How long after MC did it take for HCG to reach 0?

Re: How long after MC did it take for HCG to reach 0?

• kathrenne member

  May 2018

  Generally a MMC is a missed miscarriage, which usually defined clinically differently than a chemical pregnancy.
  
  An MMC is typically diagnosed as a pregnancy visually seen on ultrasound, but  verifies that the fetus has stopped developing. Your body often hasn't started the miscarriage process, thus the "missed" aspect. Sometimes the body will miscarry on it's own, and sometimes medical intervention is required. 
  
  A chemical pregnancy is not diagnosed via ultrasound because the loss occurs prior to an embryo being large enough to be seen; it is diagnosed with a positive pregnancy test, followed by a negative test within a short period of time, or a reduction in hcg beta quants tracked via blood draws (normally a pregnancy can't be seen on US until a quant of 1500-2000 is achieved, but chemical pregnancies tend to occur before that point).
  
  If you are having a chemical pregnancy you quantities *should* return to 0 fairly quickly; it is a good idea to have your OB track it to be on the safe side. 
  
  If you are having a MMC, it will take longer and depend on whether your body manages it or it's medically managed. In this case, it is also a good idea to be under an OB's care (more necessary than if you have a chem8cal pregnancy, TBH, because of a higher risk of complications). 

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• nomangos23 member

  May 2018

  Oh! I'm still getting the hang of all of these acronyms! I thought MMC just stood for miscarriage. I also didn't miscarry until 5 1/2 weeks which from everything I've read is a little later than a traditional chemical, but doc keeps calling it a chemical, so whatever. 
  
  From what I understand, you can't start a regular ovulatory cycle while you still have low levels of HcG in your system... right? That's what my OB made it sound like. 

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• kathrenne member

  May 2018

  Five and a half weeks actually isn't uncommon, especially since cycles can vary in length or you could have ovulated late. 
  
  "Chemical pregnancy" is really any pregnancy that is verifiable via the presence of hcg but not visualized on ultrasound.
  
  But yes, when you have even low levels of hcg it usually suppresses further ovulation, as does the progesterone increase with pregnancy. 
  
  Generally it's advised that you have at least one normal cycle before ttc again, if for no other reason that accurate pregnancy dating when you do get pregnant again. 

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