I'm done with my 3 betas, now what?

[Anonymous]

I'm a week away from my first ultrasound after a succesful IUI. My 3 betas were fine, the numbers doubled as they should have, so everything seems to be fine, but this long wait is killing me. I have read that if a heartbeat is detected, the risk of m/c will drop dramatically. I guess my question is, if the numbers doubled as they were supposed to do, what are my chances that everything will be fine next week?. I had a m/c 3 months ago, I guess that this is hauting me....

[Anonymous]

Congrats and good luck next week. I cant really help you but I remember when I was at your point and felt the same way. I tried looking online for more info but could not find these numbers and the stuff I found made me more nervous. So my suggestion is take a breath and enjoy today. You did not mention how many weeks you are but my 1st u/s was during my 5th or 6th week. All we saw was a sac no heartbat and the Repo Endo said that was fine and normal. I even measured 4 days behind and they said that was fine too. My second u/s was during the week 8 and we saw a heartbeat and I had caught up in size. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Congrats. The only advice I have is to relax and don't put to much expectation into the first U/S. I went in at 6 weeks after successful IVF thinking I would see the sac and hopefully the HB. All we saw was the gestational sac, nothing else. I could tell the RE was a little concerned but he said there was nothing we could do but wait it out. I went back a week later at 7 weeks and we saw my little bean with a HB measureing at the right size. I was really relieved but that week was hell for me. The internet can be nice to find information but can scare the crap out of you as well. I am 10 weeks today and still waiting to have my next U/S and hear the HB. I can't wait to get out of my first trimester as I think that is when the risk really goes down. Just take it easy and enjoy your pregnancy and try not to worry. At least that is what I keep repeating to myself!

[Anonymous]

Thanks to both, good advice. I will try to keep my sanity ! I'll be 6 weeks, 4 days on the day of the appointment.

[Anonymous]

I saw heartbeat(S) at 6w4d. First u/s at 5 weeks saw one sac and second at almost 7w showed TWINS. They are now 4!!! Best of luck.

[Anonymous]

If you are obsessed with numbers check http://www.betabase.info/

That should give you an idea where you are on the scale. I know after my successful IUI, I spend a lot of time on google trying to judge the possible successful outcome of the pregnancy based on first beta, doubling time, etc. Probably a waste of time... but its what I do. Anyway, there is some research out there. Higher beta and faster doubling times are associated with successful outcomes. My first beta was 299 15 days after ovulation and it doubled every 36 hours. A number that high is almost never associated with a later miscarriage (did that stop me from worrying -- no -- but maybe it will make you feel better). If you did an early pee stick test and it came back positive, that is also a good sign. Implantation by 8 days after ovulation is also highly correlated with positive outcome (i.e if you pee tested 10 days after and it was positive, you are in pretty good shape).

There is actually a lot of information about pregnancy success that can be gathered from early and repeated betas, but most OBs make you wait so long that the number is useless except to confirm pregnancy. You have the three betas, so if you are a data junkie you do some research.