High Protein in Urine During Pregnancy: What Does It Mean?

Question
Hello Dr.Culligan,

I recently became pregnant after 2 years of fertility treatments so I am a bit nervous about everything.  I am currently 10 weeks and at this mornings appointment they told me that the dip stick showed high protein in my urine.  They had me do a "clean sample" and sent it off to the lab.  What can this mean?  I know that later on it can point to pre-eclampsia (spell?) but at 10 weeks what could this indicate?  Could this be caused by the progesterone suppositories I use or the metformin I am still taking?  I never had anything like this during my first pregnancy.

Answer
That finding is very likely to be meaningless at this point. Your doctor will probably check periodically to watch for a trend - or to find any significant proteinuria. Some doctors check the urine each time you come in.

You are doing well to be starting pernatal care so early. Best of Luck