Thursday, September 20, 2012

Second beta/progesterone result

In the ongoing saga of actually getting my blood test results, which involved about 5 phone calls, a voicemail this morning, and eventually my lovely husband calling this afternoon because I was so frustrated and getting nowhere - three long days of waiting, and the results are both good and bad:

HCG = 5468 (up from 620 a week earlier; a doubling time of about 52 hours, I think)

Progesterone = 7.8 (down from 15.3 a week earlier)

I'm not happy with my progesterone level at all, so I called back and left a message for my OB to call me back. She called within a couple of minutes, and told me that she thinks my progesterone is fine. I know I'm not a doctor, but everything I've read states that progesterone should be at least 15. The fact that it dropped by about 50% in one week really worries me. I told her that it's taken us so long to get pregnant and I'm really concerned that my progesterone levels aren't high enough. I really don't want to lose this baby if we can prevent it! She offered to put me on a progesterone supplement, which I gladly accepted. I know she probably thinks I'm a giant pain in the ass, but at least I'll know I'm doing everything within my power to keep our little one safe. She said my HCG level is great, but I know that's not the whole story. Progesterone is needed to sustain the pregnancy until the placenta takes over, and I don't want it to be low and do nothing about it! She told me she doesn't usually test for progesterone, but my reasoning is that she did test for it (twice) and a low level shouldn't be ignored.

Anyway, she told me she'd call my prescription in to my local pharmacy right away. We left home about 20 minutes later, and when we got there they had nothing. Great... I'll have to call them soon to see if they have it yet. Hopefully they will before they close tonight!

4 comments:

  1. Glad to hear you finally got your results. Sheesh! Hope your prescription made its way to your pharmacy.

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    1. I wish it had... instead it looks like I'll be spending a chunk of time this morning trying to get this mess sorted out. Hopefully I'll get somewhere today, because my OB office is closed over the weekend. :(

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  2. Get some one to get you Prometerium (progesterone)- Now! I said the same thing and no one listened and I lost my baby last year at 9 weeks (look at my blog on in October), just do it, it does no harm but it gives you peace of mind that you are doing everything you possibly can. With that Said yes 7.8 is a perfectly fine level for most women. Mine was 47 then dropped to 31 and no one thought it was an issue.... Make it an issue!

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    1. I read your blog, Ali - so sad, I'm so sorry that happened to you :(

      I can't rest until I'm on progesterone. I just don't have a good feeling about the drop in my level, it surely can't be a good thing. How on earth is my progesterone going to sustain this pregnancy until the placenta takes over, if it dropped so much in just one week?! I will be calling as soon as my OB office opens this morning - hopefully I can just go and get my prescription in person so I don't have to keep going back and forth with the pharmacy.

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