Going to ask for hcg levels etc. but not sure exactly what to ask for.....

[chocolate]

Hi can someone help me with the terminology so my doctor thinks I know what Im talking about!!

I had a miscarriage at 13 weeks but I reckon I lost at 8 weeks but never got to have a scan so will never know.

I had a progesterone test after my last ovulation and it came back at 54, which he said is as good as itll get, although I have a feeling I ovulated from both sides that month as had awful pains on both sides, so surely the progesterone level would normally be half that.
Anyway, Im seeing my gp Monday and wanted to ask her to check if my hcg is doubling, and if I can have a progesterone test.
Is that right? I am asking for the right things?
Does anyone know what my progesterone levels should be at just past 4 weeks?

Thanks

from the Worrier!!

 

[Smiler13]

Hi chocolate,

Think that HCG and progesterone are definitely the right things to test in the first few weeks, after about 6 weeks ultrasound scans are a better check on how things are progressing.

Just to say that not all NHS doctors (both GPs and the EPU) will perform these tests - ours won't, even for women with a history of recurrent miscarriage.

If yours won't and you can't afford to go private for the tests, then it might be worth doing the clearblue digis to see if the HCGs say 2-3, 3+ etc. (if you are early on). Some ladies have had private early scans.

Best wishes for your pregnancy.

 

[chocolate]

I have got a scan booked for 7 weeks, but if I mc then I would like to know if it were down to progesterone levels ifuswim? I also have PCOS so really they should check for this, but I suppose its all down to money.

She seemed quite supportive before and referred me to the specialist, but he wasn't much use. He also said I wouldn't get an early scan but the fertility nurse kindly booked me in anyway!

Do the digi's stop at 3+? So I guess if the test were to be at 3+ now, and then I tested again at any point and it said 2 to 3, then Id know the levels had dropped. That could be expensive lol!

 

[littleblonde]

I asked for a progesteroine check in the 1st trimester and i was refused as was told i needed to lose 3 before they would check. Im sure i have told you my story before but i was so annoyed. I had lost before and had brown bleeding leading upto loss and then this time i had brown bleeding agagin which is a sign of low progesterone. I was so annoyed they said this as with 2 blocked tubes it was a miracle i got pregnant in the 1st place and i felt horrible that they would let me lose. My doctor wouldnt check my hcg either. But as i was bleeding and got seen by EPU they checked my hcg for me but would not check progetsterone. GRR it was unfair although all tunred out ok.

Ask away though they are both blood tests. But try and stay away from testing lots as tests are not really designed to tell you how pregnant just that you are

 

[chocolate]

Thats awful, I cant believe they wouldnt test your progesterone especially with blocked tubes!

How often did you get brown discharge in this pregnancy?

 

[littleblonde]

i had it daily for 2 weeks from 5-7 weeks. i then lost a hugh amount of red blood. They then made me wait for a scan. in that week i had more red and brown blood. It was horrible. It was a miracle i had cionceived in the 1st place i had 1 loss and they acted like it meant nothing. Luckly for me my little bean decided that noine of this mattered and she kept growing.

 

[chocolate]

i had it daily for 2 weeks from 5-7 weeks. i then lost a hugh amount of red blood. They then made me wait for a scan. in that week i had more red and brown blood. It was horrible. It was a miracle i had cionceived in the 1st place i had 1 loss and they acted like it meant nothing. Luckly for me my little bean decided that noine of this mattered and she kept growing.

Well Im so glad your little girl decided to hang on in there, I wonder what some of these doctors are actually like, I know they have a job to do and guidelines to follow, but surely they must be able to over-ride those in certain circumstances!

Best of Luck xx

 

[Smiler13]

Hi ladies,

Just to say that low progesterone in a pregnancy that ends in m/c doesn't necessarily mean that the loss is due to low progesterone: the doctors say that the low progesterone is often a symptom of an upcoming m/c, not the cause (e.g. genetic problem) (though sometimes hormones can be the cause). There is also disagreement among doctors about whether any treatment to "correct" low progesterone is appropriate - some think it can help, others that it just prolongs the inevitable.

Confusing.