Baby measuring week behind / crazy hcg levels???

[brit1612]

I posted on the IVF board, but I thought that ya'll might have some similar stories. Please let me know what ya'll think.

This is my fourth ivf and we got a bfp for the 2nd time. First time ended in miscarrage, and we never saw anything but a sac. When we went in for our first ultrasound this time we saw fetal pole and the heartbeat. This was very encouraging, but the baby was measuring 6 days behind. We went back three days later and the fetus had grown three days worth, but our hcg levels dropped. Two days later hcg shot up and the baby kept growing. Three days after that the baby was still growing but the hcg dropped quite a bit. I just don't know what to think, the baby has grown contiuously and is still measuring 6 days behind, but I don't know what to think of these crazy hcg levels. Has anyone seen any stories like this?? We are extra nervous considering we have already had one miscarrage. Also my hcg levels are fairly low. After the last drop they were three thousand, five hundred, and....?? We go back on Thursday, but I just wish I could know what to expect.

Thanks for any help or advice.

[riogirl71]

They never measured my Hcg levels after about 16dp3dt but I have heard of other posts where the baby measured a week behind and everything was fine, as long as they keep growing. Good luck!!! Congratulations on your BFP.

[SilverAngel679]

Tell your RE to stop driving you crazy like that. Ugh! It makes me so mad when they do things like this.
Most RE's don't do HCG levels after seeing the first heart beat and the preganancy is considered viable because the numbers become irrelevent at that point.
And if you ask any OB or look it up on the internet, you'll find that there is a margin of error for a week in either direction when it comes to ultrasounds.
Your baby is growing just the way it should it seems. Don't let them make you nervous becuase if your not bleeding, cramping or don't see a heartbeat on your scans your just fine. The numbers don't mean squat at this point.
Enjoy your pregnancy and lots of baby dust to you!!!!

[brit1612]

Thank ya'll so much for the encouraging words. I keep hearing that most people don't get hcg levels after they start ultrasounds, but since I am getting them it is really hard to ignore them. I go back on Thursday, and I will let ya'll know how it goes.

Thanks again, and congrats on ya'lls pregnancies!!

[brit1612]

I just wanted to give ya'll an update. My hcg levels went back up about 1,ooo points, and we saw what looked like a second sac. The doc says that this could explain some of what the numbers have been doing. The doc seemed very optimistic at the appointment yesterday even though the baby's growth had slowed down a little. It has been measuring 6 days behind and now it is measuring 8 days behind. He said that the heartbeat looked very good and he was not as concerned about the growth.

Later that afternoon I got a call saying to increase my progesterone shots from 1cc to 2cc. I found out today that my level had dropped to an 11.2, I am very worried about this because I know how important the progesterone is. Does anyone know why it would drop, or ever had this happen?? My progesterone levels have been fine all through my other 3 ivf's.

Thanks for any help.

[unexplained infertility]

brit-
I wish i had something encouraging to say but I had a similar situation, although not exactly. My hcg levels were within a limit but on the low side, baby was growing slowly. We saw the heartbeat week later than we should have, and the baby was measuring 7 days late.
The docs convinced us that it is ok, I just had 2 and 3 cell embies when transferred on day 3 (should have been 8 cell) and it took a while for the one that implanted to grow. SO I was trying not to worry, but just this week, being 21 weeks pregnant I found out that the baby has chromosomal abnormalities (trisomy 18) and will most likely not survive till birth. We are wondering what we should do right now- terminate or continue.
I certainly dont want to scare you, but if I were you, I would definitely do genetic testing as early as possible. Amnio is the most reliable and can be done at 12-13 weeks already.

I hope that everything will turn out ok in your case. The growth might have slowed down because of the other sac. I really wish you all the best. Keep us posted.

[esperanza]

Unexplained--I'm SO SO sorry you're going through this. I'll be thinking about you dh as you two go through such a hard time in your lives. Hugs to you my dear.