After my semi-meltdown last night after realizing my HCG levels hadn’t doubled, I did what any rational person would do and researched the fuck out of my situation.
Here is the basic breakdown:
In a 48-hour period, doctors are looking for a doubled increase of levels. So say my HCG was 10 on the first day, they would expect to see 20 in 48 hours.
When my levels were checked on Thursday, I was well over 18,000 so the doctors were looking for a number of 36,000 or higher that Saturday. When my levels were checked on Saturday, I was close to 28,000. It was roughly a 50% increase.
I panicked because in my experience with pregnancies (which isn’t a lot) I was told that my levels needed to double no matter what. It also didn’t help that the NP who called me was rude, insensitive, and basically asked me if I was experiencing any signs of a miscarriage.
After my husband managed to talk me off the ledge, and insisted that our little peanut is fine, I started doing some research.
Turns out that after HCG levels pass 6,000, it can take up to 96 hours for them to double. When I worked out the percentages, mine are doubling at a rate of every 82 hours, which is PERFECTLY FINE. Also, there is currently a movement in Obstetrics pushing for the doubling standard to be reset to a 35% increase because of the number of misdiagnosed miscarriages recorded in the past 10 years.
I’m still worried, if only because I am terrified of the idea of miscarrying again, but I also feel more confident that everything is fine with our bean. I have an ultrasound scheduled a week from today and I’ll be 7w1d, so we should definitely be able to see the little nugget by then and hopefully a strong and healthy heartbeat.
I’m resisting the temptation to call the radiology department to see if I can get in early because if something is going to go wrong, there isn’t anything I can do to change it, and if everything is fine, then I’d rather wait a week anyway to make sure we can actually see the baby.
Keep your fingers crossed for me! Hopefully next week I’ll have good news!
Loading comments...