Betas are stressful!

[glong88]

Uk here - I called the doctor when my tests didn't darken, after a chemical in Jan my doctor straight away offered to check my levels, I didn't push nor ask for it.

I agree before this board I knew nothing about betas, and once I had one Bfp with my son, I was pregnant. End of.

Lucky as my levels were not going up I knew I was miscarrying so it's likely next time I get Bfp I will be offered them again.

 

[babyjan]

Uk here - I called the doctor when my tests didn't darken, after a chemical in Jan my doctor straight away offered to check my levels, I didn't push nor ask for it.

I agree before this board I knew nothing about betas, and once I had one Bfp with my son, I was pregnant. End of.

Lucky as my levels were not going up I knew I was miscarrying so it's likely next time I get Bfp I will be offered them again.

So sorry for your loss

Your right though, over here they take your word for it. They don't even take any test to confirm x

 

[Isme]

I know this might seem harsh but maybe it's that some of the ladies do it to themselves and the doctors aren't actually pushing it on them? Either that or they are higher risk of some sort and need to be monitored closely. I think we can all agree that's definitely not 7something common in either of our countries. Beta tests are done with blood so I highly doubt a lot of Medical Practice is forcing it on people. That would just be a waste of money in their eyes.

Babyjan wasn't all directed at you just in general based on what OP said.

I don't know about that. I think unless you're going to a fertility clinic, most OBs and midwives aren't going to do anything just because you want it done. I'd never even heard of it (here in America) before this past year of TTC. I certainly didn't think it was necessary for me, since I'd never had it done before. It was my midwife who insisted because she didn't think the pregnancy was viable based on one urine test at her office. When I told her that my at-home tests were very dark, she got all weird and said that my levels were probably dropping or fluctuating, which would indicate an ectopic pregnancy. She insisted I get betas drawn before I left her office that day, and she said we wouldn't even make another appointment until she was sure. So while nobody physically "forced" me into it, I did feel like I had to have them done... and I was too emotional to question it anyway.

Also, very little is a considered a "waste of money" in our for-profit healthcare system here in the US. If they can squeeze something in, then many providers will do so just to pad the insurance payments.

Just offering a little perspective from the other side.

 

[tinymumma]

BHing
It's not a common thing here in Australia either. You can to ask for them and from my experience, my doctor just laughed and said what was the point. In saying that he was awfully rude and came straight out and told us that after our history he doubted that one would stick anyway. Such a joy he was.

I desperately wanted betas to be monitored (for obvious reasons). It's a very slippery slope IMO. I think betas are necessary but I think there needs to be more education on it. Like that the number doesn't mean much at all (unless it's excessively high or low for weeks gestation) and that doubling rates can vary between 48-72 hours.
Majority of the time though, we do this to ourselves. Being that we TTC, we test early and do all that, so we have that added stress. Rather than just wait until our period is late, take a test and then make an appointment with a midwife, we take tests constantly through the TWW, take multipule tests after a , comparing the darkness of lines, obsess whether our symtpoms are strong enough, etc. The want for a baby is like no other, so it's no wonder we get so ahead of ourselves but with the right knowledge, it's very empowering.
Just my thoughts though

 

[Mrs. MB]

They're optional at my clinic. It's either congrats on your positive HPT, let's book an appointment or you can request betas. I definitely stressed out because my first beta was low and the nurse all but told me to prepare for a miscarriage before realizing I ovulated late and was only 10DPO at the time of betas. It was a hellish day, waiting for the second beta to come back. If we decide on having a second baby I'm not sure if I would ask for them again.

 

[greats]

I just called my doctor today to schedule my first appointment and they ordered blood work for today and again on Wednesday. I didn't ask for it nor mention it at all... it's common practice here.

 

[Kyliem87]

Here in the UK they aren't done very often. I had mine done in most my pregnancies. But I understand them better than most. In fact I understand them better than the midwives themselves. I have them done because I have a history of missed miscarriages/blighted ovums and knowing my hcg levels allows me to make better I formed decisions when it comes to my 'options'

That said as you can see in my ticket they didn't double between 13-17 dpo and then more than doubled 17-19 dpo so there's no science to it at all. They can be useful if there's a real need for them but they seem to be done too commonly and stress people out!

 

[Kiwiberry]

The only time I have ever had my blood drawn was at the beginning of both my pregnancy and it wasn't even to test the beta's it was to test for other things. No matter what anyone makes you believe it's not common here in the United States. Yes you can request to have it done you can pretty much request to have anything done because here in the US insurance pays for medical bills (or out of pocket for some). It's too expensive just to hand out betas to everyone without a reason or request. Betas are not even necessary for the majority of pregnancies. I only see them as something that needs to be done unless you have a history of miscarriages. I have an appointment on Friday and I'm going to ask my OB how often they actually hand out bettas.

 

[Christina86]

I've never had them done.

 

[lakotachris]

I never had them done until I moved from city to another city in the Midwest (South Dakota) that has two of the nations top 50 hospitals. Here it is common place to draw betas but if I become pregnant again, I'm not going to have them done. I really don't see the point. I would rather enjoy it then stress out over betas or scans done too early. But that's just me....I did notice that on the recurrent miscarriage threads a lot of those women also stopped doing betas. I think it's probably just a personal decision and each woman has to decide if they find them reassuring or if they will become stressed or depressed if they aren't as high as they want them to be.

I agree that with the advanced early pregnancy testing, times have changed. It can be a blessing or a curse depending on the situation.

 

[Kiwiberry]

I'm not sure if the ranking of the hospital has anything to do with it because in my area we have the first and third ranked hospital in North Carolina. Duke University and UNC in Chapel Hill. Maybe it goes based on area? I'm still going to ask my OB on Friday and see what they say. If it was me I would never get them done even if I had a history of miscarriages because I freaked out just from the HPTs alone. If my first pregnancy taught me anything it was how precious your time being pregnant is. I barely had the chance to enjoy my first pregnancy before my daughter was born.