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3rd Trimester
RoxZ32
member
Concerned due to low progesterone..
RoxZ32
member
I am only in my first trimester but I am hoping that some of you ladies will be able to comfort me if you have experienced the same issues.
We have been trying to conceive but each time my little egg was fertilized, it would not implant (my doctor assumed it was due to abnormal sperm). Then one day unexpectedly I took a hpt and got a very dark positive line. Based on my LMP I am 7 weeks but I am pretty sure that I ovulated late so I was assuming I wasn't quite at 7. I went for my first ultrasound yesterday and saw my grainy blur and the heartbeat flickering away. My doctor told me that my baby was only measuring at 5 weeks 6 days - a little earlier that I would have expected but not by much. He also told me the heartbeat was a little slower but that it may not be a big deal if I was really that early. He took blood to check my levels and he told me he would only call if there was something wrong. Well, he called today. He said my progesterone level should be 15 but it is only 7.5. He wants to put me on a progesterone supplement and bring me back in on Tuesday (6 days from now) and do another ultrasound to see if the baby has grown at all and to check my levels again. He said my levels were normal back in early Sept before I was pregnant so he doesnt think this is an issue with me. I'm afraid this will not be a viable pregnancy either.
Have any of you exprienced the same low levels during your early weeks? I'm hoping some of you ladies can comfort me and my husband with some success stories..
Thank you,
Heather
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Re: Concerned due to low progesterone..
I am a FTM and with this pregnancy I experienced similar issues early on. The first appointment we had with the doctor I was 4 weeks and few days. We weren't able to hear a heartbeat for the first ultrasound and my levels were low. The doctor explained that it may just be too early. They scheduled me to come back the next day to test more blood to see if my levels had increased to be within the range they would have liked to see. After this round of testing the levels were still somewhat low.
I had to come back a week later for another ultrasound and more blood testing. We heard the heartbeat in week 5 and they continued to keep an eye on my levels. So far 28 weeks a long and everything is going well.
Just remember to stay calm and not stress yourself as this will not help the situation. I tried to remember it was sooo early and most people don't even find out they are pregnant until weeks after I did. GL my thoughts and prayers are with you.
My progesterone levels were at about a 6 when I first found out I was pregnant at about 6 weeks. I started taking progesterone suppositories immediately and took them the entire first trimester and I will be 32 weeks on Saturday.
Don't stress especially since your doctor has confirmed that your other hormone levels are normal.
Best of luck to you and hoping you have a boring pregnancy!!!!
I had low progesterone with my first pregnancy but didnt realize it until I started spotting at 7 weeks (baby measured about 5.5 weeks, like for you). They waited until 8 weeks to put me on suppositories, and the baby started growing suddenly and actually almost caught up to normal but then suddenly died at 9.5 weeks. I was told the low progesterone was a side effect of a bad pregnancy and not the other way around (that I wasn't producing enough, thus harming a healthy pregnancy).
After another year of trying, we did not conceive. I then went to an endocrinologist and told him that I suspected I had low progesterone -- I told him about my last pregnancy, about the fact that mu luteal phase seemed short, about breakthrough bleeding I sometimes had between periods, etc. He dismissed my concerns and said again that low progesterone is USUALLY (note the qualifier) a sign of a bad pregnancy.
After probably 6 cycles with Clomid, he decided to start doing insemination. As part of that process, he tested my progesterone after ovulation, and lo and behold, it was low every time (around 6 or so) -- too low, he said, to get pregnant or maintain an early pregnancy.
Duh....
So he put me on progesterone and wanted to continue doing inseminations, but my husband and I decided to skip the inseminations and just take progesterone and have sex. After two years of infertlity, we were pregnant on progesterone on the third attempt.
I stayed on it through week 14 and now have a beautiful daughter to show for it.
When she turned 1, we decided to try for number 2. I started progesterone again, and we conceived my present pregnancy, a (so far) healthy boy, on the first attempt.
I always wonder if we had started progesterone right away with that first pregnancy if that would have saved it. I think you have a fighting chance. Keep taking that progesterone through 14 weeks.
IF, God forbid, this pregnancy does not make it, then ask your doctor to remain on the progesterone while you are trying for your next one. It's easy: once you ovulate (you have to chart very well), start taking the progesterone. After 14 days, if you test negative for a pregnancy, stop the progesterone, and you will get your period. Then once you ovulate again, go back on. Rinse and repeat. If you have naturally low progesterone, this will likely work like a charm for you and you'll be pregnant again in no time.
This is a really common issue, but unfortunately, most doctors, for some unknown reason, are CONVINCED that low progesterone = bad pregnancy, period, and are resistant to giving supplements. It's totally ridiculous.
But i do think you are lucky that you caught the issue early and got on the progesterone early. Good luck! My T&P are with you, honey.
Hi - I can totally understand your concern... I had low progesterone as well, and my DH and I weren't even trying to get prego when I did... When the DR saw how low mine was (I think it was slightly higher than yours is...) he put me on the supplement as well. I was on it almost the entire first trimester, and from there, everytime they have drawn my blood or done any tests, everything has been normal. I'm now almost 38 weeks along, and baby girl is doing great... she wants to be in there to bake a little longer!!
I would just trust in your healthcare provider and figure out what they/you think is the right thing for you... If for some reason it's not a viable pregnancy, then it wasn't meant to be... but it very well could just be a little hurdle to JUMP right over!
GOOD LUCK!!!
my progesterone levels were low too. I did vaginal suppositories 2x per day for the first 13-14 weeks of my pregnancy... and voila - I'm now almost 32 weeks pregnant!
good luck!
My levels were very low and I had red spotting with clots around 7 weeks. I was on progesterone until about 20w as a precaution.
Good luck!