Are my HCG levels rising too quickly?

Not sure about fast rising HCG, but i had a Ectopic and my docs told me with Ectopics the HCG normally is slow rising, becuz the pregnancy is in a place where the growing cells cant get enough nutrition to grow properly, therefore creating slow HCG rise....Not sure about molar pregnancy's...i think IMO, your HCG rise looks fine :-) Mine at 13dpo was 450 and at 17dpo was 2013.....and im currently 33 wks pregnant :-)

Thanks ladies. Don't have an US booked yet. Have my first OB appointment tomorrow at midday. I think she has an ultrasound machine but I am not even 5 weeks pregnant so would not see anything yet.

If it is rising too fast that usually means more then one baby either twins or triplets maybe more. Congratulations good luck and please keep us posted.

Really - you think that I could be having twins or triplets!! Do you really mean that? Hmm, I have no idea of course. I conceived naturally, this would be my 3rd child. I am 35 - my mother is a twin (and she told me her cousin is also). I heard that it was more likely for tall/heavier women to conceive twins. I am only 5ft 1 and about 116 pounds - twins would be a squash (LOL!) I am breastfeeding my 20 month old - I did hear once that can increase your chances of twins.

What do others think?

Will not mention this to my husband!!!

Louisa-

I am an OB nurse & just wanted to let you know that your HCG levels look perfect! HCG levels that rise fast are not an indication of multiple pregnancy at all, this is a very common misconception. Why did they start following your levels to begin with if you have never had any problems in the past? Did they check your progesterone level? Just curious because usually we only monitor these levels when there is a history of problems, but it may just be because your family doc is following you & they tend to be overly-cautious with pregnancy. I have seen many women with twins or more have lower HCG levels than those who have a singleton pregnancy, so there really is no clear connection between the two. We like to see your HCG level rise AT LEAST 66% every 48 hrs. More than this just means that this looks like a healthy normal pregnancy. When we talk about elevated HCG levels in regards to molar pregnancy, they are EXTREMELY elevated. We will see a level of 50,000+ at only a few days past a missed period. Your levels are rising just like a normal pregnancy & do not indicate anything else. I am thinking your family doc is just being cautious which is why she warned you about the risk of ectopic. We treat every pregnancy as a potential ectopic until an US proves otherwise. All that this means is that we warn every patient that they should call if they develop symptoms of severe pain on one side of the pelvis or the other. Usually when someone has an ectopic their levels will not rise like a normal pregnancy but they will slowly rise but HCG levels alone can never completely rule out an ectopic pregnancy. Basically everything looks great & I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about any of it & I would definitely NOT look things up on the internet because this is only gonna freak you out! Congrats & take Care! Let me know if you have any other questions!

Megan,

Thank you so much for taking the time to write to me - I really appreciate your professional insite! The internet is a terrible place (sometimes!) - ignorance can certainly be bliss. I guess the reason why my doctor is doing BETAs this time is because for my last pregnancy (successful), I spotted on and off for 10 weeks (bright red and brown) and that's why they checked my BETAs then. I started spotting at the beginning of his pregnancy again, so they have done my BETAs again (I must admit, I have pushed a little for it for peace of mind - but I didn't have to push hard). I have my first OB appointment today - I think she has an US machine but I know it's WAY to early to see anything anyway.

There is so much info about high numbers or quick doubling times meaning multiples - that's why I wondered as to whether there was some truth to that. Is it a total misconception - or can it make it more likely?

I guess I'm just being paranoid - I know so many people who have had miscarriages (after successful pregnancies) and unfortunately have a couple of good friends who lost babies in their 3rd trimesters - so the worry for me never stops - particulary as one of them told me that late losses are more common than we think.

Anyway, thanks again for your help. I will try to relax a bit more since my numbers are rising well.

Louisa

megan c

my hcg levels were at 17000 at 5 weeks pregnant. my doctor has not given me much more information but has said this is very high. i had an ultrasound done and no baby could be seen. i have since read about molar pregnancy. what do you think the chances are?

michelle

I had an ectopic with betas that rose quickly and upon researching, I discovered 10-15% of ectoptics have normal or fast rises with normal to high levels.

My betas were

12dpo - 97

15dpo - 678

21dpo - 7400 (the day they saw nothing on the u/s)

The eventually rose to 12,500 before the methotrexate worked.

So yes, ectopics are always a possibility in any pregnancy scenario, but UNLIKELY if your levels are normal. Typical ectopic chances are 2% without previous EPs, which means if you have normal rises (not slow or non-doubling), then your chances of having an EP are only 0.02% roughly.