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I have another question. I went to the doctor today after seeing brown blood since 10/20/05 I had my hcg levels checked and they went from the 1200 to 1700's now. I am really confused because I dont have any pain or symptoms of a eptopic. I was thinking it was a miscarriage because of the blood but my levels are rising more but rising slowly. What can be happening to me? Do you think I could still be having a viable pregnancy?
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I'm 31 an this is my third prgnancy. I have two children. My last menstrual period was Sept.1, 2005.I went to the doctor today and had a ultrasound and the Doctor said he see something in my uterus but it was to early to say what it was. He also said my lining was thick. My levels stopped doubling and went from 638 to 789. THe doctor said he saw fluid behind my uterus but didnt know what it was yet. Im not bleeding or cramping so he said I can either be pregnant in my tubes or had twins and one was causing my numbers to go up and the other is causing them to go down. He suggested another lab test and if its only in the 800's I should have a D&C. I'm really confused and dont know what I should do. Whatshould I take form all this? Does this mean there is no way possible I can have a baby developing?
Answer -
If your last period started on September 1, and you are pregnant, you should now be 6 weeks 2 days pregnant (from the first day of your period). By 6 weeks, a sonogram should show a fetus and a fetal heartbeat. If it does not show anything bu some fluid, it may be a non-viable pregnancy or a blighted ovum. At 6 weeks the range of HCG value usually is between 1000-50,000. Your values are a bit low for 6 weeks. YOu may merely be off on your dates, or it may be a non-viable pregnancy. If you are not having any pain on one side of your abdomen or the other with some bleeding, I doubt that you have a tubal pregnancy, but it certainly is possible. A tubal pregnancy usually is manifested by a plateau in the HCG values. The values do not go down. Twins does not cause higher than normal values. I would repeat the sonogram in a week (as long as you are not having any annoying symptoms) and see if anything shows up. If, in a week, there still is no fetus, I would advise a D&C to empty the uterus. I have another question, youve already answered the previous questions. I went to the doctor today and my levels were 1280 and on monday they were 778. The doctor wanted to do a d&C before my levels came back. Shpuld I continue to wait to see if they se something on a scan next week? Is it possible I can still have a healthy viable pregnancy?
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Since the HCG value has risen from 778 to 1280, it is certainly possible that the fetus is still viable. I would rtepeat the HCG next week and get a sonogram also next week. If, next week, no fetus is seen on ultrasound, I'm afraid that it is a non-viable pregnancy. As long as you are not bleeding or having cramps, you can safely wait to see another week.
AnswerEven though there should be a doubling of the HCG results every 48 hours, it still may be a viable pregnancy if the values are rising. There is always a risk of ectopic pregnancy when values "plateau" as yours do. A sonogram would help. Certainly, if a fetus is seen in the uterus, it rules out ectopic and gives hope. If no fetus is seen and you still have elevated HCG values, further evaluation of tubal pregnancy must be done.
