how long did it take for your hormones to show negative

[fandabby]

Took me 3 MONTHS for the hormone to go down ... Itreally is something that is different from woman to woman.

I am so sorry you have experienced MC too and your prolonged pain waiting for your body to balance.

 

[fandabby]

My story probably won't offer too much clarity for you, but I'm hoping that in this thread I might also find some support. My miscarriage has dragged on forever, but I think you are off to a much more positive start than I was.

Maybe others here could help me not lose my mind:
My pregnancy plateaued around the 6th/7th week, in early August. Around August 5th. We knew this through my hcg numbers leveling out around 17,000 and the ultrasound not showing anything much beyond a sac that was irregular. And, here is is, November 1st, and I'm still tracking my hcg.

FIRST, the miscarriage was "missed," so I waited and waited. 3 weeks later on Aug. 25th, I finally had what I thought was the miscarriage. Notable, sudden flow. But it did fizzle out a little quickly, but for three more weeks I had light flow then spotting. Doctor said that was okay, just tapering off/resolving.

THEN, seemingly out of nowhere, on September 16th, I started bleeding very heavily. Soaking pads every 30 minutes, passing lots of tissue. Guess it wasn't over! Went to the ER and lo and behold, my hcg was at 6,000. I passed so much tissue and blood that night, but luckily my clotting factor and blood pressure indicated that I was handling it.

So, apparently, I had both a missed miscarriage, and then an incomplete miscarriage. It would have been nice if my doctor had just checked once on my hcg following the first bleed. Then maybe we would have known this was coming.
Since September 16th, when it was 6,000, we have been tracking my hcg weekly. And now, 7 weeks later, it's at 17.2. I'm really, really upset tonight because my rate of decline is slowing, and because this has been so unusual and prolonged. I went from 21.5 last week to 17.2 this week:
8/9: 18,752
Late August: Bleeding, thought was over
Monday 9/16: 6,027 (ER visit)
Friday 9/20: 1,156
9/27: 425
10/3: 193
10/10: 84
10/18: 34
10/25: 22
11/1: 17

I just can't believe how long this is taking. I find people online saying it "can" take weeks, but having that abnormal aspect along with all of the other abnormal aspects of my miscarriage (missed+ incomplete/2 bleeding episodes) is very much taking its toll on my mental health.

I worry about choriocarcinoma. I worry about retained tissue. I worry I've become pregnant again accidentally through safe foreplay (no intercourse). Getting pregnant again would be awful. I'm 39 and this is my 3rd miscarriage in 2 1/2 years. I'm done. My doctor says as long as it keeps dropping, we're okay. But I don't trust him anymore after he paid little attention to me in the time after my first bleed and so we did not know it was incomplete.

As for the original poster, get your hcg checked a few times if it would help you feel confident that your miscarriage is completing. Though, I notice you are from the UK, and I've heard they don't check hcg levels much over there. Has a doctor talked to you about that?

P.S. I should add that I also was taking progesterone supplements during my few weeks of pregnancy to address a possible deficiency. I have no idea if that added to why this was missed, then incomplete.

Sorry for your loss and yes I agree with LeahLou get a second opinion to make sure everything is going the right way and may be think about changing to a different doctor next time around.

I have read lots of threads and it really does range from a few days bleed to I read one lady bled constantly without a break for 3 months. I'm in my 4th week with constant bleeding. Extremely heavy changing every 30 mins and gushing and getting in a mess which went on for 2.5 weeks and then started to slow up with the odd gush. I am bleeding lightly now but still have cramps on a mild level so plan to telephone the EPU and ask their advice.

I really hope you come to the end of this soon so you can move on physically and emotionally.

good luck

 

[fandabby]

It can take some time for your bhcg to come down...

I got my bfp on sept 18th and started bleeding sept 25.
My bhcg that day was already only 300.
I was still bleeding 4 weeks later and on oct 23 my bhcg was still 28. I am still bleeding now almost 6 weeks after it initially started, but it is finally starting to slow to just light spotting. I go for another on Wednesday and am really hoping it is <5. I have had two ultrasounds since and they have both shown that my uterus is empty.

It is crazy that a loss at just over 5 weeks pregnant can cause bleeding for nearly 6 weeks now. My doc has no explanation as to why i am still bleeding, and can only tell me that for some women it just takes a long time. I am so ready for this to be over!

Sorry for your loss and good luck at your next appointment. Hope your levels finally come down.

 

[Wanttomoveon]

Thank you Fandabby...and I'm sorry how long your bleeding is dragging on. I wonder if it's "incomplete" - have you had hcg readings or ultrasounds recently?

 

[Wanttomoveon]

Thanks LeahLou - yeah, I do want to change doctors. I figure I will wait and see what this Friday's reading is, and then figure out if it's more urgent to see someone else. I have stopped bleeding and even had a period despite the hcg still being present and slowly declining. Problem is I'm in a small isolated town and there is just one ob/gyn office here. So seeing someone else would be seeing just one of two others who work with my current ob/gyn in the same office. I REALLY don't like him. It's frustrating to just have information relayed through his nurse, like we're playing telephone (literally), so I don't really get much explanation from him to help me put things in a positive perspective. So if things are bad Friday, I may look to travel to a doctor in a different town..

Sorry to hear of your recurrent losses in such a short period of time. Have you had any tests done to look into any possible issues?

You seem to have a good outlook - thank you for your kind response.

 

[slg76]

sorry for your loss and I'm sorry that you aren't getting the support that you would like from your Dr. I have had major health issues and have changed doctors a few times to find one that I thought was more attentive or more skilled. I wish you had that option. I'm lucky in a health care perspective to have lived in big cities.

I had a missed mc last month. I ended up having an aspiration procedure. I know this is different than what you are going through but I can say that my HCG levels were:
22,000 just before the procedure (level stayed the same 7-9 weeks preg.)
1,200 one week after
140 two weeks after
I'm now almost three weeks after procedure and my HPTs (wondfo) and very faintly positive. The nurse told me she expected it to take a few more weeks to get to <5.

I hope you are back to normal very soon! I also had major mood swings for a week or two and also have had a terrible headache. I'm now feeling much better both emotionally and physically. You are going through a lot so don't be too hard on yourself!

LeahLou-nice to "see" you here. I notice we have both been stalking the pregnancy test threads

 

[klsltsp]

My story probably won't offer too much clarity for you, but I'm hoping that in this thread I might also find some support. My miscarriage has dragged on forever, but I think you are off to a much more positive start than I was.

Maybe others here could help me not lose my mind:
My pregnancy plateaued around the 6th/7th week, in early August. Around August 5th. We knew this through my hcg numbers leveling out around 17,000 and the ultrasound not showing anything much beyond a sac that was irregular. And, here is is, November 1st, and I'm still tracking my hcg.

FIRST, the miscarriage was "missed," so I waited and waited. 3 weeks later on Aug. 25th, I finally had what I thought was the miscarriage. Notable, sudden flow. But it did fizzle out a little quickly, but for three more weeks I had light flow then spotting. Doctor said that was okay, just tapering off/resolving.

THEN, seemingly out of nowhere, on September 16th, I started bleeding very heavily. Soaking pads every 30 minutes, passing lots of tissue. Guess it wasn't over! Went to the ER and lo and behold, my hcg was at 6,000. I passed so much tissue and blood that night, but luckily my clotting factor and blood pressure indicated that I was handling it.

So, apparently, I had both a missed miscarriage, and then an incomplete miscarriage. It would have been nice if my doctor had just checked once on my hcg following the first bleed. Then maybe we would have known this was coming.
Since September 16th, when it was 6,000, we have been tracking my hcg weekly. And now, 7 weeks later, it's at 17.2. I'm really, really upset tonight because my rate of decline is slowing, and because this has been so unusual and prolonged. I went from 21.5 last week to 17.2 this week:
8/9: 18,752
Late August: Bleeding, thought was over
Monday 9/16: 6,027 (ER visit)
Friday 9/20: 1,156
9/27: 425
10/3: 193
10/10: 84
10/18: 34
10/25: 22
11/1: 17

I just can't believe how long this is taking. I find people online saying it "can" take weeks, but having that abnormal aspect along with all of the other abnormal aspects of my miscarriage (missed+ incomplete/2 bleeding episodes) is very much taking its toll on my mental health.

I worry about choriocarcinoma. I worry about retained tissue. I worry I've become pregnant again accidentally through safe foreplay (no intercourse). Getting pregnant again would be awful. I'm 39 and this is my 3rd miscarriage in 2 1/2 years. I'm done. My doctor says as long as it keeps dropping, we're okay. But I don't trust him anymore after he paid little attention to me in the time after my first bleed and so we did not know it was incomplete.

As for the original poster, get your hcg checked a few times if it would help you feel confident that your miscarriage is completing. Though, I notice you are from the UK, and I've heard they don't check hcg levels much over there. Has a doctor talked to you about that?

P.S. I should add that I also was taking progesterone supplements during my few weeks of pregnancy to address a possible deficiency. I have no idea if that added to why this was missed, then incomplete.

well i thought that i would tell you my story it may help you to know that you arent the only one with a crazy time i miscarried at the beginning of oct. we saw the heart beating at the end of september but a follow up u/s on oct 2 showed the baby had died. so oct 4 i took misoprostol i passed 5-6 large clots. i was checking and didnt see anything that i thought was the sac or placenta... the bleeding stopped within a few hrs. i didnt think i was done so oct 6 i took a second dose of misoprostol i had no cramping but i did begin to bleed. on oct 16 i had an ultrasound to confirm and it was all clear...still alot of lining but no sac. Oct 25 did a hpt and it was very positive.... so monday the 28th i called my docs office and went to see my family doc on the 29th. she was immediately concerned sent me for stat. bloodwork and another u/s. She called me in the morning when she wasnt working and told me to go to the er. So I went to the er thinking i would need a d&c.... it turns out i have a mass that has gone through my uterine wall and that it could rupture at any moment. So they dont know if it an ectopic pregnancy in the uterus a molar pregnancy. its very rare and no one knows what tobdo. they gave me some chemotherapy drugs to shrink the mass... i am still in hospital and they are checking my hcg levels.. hopefully they go down today so i can go home... they were at 797 yesterday. They have been saying i may need a hysterectomy if the meds dont work... not out of the woods yet.. if this does resolve i have been told 6 months after my levels hit zero and the mass is gone. I will need special tests to asses that my uterus has healed properly and then an ultrasound at 5/6 weeks to see where the baby implants...

so see my mc has been crazy too!!! keep your spirits up.

kim

 

[slg76]

wanttomoveon, I took a closer look at your HCG levels. They look fine to me...keeping in mind that I'm no doctor. HCG levels drop by half lives not linearly. You would expect drops from 200, 100, 50, 25, 12, 6, 3........so it is normal that as your levels get lower the drops get smaller. Does that make sense? Looks like you are almost done. Hang in there.

 

[fandabby]

well i thought that i would tell you my story it may help you to know that you arent the only one with a crazy time i miscarried at the beginning of oct. we saw the heart beating at the end of september but a follow up u/s on oct 2 showed the baby had died. so oct 4 i took misoprostol i passed 5-6 large clots. i was checking and didnt see anything that i thought was the sac or placenta... the bleeding stopped within a few hrs. i didnt think i was done so oct 6 i took a second dose of misoprostol i had no cramping but i did begin to bleed. on oct 16 i had an ultrasound to confirm and it was all clear...still alot of lining but no sac. Oct 25 did a hpt and it was very positive.... so monday the 28th i called my docs office and went to see my family doc on the 29th. she was immediately concerned sent me for stat. bloodwork and another u/s. She called me in the morning when she wasnt working and told me to go to the er. So I went to the er thinking i would need a d&c.... it turns out i have a mass that has gone through my uterine wall and that it could rupture at any moment. So they dont know if it an ectopic pregnancy in the uterus a molar pregnancy. its very rare and no one knows what tobdo. they gave me some chemotherapy drugs to shrink the mass... i am still in hospital and they are checking my hcg levels.. hopefully they go down today so i can go home... they were at 797 yesterday. They have been saying i may need a hysterectomy if the meds dont work... not out of the woods yet.. if this does resolve i have been told 6 months after my levels hit zero and the mass is gone. I will need special tests to asses that my uterus has healed properly and then an ultrasound at 5/6 weeks to see where the baby implants...

so see my mc has been crazy too!!! keep your spirits up.

kim

Gosh klsltsp you have been through it. I really hope everything resolves for you and that your uterus heals properly in order for you to have a successful pregnancy. Very best of luck and for when you have the all clear to try again.

 

[fandabby]

sorry for your loss and I'm sorry that you aren't getting the support that you would like from your Dr. I have had major health issues and have changed doctors a few times to find one that I thought was more attentive or more skilled. I wish you had that option. I'm lucky in a health care perspective to have lived in big cities.

I had a missed mc last month. I ended up having an aspiration procedure. I know this is different than what you are going through but I can say that my HCG levels were:
22,000 just before the procedure (level stayed the same 7-9 weeks preg.)
1,200 one week after
140 two weeks after
I'm now almost three weeks after procedure and my HPTs (wondfo) and very faintly positive. The nurse told me she expected it to take a few more weeks to get to <5.

I hope you are back to normal very soon! I also had major mood swings for a week or two and also have had a terrible headache. I'm now feeling much better both emotionally and physically. You are going through a lot so don't be too hard on yourself!

LeahLou-nice to "see" you here. I notice we have both been stalking the pregnancy test threads

Good luck getting your levels down. I hear you about mood swings, I experienced that hugely 2 weeks post MC and in the middle of loopy 5 minutes my husband looked at me and I just screamed at him, what are you looking at, my hormones are all over the place and burst into tears. the mood swings lasted a good 10 days then peaked off.

I feel more balanced now but can still lose it, more so when really tired. Took a test with the sensitive one 10miu and that showed a very faint positive so I am hopeful I will drop <5 in the next week.

Good luck

 

[Wanttomoveon]

wanttomoveon, I took a closer look at your HCG levels. They look fine to me...keeping in mind that I'm no doctor. HCG levels drop by half lives not linearly. You would expect drops from 200, 100, 50, 25, 12, 6, 3........so it is normal that as your levels get lower the drops get smaller. Does that make sense? Looks like you are almost done. Hang in there.

Thanks slg76 - I get what you're saying. I guess having the rate itself decline between the last two (I was around 50% decline, then 35%, and now this last one was a 20% decline) has gotten me crazy. I think having this drag on for so long has made it harder to be resilient/rational at this point. I just am so fearful that the slower rate of decline is a sign that it's about to plateau early and find out I have GTD/partial molar. I wish there were more "norms" established so I would know that having the rate itself slow was "normal." No one said anything about molar or partial molar with my ultrasounds, I am not having any symptoms or ongoing bleeding...I have to keep focused on the positive, but the anticipation of next week's reading is awful...
Thank you for your positive perspective.

 

[tootyfruity]

Hi, sorry to hear about your losses!
My Mc started at the end of July and my I am still getting very faint positives, I've been having blood taken every few weeks and they are also dropping slower the lower they get, these are mine.
First few were taken every few days
13, 000
9, 000
7, 000
A week later
1200
A few weeks later
Think it was In the 200's
Then every 2 weeks
198
163
94
76
56
Then randomly a week later
38
And that was over 2 weeks ago and since the last test I have had heavy bleeding and passed small clots before this I've just had light bleeding.
I am hoping I'm nearly there and I hope you all get over this quickly too. X

 

[slg76]

wanttomoveon, I don't see any reason for you to worry. Sounds like you doctors are watching you closely and your levels are dropping just fine. I do understand being impatient though. Trust me, I'm not known for my patience!!

 

[Wanttomoveon]

Thanks to both of you, slg76 and tootyfruity. I really appreciate you taking the time to help, and to all the other women on here sharing.

Tootyfruity, it's so good to see your numbers. Our timeframe seems so similar! I see so many women online go so quickly to zero/5, that it's discouraging. I wonder if your bleeding is a period? Though, I guess if you've had ongoing bleeding that just varies in amount, probably not. I learned that low hcg can stimulate ovulation and so it is normal to get a period before reaching negative. That happened to me. I'm almost due for another. Not sure which will come first.

Let's keep each other posted on our progress! I wish you the best.

 

[tootyfruity]

Wantomoveon- Yes it's so nice to speak to someone the same situation, I feel like everyone only has to wait a few weeks too but I guess that is what 'normally happens.
I don't know if this is a period, I definitely passed tissue and clots from pregnancy and my last scan about 6 weeks ago showed remains of pregnancy. I think the lining of my uterus must of got quite thick over this time so lots of bleeding is expected I guess.

I like the thought of low hcg stimulating ovulation, ill hold on to that lol.
Do you have another appointment this week to check hcg? I think ill call epu if I get a positive in the next few days.

We should definitely keep each other posted it will help us get through it. X

 

[slg76]

My beta today, two and a half weeks after aspiration procedure, was 35. I'm going on ovulation watch now as I think my HCG is low enough that it could happen now.

I hope for both of you ladies that your levels continue to drop quickly! It's so hard to wait!

 

[tootyfruity]

My beta today, two and a half weeks after aspiration procedure, was 35. I'm going on ovulation watch now as I think my HCG is low enough that it could happen now.

I hope for both of you ladies that your levels continue to drop quickly! It's so hard to wait!

That's a good drop. Hopefully u will ovulate soon, keep us posted as would be interesting to see. X

 

[Wanttomoveon]

Hello ladies,

Slg76, that's a huge drop in a short amount of time! That's great. You definitely could ovulate anytime, though your doctor might want to see you hit negative before you TTC. I can't believe I just used one of those acronyms! I guess I've officially joined the club = ) I've heard they would rather people be negative first so that pregnancy timing is clearer if you do get pregnant right away. I've also heard that you can be really fertile following an mc.

Anyway...Tootyfruity, do hold on to that idea that low hcg can stimulate ovulation. It's true! (Even though I'm not ttc, I was just excited to get my period because it was the first sign of normalcy.) They use hcg to stimulate ovulation in IVF patients. And also there are those people using hcg to lose weight and they continue to cycle. I guess it just has to be low enough, whatever that is. I had my period somewhere between 85 and 34, so I must have ovulated when it was around 100. And it was pretty clearly a period because I hadn't bled for weeks beforehand, had my usual ovulation symptoms, and when I was bleeding for the period I didn't pass any tissue at all. It was just heavy and more crampy than usual.

...I do have another hcg check this week. Friday. So nervous. I hate those days and the space right before hearing my result. I'll try to be positive and hopefully the decline continues despite slowing.

Tootyfruity, what has your doctor said to you about your long process? Has s/he just said that this is just the way it can go for some of us? I'm curious how they've framed things for you...

 

[tootyfruity]

Wow even more information I didn't know about, very interesting!

Ahh Friday will give you a new number! Hope it's really low... like below 5 are you going to ttc ASAP or wait a bit? I'm not sure weather to wait for my next af.

I haven't really spoke to a doctor about it I only get to speak to nurse who speaks to a doctor once they know the results then the nurse tells me what we need to do next. I have asked a few questions but they don't really give me a straight answer apart from... sometimes it just makes time! I spoke to a doctor who did the laporpscopy in August when they thought it was ectopoc but this was only 2 weeks after the mc started. I was really annoyed that they didn't do a d&c when I was under general anaesthetic, when I questioned them they said the sac was so tiny that they could of missed it.
It's a bit of a conveyor belt when I go in lots of waiting and a quick appointment to have blood taken.
Ooh Also I have stopped bleeding (I think) another few days and I can be sure it's ended. So now i can just wait for ovulation or af. I am going to test in the morning to see whether I need to have more blood tests for hcg.

 

[Petzy]

I just got tested today for the first time since my miscarriage this weekend. They will call me tomorrow with the results, and then test me every week until it gets to zero. I really hope that it gets to zero fast, so I can get ovulating and get going with TTC again

Best of luck to everyone xx