Great HCG levels & Now they are slowly, slowly rising

[soccer0006]

Hi Everyone,

I decided to write a post since my anxiety is getting the best of me. I never knew how stressful early pregnancy can be! Here is a bit of our story. My husband and I have been trying to get pregnant for a little over a year. We finally turned to a fertility specialist and received an IUI--it worked on our first try!

I am currently 6 weeks 3 days. We went to see our specialist on 5.7 weeks and we saw our little one with a low HB of 85 bmp. I am gettin concerned because at first my HCG was skyrocketing... now it is rising very slowly. We get another U/S next week, but I can barely make it through a day without crying! My levels are listed below:

3 wks 6days: 98 beta

4wks 1day: 278

5wks: 4450

5wks 6 days: 7,555

6wks 1day: 8,190



Has anyone experienced this? Am I going to miscarry?

 

[SteffieLee]

I'm not entirely sure but I believe once the hcg levels hit a certain amt, the doubling time increases. So it takes longer for your levels to double. I'd worry about miscarriage only if the levels drop.
Best of luck to you, hope your bubs heartbeat is nice and fast now.

 

[AnonymousCAT]

I can't answer your question, but I wanted to let you know that I am thinking about you! I also wanted to share my experiences with you so far in hopes they may help. At the start of this pregnancy I spotted for a total of 11 days... I feared the worst. But it was all put down to implantation bleeding. I was terrified of miscarriage as I had a recent mmc in Jan at 10 wks. Then at my first ultrasound at 7+5 everything looked great, but the heart rate on the report was super low at 65 bpm! I was shocked and gave up hope. My husband was convinced it was an error as we did hear the heartbeat at that appointment and we both felt it was much faster. I waited an agonizing 2 weeks for my next ultrasound in limbo. At the next one I was 9+4 and heart rate was 172 bpm! 11 weeks today. Anyways, what I am trying to say is don't give up hope and try to stay positive. You saw a heartbeat! And you saw it when you were only 5.7 wks. That's when things just start to get going. Give your little bub all the love you can to help them grow. Being stressed and anxious won't help any. So take a deep breath and try to go with the flow. Sometimes we just know too much for our own good. When I sat back and adopted the attitude just wait and see, I am pregnant today I felt much better. And I'm sure that is helping my pregnancy too. I am still nervous and anxious obviously, but that is normal. But worrying about something happening is a lot of wasted energy. I'm only going to worry when something happens. Good luck!

 

[soccer0006]

Thanks Steffie! It's nice to get some reassurance--I don't think I will ever ask for a beta again... too stressful

 

[soccer0006]

Thank you Anonymous Cat! I can't imagine what you are going through either... you are taking the right approach- don't worry until there is something to worry about. At first, I was doing fine but about a week ago I started to bleed. So I went straight to the ER... the doctor told me they couldn't see a sac and it looked like a molar pregnancy. So i was terrified, to say the least. The next monday I went to the doctors and that's when we saw our little one's HB. Ever since that scare, I think I am too scared to get my hopes up. When is your next U/S? WIshing you the best and please keep me posted!

 

[SteffieLee]

Thanks Steffie! It's nice to get some reassurance--I don't think I will ever ask for a beta again... too stressful

I think that's a good idea. It has such a wide range for "normal" anyway. Keep us posted!

 

[AnonymousCAT]

Glad it was helpful. We have chosen not to have any more scans until the anatomy/gender scan at 18-20 wks. We did this because things were positive at the last ultrasound I can't take hearing any more bad news. I don't think the knowledge is worth the stress. Because of this we have opted to not do any genetic screening and will just take what comes our way. I have a midwife appt on June 3... I should be 13-14wks at that time. My midwife will do a physical exam at that appt and said she we should be able to hear the heartbeat on the doppler at that time. So I am waiting for that and hoping we hear a heartbeat. I am choosing to save all my worrying for after that date if needed.

 

[corrie anne]

A heart beat detected before 6 weeks is very rare. That heart rate is certainly not low for that stage. Your level starts to take longer time to double as it gets higher. At this point it should take 92 hrs or more to double. I believe you and baby are just fine
About heart rates
https://www.countdownmypregnancy.com/pregnancy/heartbeat.php
About hcg levels
https://www.babymed.com/tools/hcg-calculator

 

[soccer0006]

Thanks Corrie - I am trying to stay positive. I am just scared that they only increased by 700 in 48hrs. From everything that I have ready, they all end up in miscarriage

 

[Nina83]

Soccer, congrats on your pregnancy!
I wouldn't do any more betas, or worry at this point. Once theres a baby and HB, it doesn't matter. Betas go sky high in the begining and then start to slow down.

 

[soccer0006]

Thanks Nina, I will make sure to keep everyone posted after my next U/S!

 

[NandO1]

From what i have read once a heartbeat is detected they tend to stop doing betas. Im no expert though. Regarding the heartbeat, your baby will have a heartbeat similar to your own when it initially starts beating so 85bpm sounds about right for a very early hb, it then increases by about 3 beats per minute per day until it reaches between 120-180 beats per min. Hope that helps. xx

 

[soccer0006]

I wanted to give everyone an update, especially for those that read forums looking for the end result. So far I am 8 weeks pregnant and saw & heard the baby's heartbeat of 167!!! Baby is measuring perfectly and doctor said I have less than a 5% chance of miscarrying. We are still not out of the woods yet, but getting very close!

Will keep you posted once I have my 12 week ultrasound

 

[anniecrock]

great news!! congrats!!

 

[SteffieLee]

That's great news hun

 

[Montana]

That's great news! It's wanted to share my experience. My beta was 17,900 on a Wednesday and then went up to only 21,000 on Friday. That's only 3,100 increase when it should have doubled. My baby is healthy and doing great so far. My doctor says that as you get further along in your pregnancy, your numbers no longer double. I was around 6 weeks when I did my betas. So I wouldn't worry a bit! Congratulations!