Pregnancy Info HOME

My levels of progesterone up till 6 weeks pregnant have been high 20's low 30's. They plumeted down to 17 at 6weeks 2 days. Am I losing the baby? Or can the levels bounce around that much?

I am 31 and on my second pregnancy after my first one ended in May. In the first, my hcg levels only rose 6% for the first two rounds of testing, then began falling. My progesterone was 14. My doctors said there was no hope because they hadn't found a heartbeat and my gestational sac was collapsing, so I took misoprostol to end the pregnancy. Now I am 5 wks 5 days pregnant...at 5 wks 2 days I had HCG of only 154, and progesterone of 3.9, and when I was 5 wks 4 days I had an ultrasound where my gestational sac measured 4 wks 4 days with no cardiac activity. I am going in for my second HCG test on Monday, and my doctor won't give me progesterone supplements because she says 3.9 is too low (she says "at that level, if it's gonna make it, it's gonna make it, and if it's not, it's not.") It sounds like some of you were in my situation, and had successful pregnancies! Now I don't know what to do! I suppose I need the second HCG data point before I do anything, but I was already mentally scheduling a D&C until I read this board. What should I do?

PS: I have had no bleeding and slight cramping of a small corpus luteum cyst thus far. My nausea and nipple soreness were brief and have since diminished...my first pregnancy was lost at 8 weeks...any advice will help!

I have had my progesterone levels tested the last 3 consecutive weeks. I am on prmetrium 600mg/day v____ally. My progesterone levels continue to be "normal" but have dropped each week. Does anyone know if this is a bad sign?

I am so happy to find this part of the site to post on. I really would like opinions/advice as I am not sure what is going on with my body right now. To briefly summarize...I have 1 daughter (71/2) and have been trying for a 2nd child for the past year. I did one round of Clomid and stopped at the beginning of August. My cycle is typically 27 days long with my period being 7-8 days. This month just felt different. I think I ovulated around the 5-6th of this month. I started feeling nauseous and heavy/sore b___sts around the 9th of this month. On rthe 23rd day of the cycle I spotted lightly for 3 days then stopped. I started spotting again on the 28th day of cycle and have been bleeding ever since (11 days on and off now). I did 2 home tests - 1 neg 1 pos. I did a blood test last Thursday (day 34 of cycle) and got the results back on Saturday. They were "Borderline between 5-20mIU/mL". The results said that "an inderterminate result may be a__sociated with very early pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, or threatened abortion". They recommended that I do another test in 5-7 days to check hCG levels. Yesterday I had medium bleeding all day and then in the afternoon had bad cramping and heavy clotting/bleeding. I typically have very heavy bleeding / clotting during my regular period. I guess my question to this long-winded post is whether after all of this I could still be pregnant or whether I should consider my bleeding/clotting yesterday as a miscarriage. I have problems with cysts and have operated before because of them...so painful periods and cramping are normal. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before, so I am not sure what having a miscarriage would be like. Would it be possible to have a healthy pregnancy after this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

To Tonia You have probably miscarried. I would have your dr. do an ultrasound to make sure the miscarriage is complete.

Tonia, it sounds like a m/c. I am sorry. The other thing besides an US is that your doctor will likely track your hcg levels to make sure they go down to 0. That will show that you have pa__sed all the tissue you need to pa__s. I have heavy periods and cramping, but nothing like what I had with my m/c at 6.5wks. The cramping was intense and I pa__sed grayish tissue as well as what looked like large blood clots, which later tested as fetal tissue. My bleeding lasted about 10 days. My dr. has said that women know so early now that they are pregnant because of home tests, that there seem to be more m/cs, but really we just know about them. He also said that getting pregnant sometimes is easier than staying pregnant, but to keep trying. Please have hope, I had my m/c in May, and am now 10wks pregnant, and all appears normal. Good luck.

I had my first ultrasound at 8 weeks-embryo, but not heart beat on doppler. Progesterone was 11 and hcg was 54,000. Hcg started to drop and I miscarried. This was 2 weeks ago and I'm still spotting. My doc said we can try again (he'll do blood work and supplement prog. if necessary) after one normal cycle. Anyone out there remember bleeding for this long and will it be a full month after it stops before I have a regular period? Thanks in advance.

Anne, I was in the same boat as you alittle more than 3 months ago. After months of fertility treatments I finally got pregnant but my hcg levels were good but my progesterone was pretty low so they started me on 200mg 4X's a day of progesterone. When I went in for my first ultrasound at 8 weeks it was determined that my baby had pa__sed away at 6 weeks even though my hcg levels continued to rise. So I stopped the progesterone and had bleeding for two weeks and then finally had the miscarriage naturally (which I would suggest a dnc to be less tramatic on you). If you do it naturally I will warn you as no one else did me that it feels like light labor with BAD back pain and cramping. I had to push the "tissue" out. Sorry to be so graphic but that is what we are here for to share with each other what no one else will. I don't want anyone else to be unaware and horrified like I was. But the good news is I am 7 weeks pregnant again (after only one period) and doing okay with the help of 200mg 4x's a day. The trick that worked for me is my doctor started me on prgesterone 48 hours after ovulation. The best of luck to you Anne and remember the first 3 months after a miscarriage is your most fertile time.

Kimberly--thanks for the post. I have miscarried now. My doc gave me Cytotec-sp? to prep for a D&C and it "worked" before I made it to the hospital. I've had 2 babies and it was VERY much like full-term labor. I've also read that the first 3 cycles after first trimester miscarrige are very fertile and we're hoping that holds true for us. The doses of progesterone seem to vary considerably...800 q day is much higher than most of the other women on this site are taking. How bad are the side effects? I'll be hitting my doc up for pre-conception prog., but am concerned about being able to work--I'm a nurse and am on my feet for 12 hours at a time. Thanks again for the response and congratulations on conceiving again.

Anne, I hope your miscarriage was not too tramatic for you. I hope being informed, if you were able to read my e-mail before hand, I hope the info helped. The prometrium that I am taking made me tired when I started it right after ovulation but not like it does when you truly are pregnant. I tell you after our experience you can handle more than you think. Knowing that taking this drug is possibly saving your childs life can make you tolerate all the symptoms more easily. I'm not going to lie, to keep any food down these days is impossible but I say that as long as I continue to be sick that means I am continuing to be pregnant. The amount I am taking does seem to be effecting my thinking and reaction skills, which would not be good for a nurse, but at lower levels like my sister(200mg/day) you could be nearly uneffected. The best of luck next time around! Just write if you need anything else.

I am not sure how far along I am because my Dr, thought I might have a tubal pregnancy. I had a us in the Dr. office and he didn't see anything so I went to the hospital at approx. 4-5 weeks and they saw a sac and the yolk that feeds the fetus until the placenta forms. I am going today for another us at the Dr. office and am concerned that he still won't see anything because the tech said it was to early to see anything in the sac. It has only been 5 days since the last us. Should I be concerned if the Dr doesn't see anything still??? I have started progesterone and it has only been 5 days. my level was 4 when the first blood work was done but my hcg levels have been doubling everyweek. Should I let the Dr. make me panic again if he shouldn't see anything???

If you are 4-5 weeks, now maybe 6, since the start of your last period, they probably will be able to confirm a pregnancy, but not much else. They may or may not see a heartbeat, depending on really how far along you are. What you should ask the doctor is how your hcg levels are progressing. If they are doubling every 2-3 days, then you may be ok, but use the progesterone.

I am going through the same issues. I am at a level 13(HCG) but I do not know what my progeterone level is. Does anyone know if these two correlate with each other. Has anyone had a low HCG level?

Amy--I don't know how far along you are, but an hCG of 13 is very low. Have you seen your doc again? HCG and progesterone are both important (by my understanding) but a pregnancy can be viable with a low prog. and I believe a low hCG is more ominous. I hope that is not the case with you.

I have found out that my Hcg level is now over 8,000 and the progesterone is now up to 6. I am going to the hospitals prenatal unit on Thurs for another ultrasound. I am hoping for the best but really don't think there is a problem because my numbers keep going up. Thanks for the input.