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Dani-Congratulations! I have been reading your comments and am so happy that evertthing is looking better. I have had two misscarriages and I know the fear you carry inside when something is going wrong. Twins-WOW! Let us know when you find out for sure. I am very happy for you!

Thanks Becky, I doubt it's twins but we won't know for a while! I am sorry to hear about your 2m/c's, how awful. Good luck to all, I'll keep you posted, hopefully everything will turn out A-OK! The fear of not knowing, etc..is very unsettling!

I just turned 42 and my husband and I have a healthy four-year-old daughter. We have been trying for a second baby for over two years. I have been pregnant four times since March 2004. My fourth pregnancy ended in a miscarriage last week, one day before my 42nd birthday. The first two ended at nine weeks (both times I had a curettage), the third and fourth between five and six weeks in a natural way. I have no clue what my progesterone level is. It has never been tested. Apparently that is not something they do in the Netherlands. My sister lived in the United States for eight years and she had her children there. She took Clomid, had a healthy baby boy and twins 18 months later. Because she had a low progesterone level, I asked my OB/GYN if that could be the same in my case. She said no, because I got pregnant so easily. Plus they examined the foetus the second time and it was normal looking and well nestled and positioned in the uterus. Now after four miscarriages I'm getting desperate. Time is running out. Wednesday I have a telephone appointment with my OB/GYN in which I want to ask her for a progesterone level test. Can anybody tell me what is the best time to test? Should I wait until I'm pregnant again, or should I be tested after ovulation? I could use some good advice.

LLona-I am so sorry to hear of how many misscariages you have had. I have had two and I wanted to share a little of my story so that it may help you. I don't know that I agree with your doctor about progesterone level not being a problem because you got pregnant so easy. In my case, every time I have tried to get pregnant, I did so on the first attempt but the two times I did not take progesterone, were the times that I misscarried. The two times that I took the medicine, I had two full term pregnancies. Be adamant with your doctor-as a patient it is your right and besides, it wouldn't hurt to find out for sure if this was the problem. The thing is is that it doesn't hurt to take the progesterone. So why not be better safe than sorry. I take prometrium-the most natural of all the progesterone supplements and it is the only one my doctor recommends for pregnant women because it has not been shown to cause problems with the growing fetus. I hope this has helped and I wish you the best of luck. Remeber this is your body not the doctor's so be adamant about asking them to test you and if it comes back low, ask for the prometrium!

i have been on the internet looking for answers for hours now. my story-found out vrey early that i'm preggo. i think i ovulated late and the nurse at my docs says my levels are probably low because "we caught the pregnancy so early". i found out last wed, june 22 that i'm preg. hcg was 16. 2 days later, hcg was 29. 3 days later, hcg was 143. they decided to do a prog test with hcg because i strarted spotting and some cramping-both of which are very concerning but they said could also be due to implantation (they think i'm about 2 weeks or so preggo by this point). hcg 1 day later was 191 and progesterone was 5.3, they repeated the blood tests 1 day later again, got an hcg of 222 and progesterone of 6.1. all week this week i have had spotting on and off (when i urinate). cramping has gone away, then bleeding went away for 2 days, now spotting again. meanwhile, i feel fine otherwise, except my b___sts kill. they seem to have gotten worse this week, which strangely gives me comfort b/c it rea__sures me i'm still preggo. and i feel pregnant, if that means anything. i feel some stuff going on in my lower tummy. last i spoke to the nurse at my doc's office, she gave me the most recent results and said, though of course there is call for concern whenever someone bleeds and has low levels, she thinks they may have just caught the pregnancy early and the bleeding could be from implantation or becuase i had a yeast infection. she says the feelings i describe in my lower tummy sound like what women experience form the uterus expanding. anyhoo, after all this, we still dont know. i am terrified and hopeful at the same time. all your stories help. i'd love any info you have. you are all in my prayers. :)

Becky-It sounds to me like the doc is right, it could be implantation bleeding, your levels keep going up. Mine went down in the 4th week, that is why I had to get on the Crinone gel. My HCG always went up, that is the most important. You can get the prog. level up w/supplements so this week you should call the doc and ask for supplements just to be safe! I too had a little stretching feeling in my lower tummy, it is the stretching.

Becky, thanks for your answer, it helps me. But do you also have any advice on when to test? Should I test progesterone levels after ovulation already or only once I'm pregnant? And when is a good time to take supplements? Before getting pregnant or only once I know I'm pregnant?

Llona-You should test your progesterone after you ovulate as this is when you can get pregnant and want to have and maintain a higher level of progesterone for better implantation and survival of the embryo. I totally suggest taking the supplement before you get pregnant. That way you do not have to worry about having a lull in your progesterone level that could possibly interfere with the implantation of the embryo. My doctor had me take the progesterone 3 days after ovulation and I was to stay on it until I had a period then I would stop taking it until the next ovulation and repeat. If my period never came I could a__sume pregnancy and have the a__surance that I had already built up a nice level of progesterone to fatten up that lining of the uterus that is so important for successful implantation. Then I just stayed on it until 18 weeks gestation.(Every doctor will have a different time line as to how long you stay on it while pregnant-it depends on the doctor and wether the patient is having any problems like bleeding or cramping)most doctors opt to have their patients take it until week 13 of gestation because at week 12 is when the placenta is said to take over progesterone level function. Either way just having the rea__surance that the progesterone level is maintained in your body is such a good rea__surance for you-it is just one less thing to have to worry about and in your case, although I am not a doctor, it just seems that this could very well be your problem. You are obviously able to get pregnant, it is just having the problem of maintaining the pregnancy and that has everything to do with your progesterone level. Granted their could be other issues but adjusting progesterone levels from the start is the easiest and most obvious place to start. Good luck Llona and keep in touch!

Hello all. I am new to this site. I wanted to get some advice and let you all know what I have been through. I have had 2 miscarriages and a premature baby in 2002 (24 weeks)that was here for 8 days and pa__sed away from a disease in his body. :-( I am now pregnant again 61/2 week tomorrow....but my progesterone levels were low so i am on Progesterone Vaginal Capsules 4x's a day at 200 mg. I was wondering if anyone had problems with them. Like getting suck or hard to get them in....I have been on them now for 2 weeks and seems like it is getting harder each time.

I think I know what you mean Nives...maybe it's your uterus getting bigger, I kinda feel that way too, I had to take the supp. 2x a day and now I am down to 1x but it did seem hard to get in.

Thank you for the reply, Dani! I am going to the fertility doctor tomorrow for blood test and sonogram...so I am definitely going to let him know what is going on now. Cause it hurts so much when I put it in now....and as soon as I do...its bathroom time within like 2 minutes.

Hello all! I am new to the site and I find so much comfort in knowing that there are so many of you out there experiencing the same thing I am. I am 7w,3d pregnant and found out on Friday that my progesterone level was at 11, which is extremely low. My doctor is considering this a high risk pregnancy b/c of what happened my last pregnancy. Therefore, he did an u/s at 6w,4d and said that I was showing to only be 5w, 5d pregnant. I wasn't that scared at first b/c I thought that maybe my dates were off as to when I concevied, but then when we got the results of the levels back, I've been freaking out ever since. He put me on prometrium, 200 mg a day. I am hoping that this will raise my levels and I will have a safe pregnancy. I am so scared of miscarrying. I have never had a miscarriage before, so I'm not even sure of what to expect. The good thing is that we saw a strong heartbeat on the u/s and I have had no spotting or bleeding. I have another u/s on Wednesday and I am so nervous waiting on this. The suspense is killing me!! I hope everything turns out well for me, and all of you too.

Went to the fertility doctor today and he did blood test and a sonogram. He is saying that I am a little over 6 1/2 weeks pregnant. My HCG levels are doing great increasing each week...my progesterone is increasing but very slowly and I am still going to be taking 4 x's a day the v____al progesterone capsules 200 mgs and he also suggested that I make an appointment with my OB/GYN so I have that appointment on 7-13 and I have to go back to the fertiliy doctor on 7-12 for blood test. My progesterone level right now is at 13.3. Anyone know what the levels should be at this stage or a website that I can look on?

Hi Nives, that's great! The prog. should be around 20 but mine was at 9 or so and now it's up to 34! I am now 10 weeks and using the vag. supposotories 1x a day now, was 2x. So don't worry, as long as it's going up and your hcg is going up, I think you'll be ok...

Thank you again Dani! I greatly appreciate it. What v____al suppositories are you on? Have you heard about the injections? I am wondering which is better to do...the doctor didn't mention anything to me about that but my aunt has a friend that is doing that. I also forget to mention that the doctor did a sonogram today also and I heard the heartbeat......Strong!! I am praying each night!!!

Nives, I strongly reccomend the progesterone injections. I have been on them since I was 6 weeks now I am 13 and I have had absolutely no complications. My levels are where the doc wants them. You have to have someone help you with the injections because it is difficult to do yourself. it is very thick and hard to push into the muscle.They did not give me the option of injections or suppositories, they told me the injections were the quickest most effective way of getting the projesterone.