with you now 💖
@shellyttc oh no I am so sorry, that sounds awful 😞 I hope you’re doing okay…thank you so much for you well wishes ✨

@stompinthewoods how are you?