how long for HCG to drop?

geminiways · April 2012

one week after my d&c my levels were still at 8,000. they found cancerous tissue in my placenta (not cancer, just cancerous tissue. my dr gave me the medical name for it, something mole) so i'm having labs done every week (tuesday) to make sure levels get back to 0.

how long did it take yours to get down? i do not want another d&c and want to know asap, the waiting is awful.

also no TTC for 6 months, which at this point i'm so scared of what can happen i'm more than happy for the break!

kelly321 · April 2012

I'm sorry you're going through this. :-(

I had a blighted ovum, and at 7w4d on Monday when my m/c started, my levels were 3,500. They were taken again on Wednesday and were 600. My OB said she would take them again on Tuesday and by then they should be under 300. I think it's different with everyone, but that's what my numbers look like. If your levels stay up that it's an indication that there's tissue remaining that needs to be taken out. I totally understand not wanting (another!) D&C, but if you still have tissue in your uterus that's not coming out on its own, then there's no easy way around another one, I don't think. :-/

MWoodside · April 2012

Molar or partial molar? Either way it can take quite some time for HCG to get down fully. My understanding is it can increase sometimes with molar pg as well.

As for me, I didn't have molar or partial molar pg, but it took over a while for my HCG to get down. I was in my 14th week when my D&C occurred. My HCG levels had been literally off the chart prior to that (normal for 9th week of pg is up to 200k HCG, mine was 400k). At my 6 week check I was still testing 6 HCG. I got my period then though so didn't have further testing. For me it kept cutting in half each week after the D&C pretty much.

I'm sorry for your loss.

peloquinJ · April 2012

I'm coming over because I saw your post on the molar pregnancy check-in.

I had a complete molar pregnancy with D&C in August and it took me 7 weeks to drop to 5 (which my Dr. considered negative). Some of the rate of the drop has to do with how your body responds and how high your HCG was before the D&C. For a reference mine started around ~125,000 prior to D&C and were 587 at my follow-up 2 weeks later. They will likely let everything drop on their own as long as it is dropping by at least 10% a week. Most people will drop without further intervention (80-95%, it depends on what type of molar it is). Best of luck with your bloodwork, it is tough but hang in there and try not to stress. If you have any questions feel free to PM on TTCAL.