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Hey gals,
I'm not reaching out solely for sympathy or positive reinforcement, although I always leave these forums feeling better armed for this pregnancy...I'm more reaching out for straight-up answers and opinions from fellow pregnant women.
I have a general practitioner, Dr. Y, who practises family medicine and does not specialize in obstetrics and gynecology. Dr. Y was the first person I went to when I got a BFP, and all he did was have me POAS at his office at the end of the appointment to confirm my BFP. After doing that, he came back in the room and his exact words were "I don't mean to alarm you...there's a line, but it's faint." (so i'm sitting there thinking...you idiot, don't walk into a room with a pregnant woman and say 'i don't mean to alarm you.')
He sends me for 3 rounds of HCG blood testing. I go that day (Tuesday), then Thursday, and then Saturday. I had to call my doctors office on the following Monday and Tuesday to get the HCG level results, and they couldn't tell me anything difinitive except that they were rising, but not incredibly high. By the third test, my levels were at 497. They had expected them to be over 1000 by then.
I then went to the appointment at my gyno's office with the head RN. It was an amazing experience. They were so wonderful and positive. They had copies of my HCG tests because I had requested that copies of the results be sent there, as I knew I would be continuing my care with them once I was done with my GP. Nothing seemed to alarm them. That same day, Dr. Y's office called me and said he wanted to see me. They couldn't say why on the phone. (I HATE THAT).
I went to see him on this past Thursday, and he said he wanted to send me for 2 more HCG blood tests, and schedule an early ultrasound. He said that they were rising, but slowly. He also kept asking me over and over again about cramping. I haven't had anything unbearable, just slightly uncomfortable whenever I stretch out my torso. So I went that day and yesterday (Saturday) for bloodwork again (you should see my bruised arms). I have the ultrasound tomorrow at 9:45AM.
I was excited to get an ultrasound so early, because we should be able to see a heartbeat tomorrow, but that's only if everything is going as it should. I'm trying to fight back the 'stressed out' tears right now...I feel like I'm completely in the dark right now and no one in my life understands. I know that there is really nothing I can do right now except wait...but I almost feel like I don't deserve to get excited. And poor DH, He knows that this could temporarily break me if something were to happen, and he feels so helpless when i'm sad or in pain, so he's trying to just act normal and not bring it up at all until the appointment tomorrow. All I want to do is talk about it!!
I feel like my GP could have done a better job communicating with me. I don't mean withholding any concerns...I'm just not settled about the way in which I have had dealings with him these past few appointments. I also think...if there was a problem, don't you think they would have said something about it in my gyno's office? Why am I not happy about the fact that I'm getting so much attention with bloodwork and early ultrasounds??
Has anyone else had any funky HCG issues in early pregnancy?
Thanks for being my sounding board, ladies.
Ali.
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Alison
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Ali,
Here is some information that I found on the American Pregnancy Association website. Notice the first thing they say is not to base much on HCG levels and each woman is different and the information they are giving is an AVERAGE. I hope that everything goes well for you and it seems if there was something alarming that the OB RN would have said something....anyways, here is the website....not all the information is uplifting but as noted before each woman is different.
http://www.americanpregnancy.org/duringpregnancy/hcglevels.html
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Thanks mabnng, I'm reassured by the fact that the HCG levels aren't the 'pregnancy bible' and can vary...on that site it says:
It is not common for doctors to routinely check your hCG levels unless you are showing signs of a possible problem. A health care provider may recheck your levels if you are bleeding, experiencing severe cramping, or have a history of miscarriage.
And that's exactly what I was thinking...why is my GP wanting me to get my HCG tested five times? is there something he's not telling me? I guess tomorrow will tell! It's so hard to not let this consume my thoughts all day.
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Alison
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Ali good luck at yuor appt tomorrow, I'm sure everything will be just fine!
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-Markelle
All the best to you. Hope your u/s goes well and you get to hear a heartbeat
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Nancy The wait is FINALLY over...we're going to have a little GIRL!
Ali, your GP is checking stuff because he DOESN'T know..it's not his area of expertise. And you're right....if there were REAL cause for concern, your OB-GYN would've said something or recommended tests. I think that, after you have your u/s tomorrow and find out everything is fine (because that's what I believe is going to happen), that you should have the new blood test results and u/s sent to your OB, then politely tell your GP that you will be receiving the rest of your prenatal care from an OB. Perhaps the GP is under the impression that you want him to be your prenatal doc, because some GPs do prenatal care.
Your levels might be lower than "normal" (and I use that term loosely) because you Ov'd later than you expected, so you're not as far along as you assumed, or a million other reasons! If there are no other signs or symptoms that anything is wrong, then I think you're good to go. And BTW, mild, almost-AF-like cramps in the early stages of PG are VERY normal...that's just your uterus starting to grow (yep, already)!
Let us know how things go tomorrow! I go in for a "dating" u/s on Wed.
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-Jennifer C.
My GP knew that I had gone to see my OB and that I wouldn't be seeing him once I was all set up with my OB, but he didn't feel confident closing and handing off my file to another practice without covering all the bases I guess. I mean, I should be apreciative of the extra attention I'm getting...i know a lot of pregnant women don't get seen for a while!
Thanks so much everyone, I'll be sure to check in after my appointment to share my findings. I have to cool my jets and stop worrying so much. I was flipping through channels on satellite today while doing laundry and there were 4 channels with 'Friends' episodes, and Rachel is pregnant in all of them. Hard to keep my mind off of the little bean when PREGNANT is everywhere you look lol.
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Alison
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Ali,
You definitely deserve all the attention you're getting right now -- and it's true that you are very lucky to see your baby so early. They usually do that if the pregnancy needs more attention and care (eg. high risk pregnancies, where they can monitor for a healthy outcome). It's very good they're doing all these checks for you to be certain of a healthy pregnancy. I didn't get to hear my little one's heartbeat til 10 weeks and didn't get to see him/her on the u/s til I was 15weeks along already. It was a bit hard for me -- the anticipation and what not - it killed but I had to be patient. I also had to rush to the ER for every twinge/cramp I was feeling... little did I know it was all a HUGE part of being pregnant. (Maybe it's because I was also dying to get a peek at my baby). Luckily, it wasn't anything to do with my little one. Also, every GP, OB, etc are different from one another and they have different times when they want to see you for prenatal.
Anyway, I hope your ultrasound goes well tomorrow and you finally hear the heartbeat. It's great news that your HCG levels are rising, even if it's slow. It's really great that they're checking you out and even doing an ultrasound. Hope everything works out well for you, your hubby, and baby. It's totally understandable to feel the way you're feeling. I may not have enough experience mine being my first pregnancy - but I can definitely relate. Let's hope for only the best. Goodluck tomorrow!!!
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Ali- aso you said it seems like your GP is just covering the bases which I is a really good thing, a lot of doctors dont care becasue there isnt much they can do to help even though I'm sure it is freaking you out!
I hope your ultrasound goes great today!!
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Well, I’m back at work, returning from my ultrasound appointment. I’ll be honest, from the beginning of all this, it hasn’t been fun. I don’t feel like I am getting any positivity or definitive answers from the medical professionals I am seeing.
I went in there, 5 min before my app…and had to wait a LONG time before I was seen. Meanwhile, I have the worst pains due to my overfull bladder (I followed the instructions!). My bladder ended up being too full, so I had to get rid of some – not all – of it. That is hard to do!! The ultrasound tech got started, and said absolutely nothing. Took a ton of pictures, but said nothing. I was too afraid to ask. I knew she was working and looking for things so I didn’t want to distract her. She then said that she saw a gestational sac but nothing inside. GOOD GRIEF. So she sent me back to the bathroom to empty out my entire bladder, and come back so she could use the ‘probe’ insertion stick to get a better look. This showed the gestational sac and a yolk inside. No embryo, nothing beating. She wanted me to come back in 7-10 days to see if there was growth. She said that the picture showed that I was only about 5 weeks 4-6 days…which is weird. I mean, how is that possible? I ovulated right when I was supposed to, my cycles are regular, and she didn’t give me any information or positive reinforcement.
I also called my doctor’s office, and she said she didn’t have my latest HCG results back. My three original tests were 78, 230, 497. All 48 hours apart. I’m waiting on 2 more results.
I just want to know that my baby is growing, it’s healthy, and I’m fine! And NO ONE is telling me that!!
DH says I'm miserable right now. It's so hard, I've been fighting back tears all morning, even though there might not be anything wrong, but what if I just have a gestational sac in there and a yolk that stopped growing?? Or, if I am not as far along as I should be, did I possibly miscalculate my ovulation and my luteal phase is too short?
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Alison
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I'm so sorry that you are having to go through all of this. I would be miserable too. The waiting to find out if anything is wrong is agonizing, I know. I don't have experience with what you are going through, but we had a scare a couple of weeks ago and it was really hard to wait for answers. I'm hoping that your doctor gets back to you as soon as possible with your results so that you can put your mind at ease.
You're in my thoughts.
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