Normal HCG, Low Progesterone... *UPDATE*

[Haleytivet]

Hi everyone! So I am 4 weeks 6 days and just got my first set of blood work back. My HCG level is normal for my gestational age but my progesterone is 1.8! AHhhhh! Finally an answer to my bleeding and cramping! I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning and hopefully I will be starting progesterone supplements to help get my progesterone to where it should be! Any ladies with a similar experience???

 

[Flowerbaby]

Hey hun i had 3 early m/c's at 5 weeks which im certain was due to low progesterone so this time round my consultant has me on progesterone vaginal suppositries, which i insert twice daily, and here i am almost 11 weeks!! I believe progesterone is my wonder drug!!! Good luck honey!!! xxx

 

[Haleytivet]

Hey hun i had 3 early m/c's at 5 weeks which im certain was due to low progesterone so this time round my consultant has me on progesterone vaginal suppositries, which i insert twice daily, and here i am almost 11 weeks!! I believe progesterone is my wonder drug!!! Good luck honey!!! xxx

We conceived in June but ended as a chemical pregancy. They are now telling me that my levels of progesterone were really low then too but because I had already lost the baby when the blood work was done they didn't start me on progesterone! Wish I would have known for this time around!!! I could have started it a week ago or sooner.

 

[Mon_n_john]

Haley I have had low progesterone before and to be truthful it has not ended well. Progesterone needs to be started at 3 DPO or 7 DPO at the latest when it is an issue early on. That is my situation so I take it from 3 DPO onward.

Mind you, I did some research and found some women started progesterone after it was as low as yours and were successful I am just saying to keep an open mind. I wish you nothing but the best.

 

[Haleytivet]

Haley I have had low progesterone before and to be truthful it has not ended well. Progesterone needs to be started at 3 DPO or 7 DPO at the latest when it is an issue early on. That is my situation so I take it from 3 DPO onward.

Mind you, I did some research and found some women started progesterone after it was as low as yours and were successful I am just saying to keep an open mind. I wish you nothing but the best.

I miscarried yesterday! I woke up to go to the doctor to see about supplements and there she was!!! I'm actually at peace with it though because I now know what is causing me to have MC's. I go back to the doctor next week to make a game plan with my Doctor!

 

[jenniferttc1]

So sorry about your loss hun.
Next time, I would have your doctor put you on progestrone immediately when you get your bfp. so sorry

 

[PoodleMommy]

I'm so sorry for your loss... Mon is right, it should be started soon after ovulation. That's what I did this pg. My doctor had me start it at 3dpo, long before I could find out whether I was pg. If I had gotten a BFN, I would have discontinued the progesterone and tried again next cycle. But since I got a BFP, I had the reassurance of knowing this little one had been supported by progesterone all along... they measured my progesterone the day of my BFP, and it was 43!!

I'm glad you're in good spirits, all things considered... I bet you'll conceive right away and with progesterone support from the get-go, you have every chance for a healthy baby!!

 

[Haleytivet]

I'm so sorry for your loss... Mon is right, it should be started soon after ovulation. That's what I did this pg. My doctor had me start it at 3dpo, long before I could find out whether I was pg. If I had gotten a BFN, I would have discontinued the progesterone and tried again next cycle. But since I got a BFP, I had the reassurance of knowing this little one had been supported by progesterone all along... they measured my progesterone the day of my BFP, and it was 43!!

I'm glad you're in good spirits, all things considered... I bet you'll conceive right away and with progesterone support from the get-go, you have every chance for a healthy baby!!

Thanks I'm so thankful that my doctor is eager to help me do whatever is necessary! He said that we would try progesterone starting at cycle day 15but he wanted me to wait a whole cycle before we started ttc to allow my uterus to thicken back up. I go back next week so we can set a plan!!

 

[Mon_n_john]

Oh Haley, I am so sorry. When you first posted this I was trying to find a delicate way to say it but it's hard. Anytime your progesterone levels drop below 8 it is very difficult and practically impossible to maintain a pregnancy. I know this first hand.

In one of my miscarriages I had a progesterone test and it was 10.5 which is "normal" but I knew it was on the low side. Another test a few days later and it was 8.8. That is when they started me on progesterone. I knew it was too late but did it anyways. Sure enough, I miscarried that pregnancy.

From then on I was told to take progesterone during any month I was trying to conceive from 7 DPO onwards. I then argued a bit with the nurse and said "I know IVF women start it at 3 DPO so isn't 3 DPO better?" She agreed and changed her recomendation to 3 DPO. Why I had to remind her of that is beyond me.

But the point is 3 DPO is perfect because by then you know you have ovulated and by the time the baby is ready to implant at around 7 DPO your lining will be nice and thick and very baby friendly. By the way, I take Crinone progesterone and it is considered to be the best in the US.

Good luck to you and once again I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[PoodleMommy]

Mon, I too had lost babies because of low progesterone (mine had been 9.1 for one of my babies... STUPID STUPID doctor told me that was a little low but fine). I vowed to NEVER AGAIN lose another baby because of low progesterone.

But the point is 3 DPO is perfect because by then you know you have ovulated and by the time the baby is ready to implant at around 7 DPO your lining will be nice and thick and very baby friendly.

Exactly! I've had lining issues in the past, so I wanted to start as soon as possible. I wanted the thickest, most cushy lining possible for that little one to dig into! I had been TTC (again... since losses and a minor cancer scare) since January with no BFP's except for a few false positives (maybe chemicals?). I had not been supplementing with progesterone. This time, the FIRST cycle I started progesterone at 3dpo, BFP! I'm convinced it makes a difference in a strong implantation, not to mention sustaining the rest of the pg!

 

[Mon_n_john]

I couldn't agree more PoodleMommy! With my last son I wasn't even TTC at the moment because of all the losses and I was depressed. I took an HPT just due to some weird early bleeding which I suspected as implantation bleeding and sure enough, I was pregnant. Luckily I still had progesterone left over from my loss 2 months previous so I started it immediately. When I went in for blood test confirmation my HCG did not double within 48 hours, though it was close. By the next blood test it was more than doubling. My baby had caught up due to the progesterone supplementation.

This time around I did progesterone from 3 DPO onwards. When I went in for HCG blood tests my HCG nearly tripled in 48 hours! That didn't even happen with my son. The difference? I am positive it's because I started the progesterone nearly 10 days earlier. It can't hurt so when a women has had previous losses I always recommend it. It should be the standard of care.

 

[Haleytivet]

Thanks ya'll!! I know it's never easy to miscarry but somehow this one was easier knowing the cause and how we can fix it! I want to start ttc again NOW but I am going to wait a full cycle before we try again just to make sure the uterus is thick and ready I wish I would have asked for Progesterone after the first MC but we didn't know that was the cause. My doctor wants to put me on Prometrium. He said he wanted me to start cycle day 15 and we'll see! Maybe we'll have some great news for Thanksgiving!!! Thanks for sharing your stories with me as it makes me even more hopeful that this was the reason for my 2 early MC's!!

 

[Mom2mmcjg]

So glad you found out the cause! Next time you'll have the tools you need. My doctor recommended progesterone injections for me because it absorbs much better and quicker and since my progesterone was so low they wanted to get it up right away. Injections may be something to talk to your doctor about after your next BFP.

 

[Mon_n_john]

Cycle day 15 sounds very early unless you ovulate on CD 12. Make sure you ovulate first, you can't ovulate if you are on progesterone. I suggest getting an OvaCue monitor with a vaginal sensor. It will help you confirm when ovulation occurs. That is what I did this time around because I wanted to be sure I ovulated first.

 

[Haleytivet]

Cycle day 15 sounds very early unless you ovulate on CD 12. Make sure you ovulate first, you can't ovulate if you are on progesterone. I suggest getting an OvaCue monitor with a vaginal sensor. It will help you confirm when ovulation occurs. That is what I did this time around because I wanted to be sure I ovulated first.

What is an OvaCue Monitor and where do you get it? I have the hardest time with opk's This past cycle it told me I ovulated REALLY early (cycle day 12) This was super early as I have been averaging cycle days 14-18... Not sure his reasoning behind cycle day 15.. I go in this week to talk about it so I'll definitely go with all these questions

 

[PoodleMommy]

My doctor wants to put me on Prometrium.

Prometrium is great, but make sure you use it as a vaginal suppository... don't take it orally even though the directions will say to (it's not nearly as effective when taken orally).

I agree that CD15 is a bit early to start it... if you temp, you can start taking it once you have a clear thermal shift.

 

[Mon_n_john]

I completely agree with PoodleMommy, temping is a must. Wait for that thermal shift before you start the progesterone vaginally, it's the only way it will really work.

As far as the Ova Cue do a search on it. It's a fertility monitor that takes oral and vaginal readings to determine when you are about to ovulate and the vaginal sensor can confirm when you have ovulated. For me it picked up 2 ovulations, which the monitor seems to do with some people. For me it was the 2nd ovulation that was right.

To cnfirm ovulation I used 4, yes 4 methods! I temped, I used OPKs, I used a Clearblue Fertility Monitor, and the OvaCue monitor. If you use countdown to pregnancy.com you can track all these things on there site and it can help you determine when you ovulated.

If you want, message me when you are getting close the cycle that you are TTC and I'll help you figure everything out so we come up with the most probabable O date for you.

 

[Haleytivet]

I completely agree with PoodleMommy, temping is a must. Wait for that thermal shift before you start the progesterone vaginally, it's the only way it will really work.

As far as the Ova Cue do a search on it. It's a fertility monitor that takes oral and vaginal readings to determine when you are about to ovulate and the vaginal sensor can confirm when you have ovulated. For me it picked up 2 ovulations, which the monitor seems to do with some people. For me it was the 2nd ovulation that was right.

To cnfirm ovulation I used 4, yes 4 methods! I temped, I used OPKs, I used a Clearblue Fertility Monitor, and the OvaCue monitor. If you use countdown to pregnancy.com you can track all these things on there site and it can help you determine when you ovulated.

If you want, message me when you are getting close the cycle that you are TTC and I'll help you figure everything out so we come up with the most probabable O date for you.

Wow! 4 methods... I haven't done temping yet. I've only used the CM method, OPK's, and counting... I'll probably try temping but have to do some research on how this method works. I just did a search on the ovacue! Not sure I want to invest in that quite yet but what is your opinion on the clearblue fertility monitor?

I'm doing some research on progesterone and prometrium now so I can start collecting all of my questions for my doctor.

Thanks for wanting to help! I'll definitely take you up on that!!

 

[Mon_n_john]

No worries Haley. I have done so much research that I enjoy passing it on. The CBFM is pretty good it's just that I have a long LH surge so it just tells me when my surge begins but I wanted to be more positive that I had ovulated. The OvaCue helped me with that but honestly temping can do the same. Temping is a must in my opinion.