Help!!!

[sconst]

Please can anyone make sense of this on going problem; I posted on here on mondasaying that i started to bleed last friday, when i was 5 weeks pregnant, then on monday saw gp who set me straight to emergency gynea, cos she thought that i might be having an ectopic pregnancy.... First thing monday morning before going to see gp i did 3 hpt, 2 where really keep ones, but the third was the clear blue digital that tells you how many weeks preggers you are, and all three said postitive, within 3 hrs of going to the hospital they said that there,urine test said negative, so the decided to do a blood test...When i phoned for the results i was told that my level was very low at 18 and that i had probably had an early miscarriage, and could i come back Wednesday(today)...so off i went this morning for another test, phoned at 5pm and they asked me what my previous test was and i told them 18, well you never guess what, my level has gone up to 22, so i have to go back again on friday for another blood test....has this happened to anyone else? and does anyone know what could be going on, cos i just don't know any more..have i had miscarriage or not (by the way my bleeding has now stopped)

Hi Sconst.

Sorry to hear you are going through this. I'm no doctor but have had 7 mc's and I know they like to see your HCG double in 24 hours this early and this indicates a viable pregnancy (hate that word!)

All hope isn't lost though, it is rising just not quick enough.

I am 6 wks at the moment and have purposely avoided the HCG blood tests because they have me over analysing things and panicking!

Good Luck for friday and come back and update us please

Hi everyone, just a quick up date, went to hospital on wednesday and hcg had gone up from 18 to 22 in 48 hours, was told to return today and have another blood test, phoned for the results and hcg had almost doubled to 38 in 48hrs.... can anyone explain whats going on! Have i had a miscarriage (bleeding has stopped, finished on wednesday, after 5 days)...Am i having a suspected ectopic.. I have to wait til monday and go back and discuss whats going to happen, help and advise greatly recieved

hi sconst! so sorry to hear your going through this. i have no advice just wanted to reply to you, hope you find out more on whats happening soon, keep us posted. x

Hi everyone thanks for your replies, just a quick up date, went to hospital on friday for another blood test and they were hoping that bloods would have dropped off, but they never, they had almost doubled from 22 to 38...Have to go again tomorrow, still don't know whats happening (niether does the hospital it would seem) hopefully they will scan tomorrow and find out whats going on! although the only thing they have said is that this is not a viable pregnancy, so why would blood hcg keep rising, even if it is rising slower than it should? I should be 6+1 wks fingers crossed xx hmm

keep us updated, good luck tomorrow x

sconst I'm really sorry you are going through this. It does sound to me like an ectopic pregnancy or a PUL - pregnancy of unknown location. For a baby to show up on the scan your hcg level needs to be about 1500 and by 6 weeks pregnant you should really be able to see a baby in the uterus.
They have said the pregnancy is unviable - I'm sorry but I have to agree with them. It's only considered a miscarriage if the hcg levels drop, as yours are increasing very slightly then it does suggest ectopic.
Can I suggest you go to this site for more information. There is a very supportive forum and a phoneline but the phoneline is only manned Mon-Fri.
Thinking of you, the uncertainty is so hard to deal with.
I went through this almost 3 years ago and was worried I'd never have a child but I have a DD and I'm pregnant again.
Take care

Hi everyone,just to update you all, went to hospital again today and actually saw a consultant for the first time, who wa totally baffelled at whats going on, last week i was told that pregnancy was more than likely not viable, but today i was told to have another blood test and wait and see because some wome who have very low hcg levels can go on to have healthy babies.... After having bloods done today they have risen to 65 from 38 and have to go back on wedneday again for more bloods. The consultant still won't scan me as they reckon that they won't see anything even if it was ectopic, and to just keep treating this as a normal pregnancy until otherwise told through further investigation x

They suspect an ectopic, you're a few weeks away from a tubal rupture if that's true... You're over 6 wks and they won't scan you when a uterine sac would be visable from 5wks and that would easily disprove ectopic.
I'd be off to a different hospital bloody quickly!!!!

Thanx trafficcone for your reply, i think i will put my foot down when i'm there on wednesday, as i would rather get this sorted sooner rather than later, especially when christmas is around the corner. x

It could be an initial slow rising hcg and normal pregnancy. But the rule of thumb is that they won't see anything on the scan until the hcg reaches 1000. This is a general rule and not absolute, so not sure why they are not scanning you, but it is unlikely that they would see anything yet unless you are certain of your ovulation date and the 5 weeks is a genuine pregnancy date.

It is possible for the pregnancy still to be viable, so that is what they will go with until proven otherwise. It could be that you ovulated later than you thought and you are not as far along as you first assumed, which is obviously what they are hoping at this stage, the last increase was hopeful, so do not dispair yet, it could all be ok still.

However if you get any symptoms of an ectopic, then you should go as a matter of urgency to the hospital just in case.

I hope it all works out for you.

Thanx willitbe, My cycle has always been 28 days, and is like clock work, just to let u know that my last period was 24th october

Hi sconst just wondering how you got on today?

Bump! Hope it went well x

Hi everyone, thanks for all your replies, I returned on wednesday for another blood test and surprise surprise they actually scanned me, and as they predicted they didn't see anything, so more bloods were taken and they had slightly gone up again from 65 to 85, so I was asked to go back again yesterday to see the consultant again.... Well they have now decided to leave me till monday and have more bloods done then, if my level hasn't risen significantly they will then give me drug called methatrexate, to dissolve any distroy any cells from growing....Still no pain anywhere, apart from my boobs!

sconst - Just wanted to say that I am surprised that they are offering to terminate the pregnancy before they have determined where it is located. Slow rising hcg does not necessarily mean an ectopic pregnancy, it is possible to have slow rising hcg and all be well. But obviously you do need to be careful in case it is an ectopic pregnancy.

If you want to read some stories from others then this website will encourage you to wait, it has stories of slow-rising successful pregnancies and pregnancies where nothing was seen on the scans for a long time, but still a successful pregnancy.

Obviously if you were not planning to get pregnant anyway at the moment, then you could continue with the methatrexate, but you need to make sure you don't get pregnant again in the next few months after it too.

It is tough to be going through something like this, I hope that you are not in limbo about it too much longer.

I totally agree with willitbe. Until you have been scanned, do not rule out a viable pregnancy.

The wait is truly awful, I know. Hope you get some clear answers very soon.

Hi sconst sorry you to hear you are still in a state of limbo with no definite answer. I had a look at that website that willitbe referred to and there does seem to be some amazing stories but if you are sure of your dates then hcg levels of 85 at almost 8 weeks pregnant doesn't sound viable.
I don't know if you've looked at the Ectopic Trust site I linked to but this is a link specifically to their Methotrexate-what I should expect page.
I was treated with Metho in 07 and wasn't told about avoiding alcohol or sexual intercourse. . . anyway if you do end up having Metho it's worth knowing all about it.
There is also a link to Expectant Manangement which may well be an option as you have no pain and your hcg levels are still very low.
Anyway maybe worth having a read through and knowing what to expect.
I do hope you get some definite answers soon as I know the hanging around, scanning and frequent blood tests are stressful and worrying.
Take care

Smac - an excellent website!

Yes it is an excellent website - it has lots of good medical information and I found the forum very supportive when I was first diagnosed with ectopic (although was initially told I was miscarrying as I was bleeding but had no pain) and also when I was trying to conceive after the 3m wait.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply...Thanks for the website links, both of them good sites.....I'm just hoping that on Monday the levelshave gone up significantly, but to be honest I'm not holding out much hope, will up date you all on Monday evening

Hi everyone heres the latest on whats going on......Went to hospital yesterday and saw the consultant again, she said that they were going to do another blood test and to ring back at lunch time, where they were expecting me to go in an spend a few hours there while they gave me methatrexate. As i was so confused I asked if she could scan me before they gave me any injection just to lay my mind at rest.............Well low and behold they did and actually saw what looks like a gestatinal sac measuring 3mm in my uterus......well on the plus side its not an ectopic pregnancy, but whats going on! My hcg yesterday was 183 from 85 last wednesday, I now have to go back on Thursday and they are going to rescan me to see if whats in my uterus hs grown, but they are saying not a normal pregnancy and will have to have a D&c probably next week to remove it......Could they leave me an let nature take its course? As i had a missed miscarriage in November 2007 and I was left for nature to take its course then........Have I got any hope of a succesful pregnancy, as there was nothing in my uterus last week.

Hi sconst - I'm relieved for you that it isn't an ectopic pregnancy and you won't require the metho as this depletes your folic acid levels and you are strongly advised to wait 3 months before trying to conceive again. It also can make you feel pretty crap on top of all the emotional stuff that is going on. Well done you for insisting on another scan just incase.
Your hcg levels are creeping up, I don't have the experience to comment on what is going on, I'm sorry, to me it sounds that they could leave you for nature to take it's course, I suppose it depends if you want closure before Christmas, like you mentioned in an earlier post. Keep asking questions and don't get forced into agreeing to anything you aren't happy with.
Take care

Sconst - please don't let them push you into a d&c, if you don't want it. If they are now seeing something in the uterus rather than anything in the tubes, then there is no reason to terminate the pregnancy. Slow-rising hcg does not inevitably mean that it can't be a normal pregnancy. My mum and sister both had pregnancies where they never got positive pregnancy tests...

As long as it is not an ectopic, there is no reason to interfere. Yes there is a higher chance than normal that it might end up with a miscarriage, but it is by no means definite. It is possible that it could lead to a healthy baby. Therefore, do not act on a d&c unless you really want to, as hcg levels have been known to be wrong before. I am truely not trying to raise any false hope here, but I do know that it is possible to have low hcg levels and have a normal healthy prengnacy. If you need reassurance, then you could continue to let them monitor your hcg levels, if they are rising, then you are not yet miscarrying. The fact that they can see a gestational sac when your hcg levels are less than 1000, means that this baby is developing, not yet that it is miscarrying. Sorry I have been long-winded about this but I really do think that hospitals push for d&c sometimes when it is un-necessary. Keep us posted as to how you are going.

Just a quick update, went to hospital again yesterday, no bloods were taken this time although they did rescan me to see if what was in my uterus had grown, well it had very slightly from 3 mm to 3.4 mm, which they say is not enough for a viable pregnancy, apparently it should grow roughly 1 mm a day. So they have decided to leave me for 2 weeks to see if nature takes it course, I have to return on new years eve and if nothing has happened by then, they will then see about me having methatrexate or a possible d&c, so still no resolve before christmas.

oh sconst it's so hard this waiting and hanging around, especially at this time of year when everyone else is being jolly and drinking.
Take care