PREGNANCY-BIRTH Messages for April, 2001: Re: more beta hcg questions-please answer thoroughly I appreciate as much info as I can get-Thanks

Re: more beta hcg questions-please answer thoroughly I appreciate as much info as I can get-Thanks

From: William McIntosh, MD (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Tue, 24 Apr 2001 16:30:06 -0500 (CDT)

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In reply to: Angela: "more beta hcg questions-please answer thoroughly I appreciate as much info as I can get-Thanks"

At Tue, 24 Apr 2001, Angela wrote: >
>Hi, well I've been waiting all day to phone the doctors office to find
>out if my hcg is increasing or not(I had the test done yesturday
>Apr.23). I just spoke to the nurse and she said that it is at 16643. On
>the 20th of Apr. it was 10072. I was not able to talk to the doctor
>today but she said, that he said, this is slow movement. I am just over
>5weeks pregnant and I am scared of losing the baby. Does this Beta
>count mean that I should be worried. I also had a vag/US done yesturday
>where the obgyn said that he could see a heartbeat.

The numbers are increasing in pretty good order, but the real key here is the U/S heartbeat. We tend to want to focus on the HCG levels, but they are only useful if you cannot see the baby. If you can see the baby, and better yet, see the heart beating, then the HCG levels are almost irrelevant. HCG levels are what we track when we don't have anything better to track, but now that the baby is visible, focusing on the HCG level is not necessary. That heartbeat dropped your baseline risk of miscarriage from >25% to <5%.

-- William D. McIntosh, MD, FACOG

This is for educational purposes only, and is not a substitute for consultation and examination by a licensed medical professional.

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In reply to: Angela: "more beta hcg questions-please answer thoroughly I appreciate as much info as I can get-Thanks"

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