How long before my betas get to zero?

MiniGidget · 09-23-2008, 04:23 PM

I was diagnosed with an ectopic 9/14/08. I was given methotrexate. My beta then was 6300. I went in today and it has increased to 14000ish. The RE says that is normal b/c the methotrexate attacks the placenta and it responds by "dumping hcg." I just want this to be over! How long did it take your betas to reach zero? What was your starting beta?

Stina978 · 09-23-2008, 05:31 PM

First off, I want to say so sorry for your loss (((HUGS)))
I don't know what my beta started out at on the day of m/c (8-6-08)... though I think the baby died a few days before that so HCG would have started going down... but 10 days later, on 8-15 it was at 373, a week after that, on 8-22 it was 111, on 8-29 it was 32, on 9-5 it was around 10, and I don't know the # from my last one, but I would guess it was around 3 (which is considered negative). HCG has a half life of 2-4 days (for me it was four days), so it really depend on what you started out at and how your m/c happened... I would think that the med that they gave you will expedite the process... my m/c was all natural at 15 weeks, it took 6 weeks to get the HCG down, and I am still spotting on occasion, I'm ready for the madness to be over too! I did find a websight that gives you the half life if you have the # from two dates (but it jumping up like yours did wouldn't give you half life lol) it's: http://www.perinatology.com/calculators/ect.htm

Hope this helps you

Sonya_ · 09-23-2008, 09:26 PM

I am sorry for your loss. I had a D&C at 9 weeks and my betas were in the 100,000 I cant remember where though, a week after my D&C by beta was 18,000 I believe but it took 5 or so weeks for them to get to 0 and then I had to wait another cycle before my RE would let me TTC.

Again, I am sorry.

HarleyGirl93 · 09-23-2008, 09:56 PM

Mini - I am so sorry for your loss (((HUGS))) to you! I was pg with twins and lost them at 14 wks, so my levels may not be indicative of a singleton pg rate of loss, but on the day of my D&E (prolly a week after my babies died) I was at 55000, then went down to 294 by the next week, but it really slowed down after that.... I was tested nearly weekly for another 7 weeks... 49, 15, 8, 5, (waited 2 weeks) 3, and then 3 again...til they finally gave up and quit testing me. They had wanted it below 2 to consider it negative. So in all, it took 8 weeks for my levels to get small enough to be considered 0. Again I am sorry you are having to go through this.

Dianna

MiniGidget · 09-23-2008, 10:55 PM

This sucks. I guess it's going to be a long time before we get to ttc again.

SassyMKB · 09-24-2008, 11:04 AM

Becca - not sure what my HCG was at m/c (I was 8 weeks at the D&C but the baby died a few days before) and the lab lost my results from 1 week after the D&C, but two weeks after the D&C it was 12 and three weeks after it was back to zero.

Hang in there. I know how you feel about the wait to TTC. It feels like an eternity!!

khenders · 09-24-2008, 12:46 PM

my hcg was around 3,000 and it took about a month for it to go away.

MiniGidget · 09-24-2008, 05:51 PM

I'm spotting today, worse than before. Is this a normal thing for the methotrexate? It doesn't require a pad or anything, but it's definitely there. I'm also having a mild backache today. Hopefully it's the placenta unattaching from me--and then my numbers will drop. Please, please, please, please!

Renee3600 · 09-28-2008, 09:59 PM

I'm sorry for your loss. I know exactly what you're going though, except for the ectopic part. My betas were around 38000 and I m/ced at 6 or 7 weeks and found out at 8 weeks. I hope yours doesn't take this long, but mine took 3 months to reach 0. My pregnancy was inutero and instead of doing a D&C they gave me this cyclotec crap that was supposed to make me expell the pregnancy. So then my beta was going down excruciatingly slow and they wouldn't do an ultrasound to make sure it was out. After 2 months I had had enough and called them and told them I was in pain. They did an ultrasound and we saw the sac was still in there. My beta was at about 70 at that point and they gave me a shot of methotrexate and it dropped to 30 the next week, but they went up to 38 the next. They gave me another shot and 2 weeks later it was finally down to zero. It was a nightmare. I just couldn't get any closure and move on and try again for what felt like forever. Anyway, good luck and I hope your beta drops quickly!
Oh and I think the bleeding is normal after getting a methotrexate shot. I bled lightly for 2 months after the cyclotec and started to bleed heavier after the methotrexate shot.

MiniGidget · 09-28-2008, 11:41 PM

Renee--How long did you bleed with the methotrexate. I started bleeding very heavily over the weekend. I am cramping so bad I can't believe it. It comes in waves but it's so bad it wakes me up at night. I'm definitely calling the doctor tomorrow--I don't know how I'm supposed to go through the work day when I'm incapacitated every 5 minutes with pain. Also (tmi) but it really hurts to have a bowel movement. I just can't shake the feeling that it isn't supposed to be this way. Did you experience any of this?

Renee3600 · 09-28-2008, 11:59 PM

Thank God for fertility friend cause I couldn't remember, I had to look it up. I cramped quite a bit the first day or 2 and then I bled for about 2 and a half weeks. It was about medium flow for the first 4 days then light for the remainder. I think you should definately call your doc. If you tell them you're in pain they will most likely have you come in. Is the pain mostly on the side that you had the ectopic? If not that might be a good sign, like it's just cramping and not a sign that something has ruptured. Good luck and let me know how it goes!

kerr · 09-29-2008, 12:55 AM

I am so sorry for your loss. I had an ectopic pregnancy 2 years ago and had two doses of methotrexate. My beta increased like yours did. The beta took 4 weeks to get to less than 5. I had spotting (the RE said it will not be like a period it will be spotting and heavy at times because you need to shed your uterine lining.) I had this for two weeks. I had major cramping and was a emotional wreck. I took off two weeks from work I also had nausea and was very hot during the first two weeks. We had to wait 90 days to TTC again. We waited 4 months, I hope you feel better soon and feel free to pm/email me if you need to

MiniGidget · 09-29-2008, 03:19 PM

Well--I passed some big glob of something this morning--big huge glob. I feel so much better since that happened. I left a message with the RE's office this morning telling them how bad I feel (now though, I do feel much better). I still haven't heard back from them. Hopefully this afternoon sometime!