HCG levels after M/C

[Ellie'sMom]

So, I had my 2 week check last week (it had actually been a 2.5 weeks) and my midwife did an exam and checked my HCG levels. I am not bleeding at all, my cervix was closed and we both assumed that the level would be less than 5. It was 91. That is about the level of a 2 week old pregnancy. She recommended rechecking this Friday, though she said I could have an u/s if I was feeling really anxious about it. I've opted for the recheck. She said it sometimes takes a bit longer for the level to come down than you would expect, but I am concerned. I had NO sex between the M/C and that appointment, so a new pregnancy is not a possibility. When I miscarried, we saw the sack and placenta. I bled for 2 weeks after I miscarried, so I would think any retained tissue would have been expelled then. In fact the day with my appointment with the midwife, I felt like I ovulated, and I noticed ovulatory mucous. When she did the exam, she said 1 ovary was slightly enlarged, without my having told her that I thought I had ovulated she came to the same conclusion. It's just bizarre, because with an HCG of 91, I'm pretty sure there's no way I could have ovualated.

I am curious whether anyone else has had this experience. I find myself having this awful fantasy that maybe there were twins, and one was ok, and that's the one I miscarried...I had an u/s before the m/c so that seems very unlikely. It's just really easy to let my imagination run wild...

I should know 1 way or the other by Monday.

I can't believe this isn't over yet. My m/c started on January 23rd. I've been feeling good, both physically and emotionally during the last week, and this just feels like a slap in the face.

Sorry for the rambling and thanks in advance for any insight.


Jenny

[shannon0218]

My beta level isn't down to less than 5 yet and I had a d&c on Feb11. You can ovulate with a higher beta level, they do use that hormone as a fertility treatment--I don't know the specifics as I have no problem conceiving, just carrying, but a client of mine was having hcg injections to get pregnant.
Hope everything works out for you

[Ellie'sMom]

Shannon: Thanks for your response. I have done a little more research and it seems that there is great variation in how long it takes levels to come back down.

Thanks again.

[JodynJupiter]

Oh, Elliesmom, I am so sorry. I am sure you thought you had all that "maybe everything will be OK" torture behind you. I don't really have information to offer but I hope you can find out why your levels are what they are soon and understand what is going on. I wish you peace.

[karenpl]

{{{ Jenny }}}

It can take quite a while for hcg levels to go back to non preg levels. Last year, it took 'ages' for my levels to go back to normal after a miscarriage at 11.5 weeks (the baby had died around 7 weeks). They did weekly serum hcg tests, the first one was done when I started bleeding, the other numbers are weekly after that. The sequence for me went like this

24,000
10,600
3,970
171
30
10
5
3

So you see that it took 7 weeks for them to go down to <5, which is considered zero. It felt like a long, long time!

Hope this helps! And I hope that your numbers will go down to zero soon!

Karen

[Ellie'sMom]

Thanks for the support Jody. I was hoping to be done with those "what if" thoughts, and for the most part I am. This just really threw me for a loop.

Thanks for the info, Karen. It is really helpful to see those numbers, especially since your situation was similar to mine in terms of dating (my baby also stopped developing at 6-7 weeks, I started spotting at 12, we induced miscarriage at 14).

Did you ovulate and/or get a period during that time, or did that happen after you got back down to an HCG of less than 5?

I am going for a blood draw tomorrow. After all that I have now read, I am surprised that my midwife seemed to expect me to be less than 5 at this point. Even if the number is still elevated, I will feel reassured as long as it has dropped a bit. From what I've read, a downward trend is really more important than the absolute number. As long as it is going down, it is assumed that it will get to zero eventually.

Thanks again!

[Ellie'sMom]

My level on Friday was 51. My midwife seems to think this is going really slowly, but since it has dropped, there's no reason to assume anything bad.

She wants me to come back one more time in 3 weeks or so, just so we can have the reassurance of seeing a number of less than 5.

Over the weekend I really felt like AF was on the way, which would have been even more reassuring, but no sign of it so far.

Anyway, thanks again for the support. I look back at my original post and am sort of embarrased at how worked up I got over this. Oh well, live and learn...

[shannon0218]

My God Jenny, don't ever feel bad about being worked up here--this is where it's allowed--we get looked at like we're insane when it happens IRL!
Heck today I ditched my truck swerving to avoid hitting a neighbors dog--the same neighbor who hit and killed my pup a couple weeks after my first m/c (not her fault in any way and likely she never even saw the dog--pup came up out of the ditch and was hit in the head by her passenger side front bumper) There I am on my side in a very deep ditch while her dog trots along home with my old and my new dog jostled around in the back of my truck--I just sat there crying for an hour-someone finally stopped to help (hadn't bothered to call people until I could stop crying) and they were convinced I had to be terribly injured in some way with all the crying!
Things will change but they will take time.
One thing we decided on doing was having a pendant made with the dates of the m/c's engraved very small on it--I wear a gold chain at all times so I think that's one was I could feel they are still with me. KWIM?
Anyway, it looks like your levels are coming down and thats great, hang in and allow yourself to heal.
Shannon

[karenpl]

{{{ Jenny }}}

Glad that the level is coming down, and I hope that it will be <5 the next time they test. I just looked up my chart from after the miscarriage, and I ended up ovulating on day 31 of that cycle, when my hcg level was 30. I had a short luteal phase, and my period arrived on cd 43, after 2 days of spotting. At that point my hcg level was 5. So there still was hcg in my system when I ovulated. I have heard others with the same kind of experiences, hcg does not have to be back to zero to start up your normal cycles again.

And I agree with Shannon!!! Do not feel embarrassed or whatever for 'getting worked up'. This is why we are here. And it is totally normal to worry and wonder what the heck is going on with your body.

Healing vibes your way!

Karen