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could somebody please help me understand this, i took a pregnancy test, came back positive, took another one to be sure, again positive... went to doctor few days later as i started bleeding heavily with a clot about the size of a 50p coin... there i had a blood test, to determine the amount of hcg, 48hours later, i had to return for another blood test and again 48 hours after!! the doctor told me that my first test was below five and the other two were 0.5... still bleeding and lost yet another clot slightly smaller than the last the doctor told me that i had miscarried... with no d'n'c... its only been two weeks since last seeing the doctor, i was just curious as to how and why my hcg levels were that low in the first place... i'm only 20 and i dont really understand much about this and was slightly embarrased and nervous to ask my doctor.
i know that sounds silly but i just felt uncomftable.
could somebody help me along the lines of understanding this please??
thanks.

Hi, I have a 2 year old son and got pregnant last September. My 12 week scan showed high nucal translucency and blood test. I had an amnio and the baby was found to have Triploidy... three sets of chromosomes. There was no chance of survival.
I had to terminate at 4 months, then had a d & c straight after. Most the placenta was still in there... at 16 weeks it was the size of a full-term placenta.
Since then I have had weekly HCG blood tests.
The reason they can't do another curette is because it's too invasive. It's far easier giving chemo because it ensures it kills all the cells. I have seen an oncologist, and had a full body scan to ensure the cells haven't metastisised (travelled and started growing in any other parts of my body). If all the cells aren't killed, then they can start growing again and are termed a "cancer", but it's totally curbale because it's just the abnormal growth of placental cells. My levels have gone down weekly. It has taken over 11 weeks to get to 61, and the doctors are thinking I may not need treatment since it is still going down. How have your levels gone down?
1200
440
290
220
19
0
140
130
130
98
86
61

my placenta was a partial mole.... you only know this if the hospital analyses the placenta. Any chromosome abnormality changes the chemistry of the placenta, and can give you a high Hcg. It then goes down slowly. If HCG stops declining or goes up, it means any placental cells that have remained have started growing again, which is a form of cancer (the definition of cancer is the growth of abnormal cells... in this case placental cells). If the mc is due to a chromosomal abnormality, that's why HCG takes ages to go down. If you mc due to other reasons (ie not chromosomal) then HCG goes down quickly.

I tested positive on hpt 6 weeks after my misscarriage. I thought I had my a week ago...it was only 3/4 days with only one day heavy. 2 weeks ago I thought I was getting my period, but it was only spotting. I'm confused. Did I have a period or is this still due to the misscarriage?

i found out i was preg on 3/01/06. on 3/13/06 i started spotting. i rushed to the er and the findings were 6wk 6day gest sacs. no heartbeat. not a viable preg. dr's say i will expell fetal tissue on my own, but i fail to do so. on 3/21 dr's did d&c. on 4/12 i felt sick did hpt that is positive. could this be old hcg levels or could i be preg again.

most likely after a miscarriage, a positive test so soon prob means u aren't preg. if u mc is due to a chromosome abnormality, hcg takes weeks to go to 0. 15 weeks after my termination then d&c, my hcg now 40... it started at 1200.

i continued to bleed on and off for 15 weeks so far... the body is still shedding placental tissue.

[quote author=sadmommy link=board=17;threadid=1564;start=0#16592 date=1143617078]
sorry, i wanted to add a question, being that my doc told me i didnt have to wait, does that mean to try after the bleeding stops or after my next period? im confused to as to why my levels were still increasing even though my pregnancy was not viable. but i have read that sometimes the body just doesnt realize the pregnancy has ended and that sometimes levels can still rise if you have a blighted ovum which is what they thought possible in my case.
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I just wanted to reply and let you know the same thing happened to me. I miscarried at 6 1/2 weeks, and my hormone levels are still not back to normal. When I was pg they kept rising but not enough for it to be a healthy pg and then I started passing clots. The saddest part was when I passed the baby and I could see it and thats when I broke. Anyway, I had it naturally and my doc said I didnt have to wait either, so Im not. It has been 2 weeks since it happened. I think you just have to figure out if you had a period with the miscarriage and will be o'ing soon, or if your period will be coming. They way I figure it is that I havent had my period yet and its been 2 weeks so might have had it during the mc and I think I had some o pains yesterday and a little this morning, so we are trying. It will take longer to find out that I am pg if it happens this time b/c of the high hormones and the fact that a test will still show up right now which is sad enough in itself. But if it happens and everything is fine......its worth it. I dont know if this helps at all but I felt compelled to write you.

if you def know why you miscarried, then it makes it easier to know what is happening.
we know mine was a partial mole, therefore it was expected the hcg would take a while to go down. nearly 4 months after termination my bleeding stopped 2 weeks ago and my hcg is now 28 (from 1200 3 weeks after termination and d&c). i have to wait 6 months until i go to 0 to start trying again, in this instance a doc's protocol for a partial mole so they can observe me. most docs would say not til try til u go to 0, since it indicates a problem the hcg being around, unless it is going down week by week.
if my levels were rising it would indicate i still had placental cells left that were continuing to grow. since a partial mole's placental cells are abnormal, they can start growing abnormal with hcg, being a form of cancer.

you really should find out what was wrong with your pregnancy. my baby and placenta were sent off to the lab for testing... she had triploidy (3 sets of -69- chromosomes, not the normal 2 set -23), and the placenta was a partial mole due to the excess chromosomes. finding out would help explain all the symptoms you are experiencing, and make you understand it all a bit better.

confused

4/14 had an appointment transvaginal u/s saw a sac but nothing in it my hcg level was 424

had some cramping and brown bleeding

4/17 my hcg level was 420
Dr. said that I am having miscarriage

stopped cramping and bleeding

4/20 my hcg level was 574
called my dr. and he said that my levels might plateau then fall- I will have another level on 4/27

has anyone experience this- I was convinced that since my cramping and bleeding stopped that my levels were coming down

Thanks
Confused one

How far are you along? Brown bleeding and cramping is not 'usually' a miscarriage... BRIGHT RED blood is more cause for concern, therefore I am thinking you didn't miscarry even though you had cramps and they stopped. I started brown bleeding at about 8 weeks, but it stopped after a week or two, but cos it's not that abnormal didn't think much of it. A lot of women have that brown bleeding, about 30%.
HCG therefore kept going up. 12 week scan the HCG was high, indicating a problem... baby had too many chromosomes (3 sets) so at 18 weeks I had to terminate.
The brown blood and cramping may mean something, then again it might mean nothing at all. I cried initially when I found out, but as the baby was wrong from Day 1, and I didn't cry for her again. The termination was probably the easiest thing I've ever done... I was induced and had to deliver her. I wasn't emotional, it was something that had to be done. I'm not a cold person, just realistic with a Science degree. Everything happens for a reason, and it makes you stronger.
Don't worry too much... just have your tests and see how the baby progresses.

Hi All,

I was 9 weeks pregnant when I started to feel some cramping, which eventually lead to bleeding. I had an ectopic pregnancy on April 11, 2006. When I went for a follow up visit on Monday, April 17th the doctor told me that my hgc levels were at 6000 while in the hospital (April 11) and then had dropped to 600 on the Monday (April 17). My second follow-up visit is Thursday, April 27 and I am hoping that my level will be 0, so that I can simply wait for that first period and then start trying again. I didn't have the d&c procedure, but was given the methotrexate injections. This was my first pregnancy but hopefully not my last.

i has a miscarriage on 2-27-06. I got blood work done and my levels were around 600. I got a sonogram and a T/V done which showed I had nothing still in there. I went to the Dr. March 21, and he didnt order any more blood work. I still havent gotten a period, but I just haent been feeling right. I took a pregnancy test and it came up positive. Could it be from my previous miscarriage or a new pregnancy? I called the Dr. and I go in for labs tomorrow, but I am worried about it. I didnt get a D&C done.. not sure if that could cause it or not. Thanks for any help!!

Hello, everyone. I hope someone can relate to this. I had an m/c March 15; most of the tissues came out so there was no D&C done; my hcg levels were dropping, slowly but consistently. Last week it finally went down to 5.8 and I thought, yes, I'm in the clear! I got a call from the doc today; my levels went up to 7. I know it's not by much but considering the consistent drop, the rise, although minimal, worries me. Repeat for bloodwork next week and if it doesn't go down, there's a talk of D&C after a month and a half! Please, help!Thanks.

I don't know how they can tell you most the tissue came out. I had to terminate and give birth at 18 weeks. The doc said most the placenta came out, but I went in and had a d&c as normal routine. When i woke the doc said there was a heap of placenta left... at 18 weeks the placenta was the size of a full-term, due to being a partial mole. Also, there is no guarantee a d&c will eliminate every cell... it only takes ONE cell to start growing again. The bleeding on and off means there are still cells which the body is getting rid of. I have stopped bleeding which should mean the cells are all gone, and if HCG continues to fall it confirms the cells are no longer there.

If you didnt have a d&c, the level going up may mean the cells are beginning to grow, but wait until next test because it may drop again. If it rises again the cells may be growing, or you may be pregnant (however you will know if this cannot be the case).
I started at 18th Jan at 1200... 26th April down to 27. My level has never risen, but it moved 0 one week, and only down 1 last week. Over 3 months. It'll prob be at least 4 months b4 im at 0.

If you're not pregnant, maybe chemo would be good. I am seeing an oncologist, because I plateaued for a bit. She recommended to me that with a level so low, I would only need one tablet which would kill the cells very effectively. With your level under 10 you would need less than this. A d&c is so invasive, and risks damage to your reproductive organs.

Wait until next test. Keep us posted.

Hi All, well like my nickname says, anxious at 31. My blood work from yesterday showed my hgc level at 44, so although dropping nicely, not yet at 0. I have a doctor's appointment on Monday, so he will likely send me back one more time for blood work. Wish me luck... I have never been anticipating a period so much in my life as I am now...