Beta numbers
5 Replies
jennt - December 10

Hello,

I had 5, 3 day embryos thawed and only one made it to blast on day 6 (slow to develope).

I received a positive beta of 39 on 8days past the transfer and a 54 on day 10. My nurse says not to worry but to me, those #'s sound too low to be a viable pregnancy. Do agree or disagree? Depending on your answer, I have more questions for ya!

I want to thank you for taking your time to help all of us with all of our concerns. What a great thing you do!

Jennt

 

Dr Smith - December 13

I'm not a physician and this is more or less a clinical question. So, for what its worth, I think it sounds about right. Day 8 is pretty early to test, so low values (i.e. <100) are not necessarily a bad sign. It is not exactly doubling, but don't freak out just yet. Beware of patients comparing their hCG values in forums and message boards. hCG values vary a great deal and depend on several fators. Comparisons can (and do) cause great anxiety in patients. Don't get hung up in this. Try to relax and wait it out.

 

jennt - December 13

My HCG levels are as follows:
8dpt 39
10dpt 54
12dpt 74

I am not sure what is happening. How long is this gonna go on? If the blast was slow to develop (1 day behind, did not reach blast stage until day 6) will this affect the HCG levels? Since I have received a positive beta, does this mean the problem is with the egg, not the uterus?

Thank you.

 

Dr Smith - December 14

I'm afraid it doesn't look good now. Your hCG value is not doubling as expected. I think this will be a "chemical" pregnancy. A chemical pregnancy means that the embryo attached to the endometrium and initiated implantation (a process that takes ten days to complete). It secreted enough hCG to be detectable in your bood, hence "chemical" pregnancy. It did not, however, continue to grow. A loss this early is usually a result of a genetic problem with the embryo. Sometimes the inner cell mass containing the stem cells (located within the blastocyst embryo, but visible to the embryologist) is too small to develop into a baby (too few stem cells). The cells that form the sac continue to grow and produce hCG, but the stem cells that make the baby stop growing. Then, the whole embryo stops growing, the hCG drops and the pregnancy is terminated. This is nature's way of stopping an abnormal pregnancy early in development so that you try again sooner. Your hCG should drop to zero in the next week or two.

 

jennt - December 20

Hi Dr. Smith, this may be a clinical question:

My HCg levels increased from 74 to 139 and then 4 days later to 499. What do you think is going on? Remember, they started out at 39 and then 54. If this is a chemical pregnancy, why do the levels continue to rise and how long will this go on? If we go in for the 1st ultrasound (Jan 2) and there is no fetus visable, what is the process? Is it gonna be painful or will it be like a heavy period? Thank you.

 

Dr Smith - December 21

Well, I honestly don't know what's going on. Now it appears to be doubling appropriately, but this does not mean you're out of the woods yet. I think Dr Miller will have more expereince with this. I'll forward you post. She will answer as soon as she has a chance.

 

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