# HcG Level Up but Progesterone Level Down



## sweetie888

So I am a little over 5 weeks now and had a M/C around 6 weeks in April.
The Dr.'s office is monitoring my blood levels. 

Last Thursday, HcG was 468 and Progesterone was 24. 
Today (Tuesday), HcG was over 5,000 (yay!) but Progesterone dropped to 18. 
I guess I am still in the safe zone, but the extreme bloating and breast tenderness I felt last week has noticeably decreased. They want me to test again on Friday, but I am going out of town and so nervous, I will push for another test tomorrow before I leave. 
They said if I get a Progesterone 16 or below, they will put me on suppositories. 

Does anyone have stories of something similar happening, and results?
I've read that if a m/c will happen, it will happen, regardless of the suppositories. I've read if you catch it soon enough, it can help you carry the pregnancy. Then I've read that the shots are better and pills are not effective, etc... I'm so worried at the moment. I just can't wait to get another blood test result ASAP. 

Any stories would be appreciated!


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## AmyB1978

Sweetie,

I don't have any experience, as I've yet to even see my doctor for the first time, much less have any bloodwork done... but I just wanted to let you know that I am thinking about you and keeping you and your little bean in my thoughts. Please keep me posted. 

Sending loads of sticky dust your way.


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## sweetie888

Thanks Amy! I am anxiously awaiting a callback from the Dr.'s office to see if I can get seen today. :)


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## TryinFor1

The only story I have about rising hcg and falling progesterone isn't good. So I won't go into detail. But I will say that progesterone prolonged my miscarriage for over two weeks. Which was hard to know if I just wouldn't have taken it, I wouldn't have thought I was pregnant for three extra weeks. 

However, maybe they could do an ultrasound and then if your progesterone is still falling to give you supplements. I think they would be greatly beneficial in that way. If they would have scanned me, they would have seen a problem. If your baby is perfect and right on track, I think you would be great taking progesterone. 

Just so you know too, your hcg is really great. shooting right up there! Mine never got about 3000 so please don't let my experience scare you even more. And they rose pretty slowly and yours sound awesome. If progesterone is your only problem, then I would definitely jump on it and take it!


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## sweetie888

Thanks for sharing TryinFor1. Would you mind sharing your actual levels w/the progesterone? From what the nurse is telling me, my 18 is still OK. I am just worried because of my recent m/c. 

They are sending me to get bloodwork done now and will call in a prescription for me before I leave on my 4-day weekend trip if I need it. She said they can just tell from the results if I need it or not and they won't need to see me. Insurances here are not too keen on scanning very often so I don't think they will do that for me. I might be over-compensating, but I think I want the prescription either way, just in case, unless it goes back up to 24 or higher. 

Thanks!


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## TryinFor1

Of course. 18 is good hun. That's not bad. Mine went from 20+, to 19, to 14. So they were just continuously falling with every blood test I had gotten. The 19 to 14 fell that much in less than two days.


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## TryinFor1

I would understand just wanting to take the progesterone anyway especially with numbers that are rising so lovely like yours!


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## AmyB1978

Sweetie,

I hope you are doing okay. Please let us know how things went.

You and your little one are in my thoughts


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## sweetie888

Hi Ladies! My Update:

I DID get another blood test today and when the nurse called me back with the results
she actually told me "You have good intuition!"
HcG went up to 6,848
Progesterone went down a little bit to 15.8.

Since my Dr. was prepared to give me Progesterone suppositories if it went down below 16, they called in a prescription for me right away. FX'd it will work for me and help my level go back up and carry this pregnancy. The more research I read and the timing of the drops make me convinced that progesterone was my problem and cause of my m/c before too. 

I would like to ask the nurse tomorrow about shots vs. suppositories. Seems like shots have a better retention than a suppository? I just think that since the suppositories will inevitably leak out some. However, it seems shots are given more for later pregnancy so women don't go into pre-term labor vs. suppositories are used for early pregnancies. 

FX'd my levels go up, up, up by my next bloodwork on Monday! Thanks for the comments!


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## FeLynn

good luck hun!


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## AmyB1978

Sweetie, 

So glad you were proactive and got seen early. I will also be keeping my fxd that the supplements work and help your levels to go UP and keep that little bean inside you for another 8 months!

You and the baby are in my thoughts.

Amy


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## wookie130

I'm doing the suppositories, hon. Make sure you lay down for a MINIMUM of 1 hour after insertion (so, the bedtime one is really easy, obviously, as you'll be laying down anyway), and any leakage you may experience most likely is the creamy base the actual progesterone is suspended in. Vaginally, the progesterone itself is absorbed quite quickly...the leakage is simply the base it was compounded in. HTH!


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## sweetie888

Thanks Ladies! 

Wookie - Thakns for the info. The pharmacist told me 15 min. and the nurse told me 20-30 min. if I could. But I have stayed lying down for an hour both times so far. ;) Just want all the insurance we can get right!


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## Baby2867

My progesterone dropped but hcg was rising fast. I was already on the suppositories though. I heard it can drop at some point before the placenta starts to take over some. Also remember that the progesterone suppositories go straight to the uterus and won't show up in your blood. Even at 9 weeks on the supplement my level was only at 16. 

At 10 weeks though, I am assuming when the placenta took over my progesterone went up to 39. I can now report I am 12 weeks tomorrow! So for me it was a success

I worried too, but you shouldn't. As long as you are on the suppositories you will be ok. They are messy though! I can't wait till I put my last one in this weekend! Oh happy day! Of course if it means saving my pregnancy I would gladly deal with the mess, but I will definitely not miss them!


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## sweetie888

Congrats Baby on 12 weeks! And thanks for sharing your experience, esp the part about it not showing up on your blood results. I guess I will only look for it to not drop anymore, instead of expecting it to rise. Even though I want to enjoy the weekend, I'm looking forward to Monday just to check my levels again. Glad to hear that your placenta took over when it was supposed to! :thumbup:


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## aoverholt

I only had my progesterone checked once at 4w1d and it was only 6.8. The doctor didn't seem to be worried about it, but I was. So after a week of minor spotting but amazing HCG I insisted on progesterone and was put on Crinone which is a vaginal gel. They aren't testing my levels at all b/c vaginally it's hard to get a rise in your blood. I am now 6w6d and saw an amazing 124 bpm heartbeat two days ago and a baby measuring perfectly! The Crinone is pretty gross and really irritating to your cervix but if it keeps my little bug healthy I'd do it forever! I was a little worried when I read that being on a supplement can have you miss a miscarriage but I'm just trying to tell myself that while that may seem common on boards, the numbers and statistics after a heartbeat is seen are minimal. I know that people come to boards and post when they're hurting and need support so that's why there is such a large amount of stories. I've also found tons of stuff with how this supplement is the only way to have a healthy pregnancy for some! FX'ed for you!


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## sweetie888

Thanks Aoverholt for sharing and good perspective! I was also worried about reading that the supplements could actually prolong a m/c. But seeing as my hcg levels were good, I'd rather try for the pregnancy. The heartbeat is sooo good! I know our dr. Here will not check heartbeat or do scan yet. I'll have to wait mother 2 weeks.


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## sweetie888

Hi Ladies! Just wanted to give an update on my blood results today.

HcG went up to 27,000+
Progesterone went back up and then some to 24.2!

The nurse said I must have been very good at using the suppositories cuz it's worked tremendously! They've stopped any more blood tests until me first visit at 8 weeks. It makes me a little nervous to not have the regular blood tests, but I'm glad my dedication to the suppositories has helped. Thanks for all the input and words of encouragement! BnB ladies are the best!


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## AmyB1978

Sweetie, I am so glad for your good news!!!! I also got good news today, my BP was down and they seemed pleased with it. (I have my appointment with my specialist on Wednesday, so fxd that my BP stays behaving itself!)

I have been thinking a lot about you and wondering how you are... so happy. 

Fxd for us both!

Let's just breathe a sigh of relief that, for today, we had good news! :hugs:


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## sweetie888

Thanks Amy & oh that is GREAT NEWS about your BP too! Is there anything natural you can do to lower it/keep it low? I'm so glad we both get to start the week off with a sigh of relief (though still cautiously excited). :)


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## AmyB1978

Sweetie, I am planning on talking to the specialist about recommendations on helping with the BP. Other than avoiding salt/etc I don't really know and have mainly just had it checked at my regular OB so far, no real thorough visits as of yet.


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## sweetie888

Amy - Just wanted to share b/c I'm excited... my OB called and told me I could move up my U/S exam date! It's going to be next Monday b/c there was a cancellation. I'm trying not to get too excited b/c I know we're still "really early" and b/c of what happened last time. But, oh... I am hoping that they see a beautiful healthy little bean growing in there!

How are you feeling? Any M/S yet? I get waves of nausea and my appetite is all wacky. :)


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## AmyB1978

Sweetie, that's good news! I will keep my fxd for your ultrasound! I saw the specialist today and my appointment went really well. My BP is a little high but he is still pleased with it and not concerned, he told me what to watch for and wants me to monitor it to make sure it continues to behave. They did an ultrasound (which I wasn't expecting) and I got to see the VERY TINY baby! I couldn't tell what was what but I saw my little monkey and got to see the heartbeat flickering away on the monitor! I cried when I saw the HB! They gave me a photo, baby's first photo! 

As for morning sickness, I have been having pretty bad heartburn and nausea, no real vomiting, yet, but I feel pretty sick most of the time and am REALLY gassy!


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## sweetie888

Oh Amy, that is AWESOME!!! Was your hubby with you since you weren't expecting the u/s? Oh that is just so great, I am so happy for you!!!

I was pretty gassy week 5 - 6.5. It's gone down, and my boobs aren't as big and tender as they were before, which normally would have me worried, but I'm feeling okay since my blood results were ok. I am NOT looking forward to heartburn. blech.


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## AmyB1978

My husband was not with me, since we didn't know they would be doing an US. He works not too far from my dr.'s office so before I went to work I stopped by and showed him the photo!


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## sweetie888

Awww... at least you got a pic. Do you get another scan next week or does this one count as your 8 week scan?


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## AmyB1978

Sweetie, if I hadn't been classified as high risk I would have only received one scan, at 20 weeks. Because I am seeing the specialist I will have more of them but my next one is still not until 5 weeks from now, when I am 12 weeks along. That one is more in depth to check the baby's anatomy, etc.


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## sweetie888

Hmmm... it's such a trade-off isn't it? Being high-risk means you get to see your baby more often! I want to be monitored as high-risk, but not actually be high-risk! 
I'll have to find out next week how many scans I'll get. 

btw - have you & hubby DTD yet? We still haven't since we found out. DH says it's because I was sick and then now he is sick, but I think he might be a little worried too. I told him let's just wait now until after the scan. I think this is the longest we've ever gone w/out! lol


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## AmyB1978

Sweetie, Definitely a trade off!

We have not DTD yet. Well, technically we have but that was before we found out we were pregnant. I feel really guilty that we aren't but my DH keeps saying it is okay, that we will when I am feeling better and when my desire comes back.

I haven't wanted to from a combination of fear, the nausea/not feeling well, and no sex drive.


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## sweetie888

hahah - yep, I'm feeling guilty too, but DH hasn't said anything about it. I just don't want him to feel neglected, but honestly, I've been soooo tired and nauseated too. Not a hot combo. ;)


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## sweetie888

Hi Amy! Just wanted to update you on my scan today! They ended up doing a transvaginal scan, I guess b/c it's still early! Yup, there's a little blip with a heartbeat flickering on the screen! Big sigh of relief! Oh, and the heartburn...oh I jinxed myself! Pretty much immediately after I replied to you that I haven't had it yet, it's hit me and hasn't gone away! I am now taking Tums a couple times a day. :)


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## AmyB1978

Sweetie,

I am soooo glad that your scan went well! I am sure seeing that little heartbeat was amazing! Thanks for the update.


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