May cycle buddies :)

[Kamaile]

my numbers were 223 at 10dp5dt and 426 at 12dp5dt....kind of close to your numbers Purple...and i only have one....i guess it just goes to show how the beta numbers vary by individual.

[purpleFish]

too funny, betas are so different for everyone!


I am getting excited tomorrow my parents fly in and Sunday we will have a big dinner with my parents and my in-laws and announce the good news.

[lisadcb]

Purplefish - Mine are much higher than yours, given the fact I haven't even reached 9dp5dt yet (which would be tomorrow and the time you took your first beta)...which is leaving me really thinking that it can't be anything but twins. I am trying to mentally prepare myself for it, but feeling very overwhelmed!! I know that I will feel blessed to have twins, but that won't stop me from freaking out. But I am also worried that it could be a molar pregnancy. I compared my beta to the chart on betabase.info and I am on the way high end for those reporting a singleton, twins and triplets on 13 days past ovulation...so that is something else I get to worry about. I guess I just need to be patient til my 7/7 scan...it seems like such a longer wait than the original 2ww.

[lisadcb]

Now I am reading about high HCG levels being linked to down syndrome...UGH!!! It is driving me insane!!!

[purpleFish]

lisadcb - I know that 2ww is so hard. Your numbers seem a bit high, but not over the top to me. Your second number is in the right range for twins. At 8dp5dt you would be at 13days past ovulation the highest level reported for that for twins was 1823, and you are well below that. For your first beta there really isn't a lot of data not many people get a beta 6days past ovulation=) I am sure that you will go in and have a wonderful ultrasound! Try not to drive yourself insane with bad thoughts, stay positive and remind yourself there is one (or two) healthy baby growing like crazy inside you! The good part about having a later ultrasound is that you will be able to hear/see the heartbeats, which is wonderful! Once you hear a strong heartbeat my RE told me the miscarriage rate goes down to about 3%. Don't freak out about twins either, I know easier said than done. Twins can be a lot of work, but they are so worth it, I have two little best friends that I wouldn't trade for anything. We can be ultrasound buddies that day too=) I go in for my 10 week scan that day. I will be thinking of you for sure!

[Kamaile]

Lisa, try not to stress...i know easier said than done....my doctor always tells me not to read too much into things....im sure everything will be fine...but i know what you are going thru....i do the same thing.

[TammyS]

Lisa...I have come to conclusion that betas mean nothing. Seriously, lol. I have been on these boards almost daily for 2.5 yrs now (its an obsession, lol)...and have also known several women on my local mommys board whom have been through IVF 1-2x's as well...and have seen some crazy crazy betas.

A real life friend of mine had unbelievably high betas...964 for her first....27,820 for her second! No kidding. Everyone thought for sure that 1 of the 2 that she put back must have split and that she was looking at triplets...her number should have been around 100 for her first beta according to our doc (we have the same doc). She only had 1 very healthy little girl in there. Same girl...just last week...got back her first beta from a FET for baby #2...and it was 285...now she is freaking out because she was spoiled with those crazy high numbers from baby #1. lol

Another girl whom I know from here in my cycle group from Jan '08 that Rio and I know....had extremely low betas...13, 23, 37...and she was told to stop all meds...she didnt listen...and her numbers went up to 106 and then finally 1182...and she was carrying TWINS!

My beta numbers from IVF #1 and my second attempt with FET...were exactly the same...exacty...524. Weird huh? lol Zach is a very healthy 21 month old...I miscarried our second. See what I mean?

For whatever reason...some babies produce more hcg and some less...none of it really means a thing. Yes, sometimes it can be an indicator of multiples...but it's really not as good of an indicator as docs once thought. Most docs/nurses wont even comment as to whether they think your numbers look like twins...because they have been wrong more than right. lol

Betas are good for one thing...watching the numbers go up...indicating a healthy pregnancy. They also dont say double every 2 days either anymore....they want to see them go up by at least 66% every 2 days or double every 48-72 hrs. Even then...I have seen some girls go up very very slowly...no where near a 66% increase and they have very healthy children.

Anyhow, my point is...Please dont let beta numbers worry you. You are pregnant and your numbers look terrific! I am so very happy for you...and you have nothing to worry about! Congratulations!

[Kamaile]

Tammy, thanks for writing that....that was very interesting and im sure it will put alot of minds at ease....many of us worry about our betas being too high or too low and it just really varies by individual pregnancy and this just proves it...thanks!

[riogirl71]

Tess - any news? Can you get your OB to order an HCG to help figure things out? Seems like a long wait to Friday. Pm if you need to. Yes, I had many symptoms and very strong, basically dizziness and exhaustion are my sure tell signs of pregnancy and I had those very strongly. Sense of smell too. I am going to be very honest with you, but keep in mind that I am praying that your numbers are high and that everything is well. If I could go back, I would have chosen to end this sooner. Waiting has just caused me more heartache and phisical hardship. I hope you don't have to go through this but if your numbers are truly not going up as they should but also not going down, please get an honest opinion from RE. I waited too long with betas rising slowly - they still are rising slowly even after my shot on Wednesday, on Sunday they reached 876! Again, I pray all is well, but I also don't want anyone here to suffer needlessly.

[lisadcb]

Thanks Tammy...

[Kamaile]

hope everyone is doing well....got my 'real' ultrasound tomorrow with my RE....a 'confirming' ultrasound is what they call it....hope my little bean is doing good and growing as he/she should....oh also i bought the Intelligender....will try it in a couple weeks and see what it says...then i will confirm the results at 16 weeks when i go to get my gender u/s and see it if was accurate.

[mev0630]

Hi Ladies!

We had our 2nd U/S today at 6w3d, saw heart contractions in BOTH embryos! So exciting! RE is releasing us to our regular Ob/Gyn. We're all done seeing him, he just asked that we promise the send pictures We have our first Ob appt on Wednesday and I, of course, have a whole page of questions ready for her!

He also said I could stop the Estrace and E2 vaginal suppositories (yay!). I have one more week of Crinone 8% gel, and 3 more weeks of baby aspirin. Then I'll only be on Prenatal vitamins and folic acid.

So, now that we've seen heart contractions I now feel comfortable using the words "I'm pregnant" and "twins". I even went to the library to pick up a few books. On the hunt for a good pregnancy journal. Hope everyone is doing well!

[Kamaile]

wow Mev, thats exciting....congrats!!!! hope i have good results tomorrow too. you are lucky to be getting off most of your meds...my RE said he wants me to stay on progesterone and estradiol injections until im at least 10 weeks! ugh i can barely stand these shots any more...i am all bruised and knotted up already lol

[bei]

quick update

hi hope u all doing great i m feeling littel bit better than last week it just i m having littel weekness anybody has so much weekness all the time i get so tired i caant seat for a while i know i havent come to the board but i will try to catch up u ladies sorry about this i will talk to u later hopefully i can able do personal later bye takecare

[Tess69]

Hi all

Bei - so glad to hear that you are feeling a little better this week. Am looking forward to an update when you have a bit more time.

Mev - fantastic stuff! You must be very excited - getting away from all the IVF stuff and into normality

Kamaille - all the very best for your real ultrasound tomorrow.

Rio - thank you so much for your words of wisdom. I really appreciate it and totally understand what you are talking about re finding out sooner rather than later. It's such a difficult call weighing up the slight possibility of a viable pregnancy against stopping medication etc at an early stage. I've been trying to get my head around this over the last few days.

I woke up on Sunday morning feeling much more positive i.e. I can take whatever comes my way. I rang the clinic last night and had a chat to the nurse and she agreed that I should have a bloodtest sooner than Friday. So I had one this morning and my HCG was 780 which is not bad considering my last one was 112 on Friday. So I'm not too far off the 66% rise a day. The nurse said that I'm back in the 50th percentile and should proceed with caution. I have another bloodtest next Monday but will ask if I can bring it forward to Friday. So there is hope but I have acknowledged Rio's advice and will definitely seek a firm opinion if the number doesn't continue to rise at a decent rate.

Anyway, sorry about the novel. Am looking forward to everybody else's updates.