Tiny hcg drop

acutepandamic

My hCG was slowly rising when I had my first couple readings (167 then 315). Then it went from 488 on Friday (4/14) to 481 yesterday (4/17). Having another blood draw tomorrow to confirm what's going on it. I had spotting on and off for the past 2 weeks. Has anybody had this kind of drop and see it go back up? Or should I be preparing myself for the worst?

acutepandamic

Well I think the worst is happening. My spotting increased a bit and has gone from brown to red. I had my blood drawn today as instructed to follow up on the slight dip. My hcg is probably even lower now. I’ll know tonight/tomorrow. Bummer :/

kgg2241

@acutepandamic I'm hoping for best possible outcome for you, but it does sound like you are miscarrying. The limbo period where you are waiting to see what happens is so hard. I am so sorry you are going through this, and if it comes to it, I am very sorry for your loss. 

rachelredhead

@acutepandamic I’m really sorry you’re going through this. I’ve experienced that waiting-for-the-worst/hoping-for-the-best misery and I hope you have people to lean on while you wait. 

acutepandamic

@rachelredhead @kgg2241

Thank you. The wait definitely sucks. Now I just wanna get it over with so I can move on.

acutepandamic

So my hcg jumped back up to 548. I’m so confused. I have to wait until the morning to call my ob clinic so in the meantime... what is going on?!

stormageddon-darklordofall

@acutepandamic Definitely call your ob... but it doesn't sound good.  Those numbers are supposed to double every 48 hours, and yours for the most part are either dropping or only slowly rising, nowhere near the doubling amount.  It absolutely sounds like you are miscarrying, but get verification from your doctor.  I am sorry.

lelkcot

@acutepandamic I am so sorry you're going through this. In my experience, a drop in hcg was not a good sign, especially with bleeding. And as the PP said, it is also concerning that your hcg numbers aren't doubling. I hope you can speak to your OB and get answers soon. 

acutepandamic

What’s driving me mad is that my ob has acknowledged the levels and has noted them all normal - among the results, each has a section that says “results reviewed and normal for pregnancy”. Just don’t get how I’d be miscarrying but hcg keeps going up. Another hour or so until my Ob’s office opens and I can call. It’s annoying that, since the beginning, I’ve never had anything explained to me about my progress, or lack thereof. I always call and always get a “Well there’s not enough for us to make a call so please repeat your blood test after 48 hours.” 🤬

stormageddon-darklordofall

@acutepandamic Do you have confidence in your OB?  Did they give you an appointment when you called just now?  If not, I would call another OB right away.  

Why did they refer you for HCG blood draws in the first place?  Are you high risk or was there some reason to warrant it?  (It's not usual to get these unless you have a history of loss or high risk reason for them.)  

It is NOT normal for them to not be doubling every 48 hours.  167 to 315 if taken about 48 hours apart isn't really a problem.   But then only having it go to 488 and then drop to 481 is not good, and not good that it then went up only to 548 after that.  Some women have had success with a slow rising HCG, but it's really hit/miss whether it works out in that case.  I don't think I've heard of a case where it was THIS slow rising, and there's a drop, with spotting/cramping, where it worked out in the positive.  Sometimes it can take a while / there's hope, but it really just seems to postpone the inevitable.  If every test you had was taken 48 hours apart, your HCG should be somewhere over 2,500 by no (higher if these tests were more than 2 days apart). You are nowhere near that.

The other reality is that most people/women don't understand how their bodies work, how TTC / pregnancy actually works, and OBs assume women know nothing about the process.  They don't explain things and the onus is really on us to research and figure it out ourselves.  I really would recommend reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility, as it is vastly helpful.  (I also highly recommend basal body temping, especially post-miscarriage).

I'm sorry.  The situation sucks, and it sucks more that your OB doesn't seem to be that concerned and/or explanatory about what you are going through.  I've lived through the hell of low HCG Betas for years and it is not a good place to be in.

acutepandamic

I’ve read all the stories and circumstances online that are similar to mine not having positive outcomes. I mentioned this to my Ob and she said that she has seen so many different things, including situations like mine, where it turned out just fine.

My hcg is being checked because I had went in for spotting before and she wanted to see how my hcg was doing. Also, I have hypertension but I don’t know enough to know how that affects hcg. She said she had many patients who had slow riding hcg with bleeding and they gave birth to healthy babies. She also said that as long as I am not filling a pad up within an hour (I’m not; it’s like a very light period and I can go all day without needing to change it; I’m probably bleeding half a tablespoon every 8 hours if not longer) and I’m not experiencing any pain, then I am okay.

My ultrasound was scheduled for Tuesday and they’re having me do another blood test tomorrow to continue monitoring hcg until then. I guess we will just have to see.

stormageddon-darklordofall

@acutepandamic Your OB sounds kinda like a 2-bit hack.  But I mean, I'm just an internet stranger.  (For the *record* though, I am a recurrent pregnancy loss sufferer, I've had 5 MCs and no living babies, so I've been through the HCG Beta rodeo several times). 
My OB told me after my first one, that MC is common and it doesn't mean anything for future PGs. After the second one, that it's super common.  After 3rd one that it was SUPER early and doesn't mean there's a problem, that she's seen this a TON of time before and people get PG the next time and it's fine.  But she'd refer me to a RE just because of my stress/anxiety levels.  Then I went on to have 2 more MCs.  So...  yes, they've seen a lot.  But OBs are NOT PG loss/reproduction complication experts by any means.

The issue is that your HCG isn't really 'slow rising' it's actually dropped at one point, and is essentially non-existently rising at this point.  

I mean, the reality is this, if you're headed for a MC, you're going to have a MC and there's nothing anyone can do to change that outcome. So the HCG numbers are really just 'guidelines' so to speak. To see if the numbers are going up/down, and then if you do have a MC they'll use them to track your HCG down to 0 (WHICH IS VERY IMPORANT AND MAKE SURE THEY DO IT!!!! NO "I've seen so many things" BS excuses!!!).  

But I'm still flabbergasted that ALL they're telling you is to get another HCG Beta, which they don't seem to be 'interpreting' at all. I mean, you may end up being an EXTREME anomaly and/or miracle... but I wouldn't count on it at this point.  (IF your numbers are 48 hours apart).  I'd steel yourself for a gnarly week (or two) and a not-positive outcome.

LJMoon6

@acutepandamic I'm sorry you're going through this. It does sound like a MC to me too. I'm kinda mad that your OB isn't more forthcoming with that. I'm just finished having an early MC too. *TW* My numbers were not doubling either, stalled out, then jumped back up before finally falling. The first few days of my MC started out with spotting too, then transitioned to a light period. When I was in the middle of it I refused to read those stories online about positive outcomes of people in similar situation because the science, the statistics, were not in our favor.

pajamstagrams

@acutepandamic unfortunately if your HCG isn't doubling/slow rising, it's probably not a good sign. I agree with @LJMoon6, I wouldn't look for too many positive stories because they are the exception, not the rule. I'm not big on false hope though, I lean more realist than optimist.

*TW loss*

I just had a miscarriage at 7 weeks, and my HCG never got above ~3500, and was slow rising.  Saw a strong heartbeat one day & measured on track, miscarried the next day. I had been lightly bleeding the couple days before due to a small SCH, and it was an obvious shift in bleeding/cramping when I miscarried.

All I can say is I'm so sorry you're going through this, I don't have any advice or anything to help you get through this since it's really just a hellish waiting game.  Hugs ❤️❤️