Hi all - I was googling info and came across this site & thought I would post for some help/advice/opinions.

2 weeks agon my daughter did a home preg test & came back positive. Called the dr & scheduled her an appt end of July. A week ago she started spotting (brown), Sun & Mon she was cramping & blood turned red so she called dr. They ordered ultrasound, tech told her she couldnt see anything and that she probably was never pregnant or had miscarried (but felt if it was miscarrigage she would be able to see a scar or "something" on ultrasound). Dr had her go for hcg - the level was 224. She needed to have test repeated in 2 days to see if the level would increase or decrease. It increased to 576. She was then spotting bright red & cramping, so dr told her to go to ER to check for possible ectopic pregnancy & repeat ultrasound. This again showed nothing & ER dr sent her home. She is to have hcg recheck tomorrow.

My questions... With level in 500, could they even see anything if she were pregnant? And just because she's spotting bright red, does this automatically mean miscarriage? Of course they're both upset & just want answers as to whats going on & if she's pregnant or not. In my opinion, I dont think it was up to that Tech to tell her she doubted that she was pregnant or she had miscarried. I'm thinking that since the levels are increasing instead of decreasing she could be pregnant & it's just too early to detect anything on ultrasound?? I thought I would post & see if anyone's been thru anything similar to this. I was too impatient to read all the posts, so my questions may have been already answered. One thing that guaranteed... time will tell

Welcome to the board. I'm an ultrasound tech so I have some of that hcg info crammed in my head. We cannot see a pregnancy until the hcg level is 1000 - and that's by transvaginal ultrasound. By abdominal ultrasound the number has to be approx 1800. So the numbers your daughter has is too low to see by ultrasound yet.

Another important key is the fact that her hcg level is doubling every two days. This is showing a couple of things. 1) she is still pregnant and hasn't miscarried yet since the numbers are increasing, not decreasing. 2) ectopic pregnancies have hcg levels that increase but they do so more slowly. They don't double every 2 days like a normal pregnancy. So this is hopeful that her pregnancy is indeed in the uterus.

Now please be cautious. Just because the numbers are increasing appropriately doesn't mean the pregnancy will continue to be successful. It sounds like she's having a bit of bleeding and cramping. Spotting and mild cramping is normal but the heavier stuff can be a foreboding sign. Be hopeful yet guarded at the same time. I hope everything works out for you guys

Thank you nicholerh for replying. What you said makes sense to me. She hasnt been bleeding heavy, only spotting. She is also cramping, but not severe cramps. I got confused wondering why they were doing the sonograms (she had the abdominal & transvaginal) so early. I could understand if the bleeding was heavy and continuous, but she's only spotting. She had the repeat of the hcg levels today so I will continue to be hopeful but guarded. I think that's great advice & thank you

Hi There,

I was wondering, did your daughter get her Hcg levels back today?

I hope everything turns out well for them.

Keep us updated!

Hi & thanks for asking
Sat the level was in the 800's, todays level was over 1200 (forget exact numbers). She goes tomorrow for another songram, so I'm hoping that will go good. I guess I'm behind in times because I had never heard of doing all these tests so soon. I guess its good to be cautious, but I had always thought spotting/cramping was normal. From the tech telling her not pregnant or she had miscarried, to the dr suggesting ectopic pregnancy... it's very confusing to me. I'm remaining hopeful

That all sounds great! Let us know how the ultrasound goes tomorrow. Hopefully we'll see some definite progress. Don't wig out if the tech doesn't find a fetal pole yet. A sac with a yolk sac would be a very welcome sign of things progressing even without the embryo visible yet.

a stat some of the docs I work with quote is 1 in 4 successful pregnancies have spotting/bleeding to some degree. So yeah it's fairly common. It sure does freak people out though.

I just wanted to thank you for your help thru this time. She was to have the sonogram on Tues - that day she started with heavy bleeding. They were doing bloodwork daily and the levels were still rising until Thursday. On Thursday they dropped dramatically and at her dr appt she was told she had miscarried. They are continuing with the bloodwork until it's back down & will see if she needs a D&C. She's still bleeding heavy and her poor arms are swollen & black from all the bloodwork. All things happen for a reason - at least now she has an answer & can start to heal physically & mentally.

i'm very sorry it worked out the way it did - i had my fingers crossed for you guys! But yes it all happens for a reason and trust me, if it's going to happen it's better sooner than later. I hope her body is able to take care of it on its own.

I hope next time has a different end result