hCG levels are up!
This morning I went in for my second blood test. I would not have been too nervous about it if I hadn’t detected some sort of spotting last night. It wasn’t easily identifiable, and I wasn’t into examining it. Don’t worry about it, I told myself. My sister said it was normal but to tell the doctor anyway. The constant fatigue and crampy pressure in my abdomen does not help me feel equipped to deal with minor worries. But, I’ve learned to like the crampy pressure. I now trust that it is a good sign.
I tell the nurse about the spotting. Was it brown? she asks. No. Was it red? No. It was pink. Furrowed brow. Bright red concerns us, she said. But “pink” is just another fuzzy line in this mysterious business of procreation.
I tell myself not to be nervous, but I am alarmed when the office left a message at 3:30. Usually I call them. But it is fine. The hCG levels had increased to 148 (it was 56 on Monday). This is good. If pregnant, hCG levels double every 72 hours. With the increase in my levels, the doctor isn’t concerned about the spotting, and there is no more pink nor brown nor red. I know this is just the beginning of many foreign bodily ejections and many worrisome, unexplained physical quirks.
pvedmom said,
April 24, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Okay so let’s breathe a bit — and talk about IVF pregnancy 101. While bleeding isn’t normal it’s VERY common with IVF pregnancies. There’s just something about the nature of the beast that causes oodles of women to bleed. I bled for 25 weeks and my son is going on 8.
Brown blood is old implantation blood. Don’t sweat it. Pink blood means you probably have irritated your cervix. Bright red is what we call “Frank Bleeding” or “Active Bleeding” - and yes *sometimes* this is a cause for concern.
So your RE is right — you had a perfect doubling. We like to see doubling at least by 66% every 48-72 hours. You are well within that window. What’s your progesterone (p4) level? that needs to be above 25. Low P4 levels can cause spotting. What kind of P4 support are you using? Injections? Suppositories? Pills?
Are you drinking at least 96 ounces of water a day? If not you really need to be. Dehydration can cause spotting.
There are many reasons for bleeding — you could have a little tear in the placenta as it has attached to the uterus, those typically resolve. You could have developed a subchorionic-hematoma which resolve in time.
You will know more once you have your first ultrasound and see that wonderful little heart beat. Hang in there