Is My Doctor Telling Me Everything?
Question
I am 7 1/2 weeks pregnant according to my dates. I did a pregnancy test at four weeks one day and it was positive. I had the flu at about the time of implantation and had bad pain in my lower abdomen on my left side and bad low backache. At six weeks two days I went for an ultrasound (external) and they saw a sac and put me at 5w2d, according to size of sac. The day after I started having a brown discharge. I had another ultrasound a week later(transvaginal) and they put me at 5w5d according to a 2mm head to rump measurement and it had a slow heartrate of 86bpm.(If I am 5w5d then my pregnancy test would have shown positive when I was 2 1/2 weeks pregnant). The pain has eased up but the spotting hasn’t. I haven’t had morning sickness as with my previous pregnancies (boy and girl) and I have felt ever since the beginning that things weren’t just right. My hcg levels aren’t going up properly. At 6w3d (according to my dates) hcg 1400, 3 days later 2000, 3 days later 2600. The doctor says its fine since it’s going up and has changed to five day blood tests and another ultrasound in 2.5 weeks.
Is my doctor not telling me everything? I am so stressed I don’t think I can wait another two weeks for an ultrasound. Is there anything else I should do? Should I get a second opinion. What are my chances of a full term pregnancy? (No complications with previous two pregnancies.)
Rosalea
Answer
Last Updated: November 20, 2021
The HCG level in a normal pregnancy should double every three to four days. I share your concern about the health of your pregnancy. If a sac was seen in the uterus, it is unlikely you have a tubal pregnancy, but there is a possibility this pregnancy could miscarry. Although you are upset, it is better to do more testing and wait the two weeks for an ultrasound to be absolutely certain about whether this is a healthy pregnancy or miscarriage. Occasionally the laboratory tests can be misleading. I am guessing your doctor just wants to be absolutely sure about the health of your pregnancy one way or the other before taking any further steps.
Best wishes, Mary L. Davenport, M.D
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