# Did I have a chemical pregnancy or not?



## Singers (Apr 26, 2010)

Hi All,

I really hope someone can help me. I've just completed my first ICSI cycle. I was on a long protocol and had two 3-day embryos transferred. My OTD was 16 days after ER and during my 2WW I was given progesterone support (crinone gel) daily and HCG support (20units of pregnyl - so not the full dose which is 50 units) 4 days and 7 days after ET (so 12 days and 9 days before my OTD).
I had a blood test on my OTD and was told it's a BFP but my HCG level was 41, which I was told was on the low side. 48 hours later the level dropped to 35 and another 48 hours later it dropped to 16. I have been told to stop all the medication and have a final repeat HCG in 1 weeks time then a follow-up consultation.

My main concern is whether or not this is defined as a chemical pregnancy or whether it was the effect of the HCG injection that was given to me during the 2WW?


Of course I am devastated but it would make a world of difference if I knew that there was a possibility of a pregnancy, rather than this being a false positive result.

Would really appreciate your advice.
Singers


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## Mistletoe (Holly) (Jan 1, 2007)

It is recommended that you wait at least 10-14 days after an HCG injection to test. It could be that the medication was still in your system.
It is impossible to say.


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## Singers (Apr 26, 2010)

Thanks a lot for the advice Hazel. Would this advice also apply to a lower dose of pregnyl of 20units or only the full dose of pregnyl?

I wonder if it's common practice to give HCG injections during the 2WW? Perhaps I should speak to my consultant about avoiding these for my next cycle in order to avoid any possible false positives or maybe delay my OTD date?

Thanks again,
Singers


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## Mistletoe (Holly) (Jan 1, 2007)

It unfortunately depends on so many variables including dose, how many doses you have had over what time period, but also your body size, composition, rate of metabolism and how much you excrete.
The half life (how long it takes for the levels to drop to half, and you need 5 half lives for the drug to be virtually undetectable) of any drug is a range over a population.

The only way you could really have said it was coming from an embryo is to have a very low level that then increased steadily.

It seems to be part of some protocols to try and assist supporting the potential pregnancy to give top ups of HCG in the 2ww.


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## BikerGirl (Mar 15, 2006)

Hi!
Sorry your tx didn't result in the bfp you were longing for. I have read of ladies being given hcg support on 2ww. I myself was given something similar in the form of a really huge dose of hcg for my trigger shot, due to the fact that I always started bleeding before test date. I was told it was to 'stabilise the endometrium'. When I got my bfp in tx I tested (blood test) 14 days after trigger and even then we couldn't be sure if it was from pregnancy or trigger until it started to rise. At my repeat test I was told that it could actually go down (ie would be from medication), rise (from pgcy) or rise a little but not to worry, as I could still be eliminating the trigger while the baby would be making more..if that makes any sense. As it was my levels doubled but I was prepared for the fact that hcg levels could be dodgy after my very large trigger shot.
Sending you hugs!
X


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## Singers (Apr 26, 2010)

Hopeful Hazel -- thank you again for your advice. Your messages suggests that if it was a pregnancy then the level would have risen initially. Does that mean as my levels dropped gradually it is more likely to be the effect of the drug being eliminated form my body rather than a chemical pregnancy? My levels went from 41 to 35 to 16 then <2. Sorry to keep going on about this point and I know it may be difficult to say, but any advice would be much appreciated.  If a chemical pregnancy did happen then I am just concerned whether or not I have a possible implantation issue. 

Bikergirl -- thanks for your advice and I am so pleased that your HCG levels continued to rise rather than drop as in my case.
Miracles do happen as you say.


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## Mistletoe (Holly) (Jan 1, 2007)

It is difficult to say. The level of 41 could have been from an embryo or left over hcg support.
May be you should discuss it with the doctor.

If it had started off at 41 and then increased before dropping again then I could say that it was definitely from an embryo as it would have had to come from somewhere to rise, but since it did not and we do not know if it was lower than 41 a couple of days before then I can't say.


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## justy1 (Mar 16, 2011)

Hi there, 

I had the initial BFP for my first cycle. My levels at 6 weeks (was NHS funded so it was hard to get an hcg test at first) were 312, 352 then 321. They initially thought it was ectopic so I had a scan where they found a sac in my uterus but the embryo hadn't continue to grow within. It was a Blighted Ovum. I was advised to come off the progesterone (this was allowing the placenta to keep growing and give low levels of hcg) and I miscarried two days later.
BFP to me means the embryo attached and began to grow so I counted it as a pregnancy. Gutted as i was, I took some comfort in the fact my lining/uterus had provided the right environment for it to try and grow, but Blighted Ovum is a problem with the embryo/chromosomes and this would have been predetermined before ET, no one's fault just really bad luck.

Wishing you all the very best of luck for the future!!
xx


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