Beta hcg not doubling

September 10, 2019 2:29 PM

Hello guys I am supposed go be 6 weeks pregnant and my betw hcg wenr from 1432 to 2109 in 46 hrs. I expected a higher rise and now my doc wants me to repeat the hcg. What has been your experience with hcg not doubling?

Hello guys
I am supposed go be 6 weeks pregnant and my betw hcg wenr from 1432 to 2109 in 46 hrs. I expected a higher rise and now my doc wants me to repeat the hcg. What has been your experience with hcg not doubling?

posted by barexamfreak to Health & Fitness (11 answers total)

This happened to me and it was because I had an ectopic pregnancy. if I remember correctly, my initial numbers were lower out of the norm than yours, and they rose while failing to double. During a subsequent pregnancy, I had similar issues with low HCG and sluggish rise and then miscarried. When I finally had a normal pregnancy, by HCG numbers were normal.

I remember googling and googling and getting reassurance from the doctors but in the end, for me when the numbers were bad the pregnancy was bad. I hope things go ok for you.
posted by vunder at 2:45 PM on September 10, 2019 [2 favorites]

You want Betabase, I think.
posted by teremala at 3:14 PM on September 10, 2019

I can't offer specific experience. I just wish you comfort until you can get some certainty. Limbo is brutal. Hang in there. You're not alone.
posted by AteYourLembas at 3:15 PM on September 10, 2019 [1 favorite]

What has been your experience with hcg not doubling?

I totally understand the Googling for non-standard scenarios, it is a very anxiety-provoking wait when your numbers are not as expected. I'm sorry the only experience I can offer is a non-viable pregnancy.
posted by DarlingBri at 3:24 PM on September 10, 2019 [1 favorite]

(I wanted to add that there is no right or wrong way to feel right now. It's Schoedinger's Pregnancy right now -- whether it's a viable pregnancy or not is already determined, it's just that you don't know which it is. Preparing yourself for the possibility of loss won't make that happen, and a positive outcome isn't dependent on you thinking happy thoughts. We live in an era of toxic positivity and it can make it hard to accept that you can't always achieve outcome with attitude.)

I hope you have understanding and support around you and get the result you hope for. Good luck!
posted by DarlingBri at 3:33 PM on September 10, 2019 [25 favorites]

Check out Betabase, which crowdsources beta hcg levels. You can see average levels and I think they also have info on normal doubling time.

My experience was with a chemical pregnancy -- maybe a fertilized egg that failed to implant. The HCG never got above 150 and declined rapidly, all in the 4-5w time period. If you're at 6 weeks and over 2k HCG can't your doctor just do an ultrasound?

Reddit is actually a great resource for everything related to conception and pregnancy in my opinion and would be a good place to find stories. I think your question may best belong in /R/CautiousBB, but here's a quick lay of the land there -- BabyBumps is the big pregnancy subreddit. There are spin-offs like BB30 (pregnancy over 30) and CautiousBB (pregnancy where people are nervous, often due to a previous loss). There are lots of other subs there, so take a look at the list of related subs in the sidebar. Another one that I was trying to decide whether to mention is /R/TryingForABaby. It's for those trying to conceive -- but they have a rule against mentioning ongoing pregnancies out of sensitivity to those who have been trying for years. But there might be past posts or linked resources worth looking at -- it's where I heard about Betabase. There's also r/miscarriage, where you could hear from those who might have had this symptom as part of a pregnancy loss. I'd be cautious about posting too much about a pregnancy that still seems viable there, but you might search for stories in the archives.

Someone above mentioned the possibility of an ectopic pregnancy. You might read up on those. When my levels weren't rising, the medical clinic told me that if I had any pain, even in my shoulder or neck, to go to the ER and make sure to tell them about the pregnancy. Apparently, ectopic pregnancies can sometimes be misdiagnosed as other things.

Best of luck. I know that this waiting is really hard to go through. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!
posted by slidell at 3:59 PM on September 10, 2019 [2 favorites]

Check out this study:

This retrospective cohort study included 285 women with first-trimester pain and bleeding and a pregnancy of unknown location, for whom a normal intrauterine pregnancy was ultimately confirmed...

For initial hCG values of [less than] 1500, 1500-3000, and [greater than] 3000 mIU/mL, the predicted 2- day minimal (1st percentile) rise was 49%, 40% and 33%, respectively.

posted by slidell at 4:05 PM on September 10, 2019 [1 favorite]

My wife had a similar experience about a month ago — 47% rise over 48 hours. It turned out to be an anembryonic pregnancy and she got a D&C last week. So not a good anecdote I’m afraid.
posted by crazy with stars at 4:59 PM on September 10, 2019

I don’t recall my numbers, but I had a slow rising hog after an IVF transfer of two embryos. I had a viable pregnancy that went to ten and is about to turn 30 months. My RE suggested that the slow rise was due to one embryo failing, but who knows? The embryo also grew a little slowly. Everyone was convinced I would lose the pregnancy, but I didn’t. Peace during your waiting time.
posted by girlbowler at 6:58 PM on September 10, 2019 [3 favorites]

The "beta-hcg should double every 2 days" thing is a very rough rule of thumb. In my first pregnancy my betas at around 6 weeks went up by something like 50% every 2-3 days. I was convinced I was miscarrying, but 4.5 years later that slowpoke fetus just started kindergarten.
posted by TheLittlestRobot at 8:36 PM on September 10, 2019 [1 favorite]

It happened to me when pregnant with my first. I had some bleeding at 6 weeks, which prompted my OB to send me in for HCG levels. I didn’t double - more like a 50% increase over two days. I cried for a day insistent that I was going to have a miscarriage. My doctor got me in for an ultrasound and saw a heartbeat and all concerns and worry were gone on her part.

He’s 3 years old now and just started preschool. The numbers aren’t everything. There are good outcomes too.

You’re in my thoughts - I hope you have a similar outcome.
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 9:09 PM on September 10, 2019