I wasn't sure where to post this but I figured you all would understand the obsession with numbers

I'm asking on behalf of a friend who is 40, hcg on Monday, 11dp5dt was 9. She was told it was a chem pregnancy and very unlikely to continue, to carry on pessaries/progynova, another BT Friday. Yesterday's hcg came in at 78, great that it is doubling+ but it is still very low, the nurse said under the 5th percentile and possibly could end up being eptopic.

Have any of you lovely ladies got any experience of low hcg's, what were the outcomes? My friend is cautiously happy at this stage but not really sure what to think... and a week is a long time to wait for more results!

Hi there, I couldn't read and not post.

My last pregnancy I was 42 years old and my HCG levels were as follows:

46 @ 3.6 weeks 11DPO

137 @ 4.1 weeks 13DPO

343 @ 4.3 weeks 15DPO, so it goes to show you can have low HCG's and have a successful pregnancy, my little girl is almsot two.

Wishing your friend all the luck in the world

Thanks MP, nice to hear the sucess stories I think their embryo might have been late to implant

Hi all

My pregnancy started off at 35 HCG and the next one was 150.. it progressed nicely until I started getting bleeding at 6 weeks 3 days. It stopped. had a scan showing a strong healthy heartbeat. But I sadly lost bubs. I have, however, heard of people who start off low and go to deliver a healthy bub. I am sorry to hear that you are going through the stressful time of living from HCG to HCG. Thinking of you
Dee

Hi,

I know that anxious feeling you must be going through right now and I hope it all works out ok for you.

I also had low HCG readings and in the 5th/6th week they were no longer doubling. Doctors were quite concerned that I was going to miscarry.
Wk4 - 88
Wk5 - 1100
Wk6 - 5279 <-Expecting to be 8000+ at this stage
Wk6+2days - 7213

I decided to stop taking the HCG readings as I read they could be misleading, and instead wait for the 7th week scan. The scan showed a heart beat and fetal pole, but the doctor then said it was about 5 days smaller than expected. So we did another scan a week later and to my relief, the results came back positive. The little bub had caught up and grown to almost a day away from where it should have been. We are now having another scan tomorrow which will be 9 weeks.

Callog, I am so sorry your friend has gone through this whole IVF rigmarole only to end up with a disappointing beta. Although we do hear success stries about betas that start low, they are generally very early betas or betas for natural pregnancies where the ovulation date could have been off. With IVF she knows for a fact she's 14dpo, and unfortunately a beta of 9 at that stage is incredibly unlikely to end in anything but tears. I've had chem pgs down around that level and AF was usually a couple of days away. The fact that it's rising is not IMHO cause for optimism, but actually a worry about it being ectopic. She should make sure she heads straight for medical care if she has any abdominal or shoulder pain. Ectopics are extremely serious and I nearly lost my sister to one after her midwife and Waikato A&E dismissed it as a m/c in progress and didn't bother scanning her until it ruptured. Huge (((hugs))) to your friend.

Awww, doesn't sound good for her then It is so hard to not get excited and optimistic when there was a good rise with the 2nd BT. The nurse did warn her about the ectopic risk so will tell her to get onto it ASAP if there are any symptoms.

Thanks for your response everyone, as much as she wants to have hope, she still wants to be realistic so it is better to be prepared for the worst eh.

I think the best thing is to take it as it comes. But Eve is right
and I guess time will tell. But honestly, I know how this goes down and really it is madness. And the worst time hanging on for beta hcg results. I have learned that even a scan with a healthy heartbeat does not mean that you are out of harms way.

Thinking of your friend
D

Ok ladies, an update...

hgc has gone from 78 on Friday to 1144 today, still just under the 5th centile apparently but has risen very well. Her progesterone levels were only 19, seems pretty low to me, I told her to query if that is ok, and to ask about gestone(?)

It's a real cliffhanger that's for sure, another BT next week and then scan the week after, hoping for a miracle

good luck for your Friend Callog

hi, yes as Eve says - I too would recommend that you ask your friend to get an urgent ultrasound scan to check for an ectopic pregnancy. It's better to be err on the over cautious side with those numbers.

I experienced an ectopic , and my HCG started low and over the period of a week or so, it reached about 1500 - one hour before they did an internal ultrasound at the hospital and found my fallopian tube had ruptured and I had serious internal bleeding (required emergency surgery)

(BTW, I had to insist on the ultrasound at the hospital - they were going to send me home as they had forgotten about me and the specialist had left. If I hadn't of insisted on it, I don't think I'd be here today)

Best of luck!

Callog... I am sorry to say.. but I really do not think it sounds good. It started so very low. My HCG was around 36000 when my baby died. And progesterone is way too low. Sadly they will not give you gestone if you are in the lower reaches of the percentile range as it essentially allows you to hold on to a pregnancy that is not viable. If you read up on the net there is very little you can do to keep a unviable pregnancy. In addition, some doctors will say that there is generally something wrong with the embryo in such cases - this is cold comfort but sad and true.

Coming out of the closet now guys...

I am the one pregnant but the baby is a surrogate bub for a good friend. This is pure torture at the moment and each week between BT's is dragging by so slowly.

The ectopic talk is scaring me, last night I had a bit of left sided pain low down, couldn't sleep for worrying, pain isn't there today but it's at the back of my mind all the time.

FAW has added provera to the progynova/uterogestan I am already taking so hopefully that gets the progesterone levels up soon.

You know, even though this isn't my baby, the feelings are exactly the same as with my own two IVF cycles, except my feelings are for the parents, must be so hard on them

I'm so sorry for your losses Eve, LadyZoe and TillyNZ, so hard to lose something so loved

Was wondering if you would come clean Callog!!!! Even though it's a surrobub, you know this site is wonderful and we are all here to support you.

So hoping this work for you, E and C!!!!!! Got everything crossed babe!!

I know they won't be able to give you gestone babe because they are completely out of stores in NZ. I bought heaps overseas because it was a lot cheaper and FAA bought back from me my NZ purchased stock because they needed it. Have you spoken to them about Crinone and oral utrogestan??? Supposed to be a good combination as well to increase progesterone.

I have been stalking you too on here,lol.
I know what you mean about the emotions for the IP's.
I have everything crossed for you all.

Callog, what an amazing thing for you to do! Wow. I so so hope that the pregnancy works out and that baby is just a slow starter. FWIW in one of my pregnancies (that actually started as twins so hard to compare to yours) my HCG was only 30 at 4 weeks. Baby was born full term and healthy.



Fingers crossed and good luck

Callog, what an amazing thing for you to do! Wow. I so so hope that the pregnancy works out and that baby is just a slow starter. FWIW in one of my pregnancies (that actually started as twins so hard to compare to yours) my HCG was only 30 at 4 weeks. Baby was born full term and healthy.



Fingers crossed and good luck

Wow Callog, what an amazing thing to do. I had a low hcg with my 2nd pg, started off at 19 and was told to expect the worse etc etc. Anyway it kept rising as it should have, staying just below the 5th percentile the whole time and drove me nuts with worry. Anyway to cut a long story short we had a heartbeat at 7 weeks but I did miscarry at 11wks but for a totally different reason that had nothing to do with the low hcg's at the start. So it can happen.

I have everything crossed for you and the intended parents that your levels continue to rise and you can see a heartbeat in a couple of weeks.

Good luck

Awww, my first ever stalkers, how cool

Sparkle, how cool that you ended up with a healthy bub after a sluggish start, gives me hope although I am being realistic that the odds are against a good outcome.

I rang FAW this morning about the pains I have been having, I have to see my GP this afternoon and will have a scan if she feels it is warranted. Andrew Murray said he had seen numbers like mine go on to be a perfectly normal and healthy pregnancy so that was nice to hear.

Secretly hoping for a scan this afternoon

Salty hi

Callog you are an awesome woman x

I had a scan yesterday and all is good, no ectopic thank goodness. Pregnancy sac and yolk sac visible and measuring right for dates, one more hurdle out of the way!

Oh Callog you wonderful woman. What a precious gift you are giving. So very glad to read that your scan is showing things are right on schedule!

Really glad you got that scan Callog, and it showed a normal pregnancy, that's fantastic. and lots of luck to you that it continues so you can help your friends...what a wonderful thing to do !

wonderful new callog that scan on date, hoping for a nice sticky baby for you and your friends, you are a really special person to be doing this for them

CALLOG! SOOOOO HAPPY xxx

Awesome news Callog!

OMG Callog, I only just caught up with the news, was reading nervously at first, am so glad you got the scan and thrilled to bits everything is in the right place! Having said that, I must confess to still being a bit nervous about the slow start because the stats show these are more likely to end in tears. I have all fingers crossed for you and the IPs though - what a wonderful thing you are doing!! Don't forget, 5% of all normal pregnancies are in the bottom 5% of hCGs - by definition!

Callog, just read the news on April MTB... so sorry to hear about it, my thoughts are with you and the IPs.

Thanks Merkers, it really sucks, feeling so sad right now, I didn't think I would be so affected when it isn't my bub

For those that don't know, I woke up having a big bleed with clots + cramping on Sunday night. Bloods yesterday showed hcg had risen but had fallen off the 5th centile line. More bloods Thurs, until then have to carry on all meds was hoping to be able to stop them all and get on with miscarrying.

It is exhausting, has been such a long time in limbo, hard because the parents are still hoping like crazy that Thursday will show a good result... I really don't think it will.

I'm wondering if the low progesterone caused the bleed, was only 19, JH wanted me to add in provera but the parents didn't want me to because they had read some bad things after doing a google search. Chances are it wouldn't have made a big amount of difference, the odds were so against us right from the start.

Hopefully a normal AF will arrive in the next month or so so we can get onto a TER, they have 4 blasts frozen, hope one of those is the lucky one

Hugs Callog, it's a very difficult time. I hope that everything works out for you and the IPs.

Hugs Callog, thinking of you in limboland.

Bloody huge hugs Callog, thinking of you big time

Ohhh, I am so sorry. (((hugs))) Callog and for the IPs too ...

We've had sad news in our family recently too. My SIL, who turns 44 next month, was recently over the moon to find they were pregnant with #3. Not having experienced IF despite starting ttc at about 38 (well, except this one taking a while to conceive - #2 is 2 1/2), they shared the news with family despite having only, as far as I know, two lines on a peestick. Their first scan (which was about when I'd be having my 4th, beng totally paranoid) was at 12 weeks and showed the little bean hadn't made it past 6 weeks. Soooo gutted for her - she was totally over the moon, really wanted another. I have been having flashbacks to my m/c and D&C just before my 42nd birthday, thinking this was my last chance EVER slipping through my fingers, and I am sure she feels the same.

Sorry to be a downer; just commiserating along with you, Callog ...

Eve

Oh how sad for your SIL Eve. I totally empathise with her, as it is very similar to what happened for me and at 44 knowing it is unlikely to ever happen again. It must be heartbreaking for her. However she may get lucky again!

Yeah, thanks, Joolee. I keep reminding myself that my SIL has, to date, been on the more fertile end of the spectrum, unlike my tragic self, so maybe she has a shot at 44. Perhaps her odds at 44 are about what mine were at 42 - long but not zero. I really hope they can hit the jackpot one more time. She will be absolutely gutted at this point.

I'd told our DD#1 too (age 6), so had to tell her the sad news. I said it was like planting sunflower seeds; some of them come up, some of them just don't. She understood that bit, but was still sad about it, as we all are ...

So sorry to hear about your SIL Eve, that must have been gut wrenching finding out so late, I guess that is the good thing about fertility treatment, you certainly find out very early if things are going bad.

I hope she has another miracle pregnancy soon, she sure is fortunate to have been so fertile when TTC at an older age. Aren't kids gorgeous, how they just accept what we tell them, I'm sure she is very disappointed.

BT tomorrow, hoping to find out for good what is happening, this being in limbo is awful. I haven't had any further bleeding or cramping since Sunday night, that messes with your head, if I had continued spotting.... I wish they had just sent me for a scan so we didn't have to drag this out so long

Callog for a sticky babe

Yes Eve if she is fertile she still has a chance, I do hope so. It takes a long time to come to terms with a loss at age 44 that's for sure, I guess if she gets lucky again it will be easier to reconcile but if she doesn't ... she'll end up like me, with vain hope every month even though on an intellectual level you know it's not going to happen, in your heart you hold secret hopes. Oh yes you tell everyone "I don't want more babies, I'm too old" but you're lying ...

Callog, I hope you get the result soon!

Joolee life is shitty sometimes eh, must hurt so much telling people you don't wan't more kids when you really do.

Weird thing, I had a call from JH from FAW a wee while ago telling me he is very concerned about this pregnancy, that it is ectopic. I wondered if he hadn't seen Friday's scan result but he had, he said we can't rely on that scan as you can get psuedo pregnancy sac due to the progesterone. He said "for god's sake, ring me immediately if you have any pain", sounds serious when he says it like that! Crikey, you learn something every day... off to google now

Can't be long now, waiting impatiently!

Just letting you know i have everything crossed for you Callog.

Not good news I'm afraid, but not unexpected. Hcg down to 228 so it looks like the bleed on Sunday night was bub miscarrying.

I feel ok about it, so tired of being in limbo, it's been an exhausting week. IP's have their review appt tomorrow morning so that is good for them.

Looking forward to a few weeks break before going onto a TER cycle

Aaaaw hugs Callog
I suppose in a way it's good to know the facts but still ...

Just lurking, have been following this thread, and am sorry the outcome isn't what you all wanted. Best of luck for your next cycle I think what you're doing is amazing

CALLOG I'm so sorry

I'm so sorry Callog - been away and have just caught up on your news. I hope you are okay babe.xx

Callog, huge (((hugs))). Scary to hear JH's words, but it's very good he's so onto it.

I am sorry Callog... very hard x

CALLOG

Sorry to hear of your news. I DO know how you feel. Just had the same happen to us! Thinking of you!

Trudes sorry to hear about you too xxx

Trudes, so very sorry to hear of your loss, it is heartbreaking isn't it. I hope you are taking care of yourself, emotionally so hard miscarrying.

Take care hun xox