HCG Levels and Progesterone levels

[liverpoollegend]

My wife and I have been trying desparetly to get preg for 3 years. We
finally got some good news this month. She was 10 days late and a home
preg. test came back positive. We went to the Dr.'s to confirm and sure
enough it was positive. Her HCG level was in the 500's, but her
progesterone level was low. She started taking injections of
progesterone two days ago (Dr.'s orders) and the Dr. wants to retest
her levels today. Is this normal? Is the HCG level low? So confusing!

[Ericka Kammerer]

liverpoollegend wrote:

> My wife and I have been trying desparetly to get preg for 3 years. We
> finally got some good news this month. She was 10 days late and a home
> preg. test came back positive. We went to the Dr.'s to confirm and sure
> enough it was positive. Her HCG level was in the 500's, but her
> progesterone level was low. She started taking injections of
> progesterone two days ago (Dr.'s orders) and the Dr. wants to retest
> her levels today. Is this normal?

Yes.

> Is the HCG level low? So confusing!

You can't really tell much of anything with just one
hcg level. What you're looking for is rising hcg levels, so
you need multiple data points. That's what the doctor is
looking for. You'll know a lot more once you've got the
next set of test results. If they're going up significantly,
that's good news. If they're dropping, that's not good
news.

Best wishes,
Ericka

[[email protected]]

I had a similar start to my current pregnancy and am doing ok now - I
will be taking the extra progesterone through the entire first
trimester. My levels actually dropped and then went back up. We saw a
heartbeat at 6 weeks and are praying for the best - I'm 9 weeks along
now. Ericka is right on the comparative data - it will tell you a lot
more than the initial levels. Tell your wife to be prepared for some
heavy side effects from the progesterone - they are basically the same
as pregnancy symptoms but seem (at least for me) to have more highs and
lows.

Best wishes for a healthy pregnancy!
- Amy

[V.]

"liverpoollegend" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> My wife and I have been trying desparetly to get preg for 3 years. We
> finally got some good news this month. She was 10 days late and a home
> preg. test came back positive. We went to the Dr.'s to confirm and sure
> enough it was positive. Her HCG level was in the 500's, but her
> progesterone level was low. She started taking injections of
> progesterone two days ago (Dr.'s orders) and the Dr. wants to retest
> her levels today. Is this normal? Is the HCG level low? So confusing!
>

Here's a great website with info about HCG levels, doubling rates, etc.
http://www.ivfer.com/hcg.htm

If this was a natural cycle (non IVF or IUI) you look at the "days post
HCG" chart, figure out how many days she is past ovulation, add one (HCG
shots induce ovulation 1 or 2 days later) and look at that relevant line.
If she is 10 days late, she's prob. approx. 24 days past ovulation, which is
too late to use the "early HCG levels and outcome" chart. If this was a
natural cycle, you can't really be sure about ovulation date, but if
charting should be able to make an estimate.

Once you get the second level, use the doubling calculator. This should be
more accurate because it doesn't depend on ovulation date.

Good luck!
Amy