First ultrasound question

alkinney

Hello!

I am brand new to this web-site and this is my first post.  I had a miscarriage on March 17th.  It was my first preganancy, and the m/c ocured very early (probably only 3-4 weeks).  I have not had a period since then.

We were extremely excited and surprised to find out I had a positive pregnancy test again on April 11th.  My frist Dr. visit produced a positive pregnancy test with HCG levels at 131.  They continued to more than double in the next couple weeks (1541 by April 18), and I had my first ultrasound today.

I was thinking I was at about 5.5 weeks, however the ultrasound did not show a tadpole, but only the round sac and the yolk sac. The dr. put me around 4.5-5 weeks pregnant.  I mentioned that we had a positive test on the 11th, and she said I could be further along, but we would see a tadpole in the 6th week.

My question is: should I be concerned that we didn't see the tadpole in the sac?  She didn't seem to concerned, nor did my husband, however I tend to worry a bit more than them.  She scheduled me for my "official first visit" in 2 weeks (though I couldn't come in for roughly 3 weeks due to work travel), and she said we will know much more then.

Is it possible that I conceived on April 4th or 5th, and got a positive on April 11th?

I'm probably making something out of nothing, but it just made me a little nervous (especially sine the first m/c).  Has anyone had a similiar experience?

I would appreciate any insight you have.

Thank you!

SheLovesMrHip

I just wanted to say congrats to you!!! You may just be super early, not everyone sees something at their 1st app. I had one when I was just a little over 41/2 weeks and all be saw was a speck, but when I was 5w6d we had a hb. I to got my bfp right after our mc without af in the middle, so I know how you feel!

alkinney

Thank you for your quick reply, I appreciate it!  I got married the week after you!!! (in Tempe) 

Congrats on your baby as well!  Isn't it so exciting?!  We had just gone off the pill and I honestly didn't think we would get pregnant for a long time.  This was such a pleasant surprise!!!

I do feel better after reading your post.  We probably saw what you saw, a circle, with a smaller circle on the inside.  The Dr. seemed positive, I'm just a worry wort.

If I am only 4.5-5 weeks, by the time we go in next time I will be 7.5-8 weeks, so I guess that will be the deciding appt.

bryanandkatrina

Congrats and welcome!

Do you know for sure when you ovulated?
(i.e. were you charting and/or using OPKs?)

Knowing your exact ovulation date is really the only surefire way to know how far along you are and/or what you should be seeing on an u/s. So if you do not know that information, then it's really difficult to say much more until you have a followup.

Depending on what brand of HPT you used (i.e. how sensitive it was) you could possibly start to get positive results as early as 7 or 8DPO if you had an early/fast implanter I suppose.

If that's the case - if you're not as far along as you thought - then yes, what you saw is to be expected at that stage.

alkinney

@Bryanandkatrina.  Thank you for your response. I really appreciate it.  I do not know when I ovulate, and since I didn't have a period after my miscarriage, I especially have no clue when I ovulated.  If I treated the miscarriage as a period, I would have been fertile (in theory) at the end of March/first part of April.  That is how I came up with around April 4th'ish. 

I used a million HPT (I didn't believe it).  I think the ones I used were very sensitive and could detect HCG at very low levels.  I found this out after looking online.

So I suppose I will just wait and see at my next appt, a very long almost 3 weeks away!  Thank you again.

 

bryanandkatrina

alkinney:

@Bryanandkatrina.  Thank you for your response. I really appreciate it.  I do not know when I ovulate, and since I didn't have a period after my miscarriage, I especially have no clue when I ovulated.  If I treated the miscarriage as a period, I would have been fertile (in theory) at the end of March/first part of April.  That is how I came up with around April 4th'ish. 

I used a million HPT (I didn't believe it).  I think the ones I used were very sensitive and could detect HCG at very low levels.  I found this out after looking online.

So I suppose I will just wait and see at my next appt, a very long almost 3 weeks away!  Thank you again.

 

Pregnancy losses can really screw with your cycles, so unfortunately all bets are off. I'm sure everything is fine and your dates are just off. I'm sorry you have to wait so long for your next appt ((((hugs)))) hopefully it will be worth it and you'll get some amazing news, to see that little heartbeat! Good luck!

molRN

Welcome and Congrats!

Just wanted to echo what the OP's have said.  M/C can really mess with your cycle.  Even if you had had AF once after your m/c, you still probably wouldn't have been regular again.  If the Doc was feeling positive about what s/he saw, I would count that as a good sign.  The US is a pretty good way to tell how far along you are.  This is a great place for you to be.  There are so many women here who can relate to your experience and offer great advice. 

alkinney

Thank you to all of you for to all of you for the positive reinforcement.  I hadn't been able to find anything about ovulation post miscarriage, so I wasn't sure about how that worked.  I'm glad to know that it was probably off a bit, and that it is possible to get a positive test as quickly as 7 days past ovulation.  That does put my mind at ease a bit.