# HCG LOW, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?



## LILIWEN

HI RUTH OR ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE.  I HAD A HCG LEVEL OF 35 ON DAY 30 WHICH MEANS AS YOU SAID PREVIOUSLY RUTH, I AM PREGNANT BUT THE LEVEL IS LOW.  WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?  IS IT LIKELY THAT I WILL MISCARRY OR IS IT NO INDICATION OF THIS RISK AND I MAY HAVE AS GOOD AS CHANCE AS ANYONE ELSE OF HAVING A HEALTHY PREGNANCY? IM SO WORRIED THAT I CAN'T GET EXCITED.  CLINIC NURSE SAID THAT DOCTOR DIDN'T WANT ME TO HAVE ANOTHER BLOOD TEST BUT BOOKED ME IN FOR A SCAN AT 7 WEEKS( IF I REACH 7 WEEKS).  THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP.


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## Mrs CW

Hi Liliwen
I'm not a nurse but sounds to me like you're pregnant.  It all depends on what day in the cycle you take the test - I was told by my clinic that an HCG over 4 was a pregnancy, and over 40 is going well, so 35 should be OK.  I think people's HCG levels can completely differ at the beginning and the level now doesn't necessarily indicate whether you'll miscarry or not unless it's very very low.  Eg I once had a level of 2 which meant I had already miscarried very early.

The only way to really tell things are going well is if the HCG levels are doubling every 72 hours or so.  You could try to press for another blood test to check this in a few days if you are really worried. But I think if you're doctor hasn't recommended another blood test then they're confident that you are pregnant at the moment. No one can be sure whether they'll make it to the 7 week scan, it's just one of those things - welcome to the world of worrysome mum-to-be!! 

If you do an internet search on 'beta HCG' you will find a number of websites (can't remember them all now) which give the ranges of levels women have when first pregnant and have later gone on to have full term pregnancies.  You'll see from there that they vary hugely, so try not to worry. 

congrats (if you're prepared to believe it!)
Claire


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## Mrs CW

Here you go I found those sites again for you - as you can see the lower levels can be around 9 - 18 for some people in the first few weeks and all the websites say not to get too worried about the numbers themselves.

http://www.birth.com.au/class.asp?class=6620&page=8
http://www.americanpregnancy.org/duringpregnancy/hcglevels.html
http://www.childbirth.org/articles/pregnancy/betas.html

Good luck,
Claire x


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## LILIWEN

Thanks Claire, it does help when someone out there can advise.  just keep my fingers crossed now. Good luck to you. xx


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## CLARETTC

when you say day 30 do you mean dpt of embryos? If so it is low, hcg doubles actually every 48-hrs from implantaion, a level on its own can not indicate if the pg is ongoing or not, really you should have them checked again. Slow rising hcg can also indicate an ectopic pregnancy or an impending miscarriage but this is difficult to say as you have only had one level done. Let us know how you get on hun, as you can see i have been through this myself a few times , just hoping things will be ok for you xx


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## Stringbob

Hi Liliwen,

Once again how many days after ec or et was your blood taken.  We had low hcg on first positive 12 days after embryo transfer it was 46.  It did more than double 48 hours later, but unfortunately I went on to miscarry later.  We questioned our consultant about what levels should be expected.  He said he hopes to see anything over 100 14 days after embryo transfer.  When we had our bloods taken this time (12 days after et) we got a reading of 76.2, and nurses said anything 50 or above was normal at this stage.

Good luck with your pregnancy,  Lisa x


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## LILIWEN

i took clomid (5th cycle) and had hcg on day15.  the 35 level was 15 days post hcg injection.  i am so worried.


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## Ruth

If that level was 15 days after hcg then I would def. say you are pregnant. It would have been nice to have another level done but not necessary. A scan is the next step.

Ruth


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