Pregnancy - Hormone Levels - - Need Input

For those of you who know anything about pregnancy hormone levels, if they are over 11,000 by the 5th week, do you think there is a good chance that things are normal? I have looked on the internet, and it seems ok, but when the doctor did an ultrasound at what we THOUGHT was the 5th week, they could barely see a sac.

The doctor said that either her dates are messed up or it is VERY tiny. Having said that, when she first found out she was pregnant (period was about 1 day late), it read 582 (and the ultrasound didn't even show a sac yet (the hospital didn't even think she WAS pregnant, except her levels stated otherwise). Five days later when she had the second ultrasound the levels were up to 5800 and two days after that it was over 11,000. They have scheduled another ultrasound for the 9th.

There is so much info on the internet, so I was wondering if anyone had specifically gone through these "level" things and what we might expect to be "normal" - - if there is such a thing.

Thank you in advance.
 

busywend

Well-Known Member
I found this with a search:


Key things to remember about hCG levels:
In a bout 85% of normal pregnancies, the hCG level will double every 48 - 72 hours. As you get further along in pregnancy and the hCG level gets higher, the time it takes to double can increase to about every 96 hours.
Caution must be used in making too much of hCG numbers. A normal pregnancy may have low hCG levels and result in a perfectly healthy baby. The results from an ultrasound after 5 - 6 weeks gestation are much more accurate than using hCG numbers.
An hCG level of less than 5mIU/ml is considered negative for pregnancy, and anything above 25mIU/ml is considered positive for pregnancy.
The hCG hormone is measured in milli-international units per milliliter (mIU/ml).
A transvaginal ultrasound should be able to show at least a gestational sac once the hCG levels have reached between 1,000 - 2,000mIU/ml. Because levels can differentiate so much and conception dating can be wrong, a diagnosis should not be made by ultrasound findings until the hCG level has reached at least 2,000.
A single hCG reading is not enough information for most diagnoses. When there is a question regarding the health of the pregnancy, multiple testings of hCG done a couple of days apart give a more accurate assessment of the situation.
The hCG levels should not be used to date a pregnancy since these numbers can vary so widely.
There are two common types of hCG tests. A qualitative hCG test detects if hCG is present in the blood. A quantitative hCG test (or beta hCG) measures the amount of hCG actually present in the blood.
Guideline to hCG levels during pregnancy:
hCG levels in weeks from LMP (gestational age)* :

3 weeks LMP: 5 - 50 mIU/ml
4 weeks LMP: 5 - 426 mIU/ml
5 weeks LMP: 18 - 7,340 mIU/ml
6 weeks LMP: 1,080 - 56,500 mIU/ml
7 - 8 weeks LMP: 7, 650 - 229,000 mIU/ml
9 - 12 weeks LMP: 25,700 - 288,000 mIU/ml
13 - 16 weeks LMP: 13,300 - 254,000 mIU/ml
17 - 24 weeks LMP: 4,060 - 165,400 mIU/ml
25 - 40 weeks LMP: 3,640 - 117,000 mIU/ml
Non-pregnant females: <5.0 mIU/ml
Postmenopausal females: <9.5 mIU/ml
* These numbers are just a GUIDELINE-- every woman’s level of hCG can rise differently. It is not necessarily the level that matters but rather the change in the level.
 

AllStressedOut

New Member
Is it possible she is having an ectopic pregnancy? I may be spelling that wrong, but it's where the egg attaches to the filopian (sp?) tubes and starts developing there. If this is the case, she will need to have it removed. It could cause the tube to rupture.
 
Thank you for all of the info Busywend. It is amazing how much these levels can vary, but it just kills me when the doctor makes comments like "well we will see at the next ultrasound if everything is progressing". easy child really does like this doctor, but she is making her nervous too by making comments like that. I guess because she went into the doctor so early, they just don't want to confirm much of anything. She wouldn't even give her a due date until the ultrasound confirms a little being is actually growing in there (of course, we could figure it out ourselves too).

I know this is going to sound twisted, but now that she found out this news, she and b/f both quit smoking, there is no more recreational "fun", (if you know what I mean) and she is already taking prenatals. Even though I consider her my easy child, she still had some typical teenage "fun" with her friends, although very minor. I'm glad she has put it all behind her for the moment.
 
Top