Low hCG levels and spotting at five weeks pregnant

[Sparkleandshine999]

Hi All

I am currently around 5 weeks pregnant and this was a medicated letrozole cycle with hcg trigger shot. My hcg numbers have been really low from the day I got a positive very very light faint which was 8th Sep. So far my hcg numbers have been 17.4, 34, 62.4, 90.7 and this morning at 139. It's definitely not doubling. I have been having lots of spotting since I got my positive test, but I have also had this spotting since I has a loss in May this year at 21 weeks due to waters breaking. Docs said no retained tissue, but then have no idea where this bleeding is coming from. I keep asking for a scan to rule out ectopic which they may do tomorrow (it's a Sunday today). But can anyone advice next steps or if numbers are looking like this is this a chemical or ectopic? Thank you all so much x

It’s hard to know at this stage, only a scan would rule out ectopic. Did you see anything on your scan? Any further hcg?

Unfortunately they have made the decision that the pregnancy won't progress so have told me to take an injection to get rid.

I’m sorry to hear that. If they think it’s ectopic then taking the injection is the right thing to do. With your numbers being low it should resolve easily, which is a lot safer for you. I’ve been in your situation and had the injection too. Hoping you’re okay x

Thank you so much. When you took the injection, how long after does the bleeding start and was it painful? Do you have to stop taking all vitamins until your hcg returns to 0? They say you cannot try for 3 months is that correct? I was hoping to try at 2 months again hence was trying to avoid the injection x

I was already bleeding with my ectopic every day so after I took the injection it just continued till my hcg was 0 then it felt like a normal period for 5 days and it stopped. Took a week or so for hcg to drop

yes had to stop all folic acid

and yes we had to wait 3 months. But it’s important because the injection depletes folate for 3 months so if you get pregnant baby might not develop properly.

it’s important and I didn’t want to go through a worrying pregnancy again. But the very next time after 3 months we got pregnant with a healthy baby x

Ah congratulations i am so happy to hear this! There are some people who said that as soon as hcg went to 0 they started to take all vitamins again including folic. But even at 2 months pregnant everything was fine. But I under not wanting to take the risk again and completely waiting to restore than to take the risk. What was your hcg numbers when you did take the injection? I am assuming as I am around 5 to 6 weeks this is a failing pregnancy at 232IU only?

Thanks and yeah as soon as hcg was 0 and I was officially discharged, I began taking folic acid for the whole 3 months after.
it was really weird because when my folic acid was depleted and I got a cut, it wouldn’t heal. Crazy. Then as my folic acid went back up my body started healing as normal
hmm, my ectopic was much more obvious because I started bleeding the moment I had a positive test and it was constant spotting brown, light bleeding, watery, then nothing then spotting again. Just very erratic and weird continuous bleeding. Then my lines stayed faint or sometimes lighter sometimes stronger then light again.
finally after weeks of being ignored I got my hcg tracked and it’s not that it went up little by little, it was more that it went up and down.
so it would be like 86, then 64 then 100, then 78 then 90. That kind of up and down is very classic ectopic.
my numbers never went higher than like 130.

in your situation of it’s just going up but not doubling I’m not sure if I could say it’s defo ectopic. You could wait until you’re 1000hcg and have a scan see if you can find the location of the gestational sac to rule out ectopic.
but if it is ectopic, then leaving it to grow only increases the chance that it could burst and you get emergency surgery and lose a tube.

so I’m not sure what you’re comfy with doing. But I know that numbers which go up slowly but definitely still going up isn’t always ectopic. It could just be a slow start normal pregnancy or maybe a normal one that will miscarry by itself. It depends on what you and your doctor feel more comfy with

if you went from 130 to 230, yeah it’s not doubling but it’s not that far off

Ah im so sorry to hear what you went through and that is really strange about the cut and body taking time to heal without folic! So my numbers are not doubling every 48 to 72 hours but they are increasing. It is very difficult for me as I dont want to leave it until trying to reach that 1000 and then imagine something ends up happening which means key hole surgery- that is what i am really worried about.
The doctors are just saying its definitely a failing pregnancy because I've been testing since 8th sep and by now numbers should have been at least in the thousands, its sitting at 232. So they said weather its in womb or ectopic its still failing. But I've jumped on here as I've heard nhs saying so many things which aren't correct of course.

I was hoping this would be pass itself since I stopped progesterone but it has not yet, maybe needs few more days as I only stopped progesterone pessaries yesterday x