Advice please - *sensitive* chemical pregnancy

[JF198]

Hi,

I got my bfp last week following our second FET cycle but unfortunately the line is now barely visible on the test so I am pretty certain it’s a chemical pregnancy. I’ve informed my consultant and he has asked me to go in for a blood test.

Please could I ask for some advice based on your experiences of chemical pregnancy? Will the blood test simply confirm it as a chemical or is there anything else that can be shown on the bloods to help us understand what has happened?

Also, how long did it take for the positive line to completely disappear? This is the third day of a barely visible line for me.

Thanks very much.

J

[Hidden]

So sorry to read this. With chemicals they don't tend to test anything other than HCG level. I have had a few and when I had my IVF ones I found I kept getting a faint line until I stopped my meds and then it disappeared pretty much over night. With my natural chemicals I have had faint positives for between 3 and 5 days. Sending you a huge hug xx

[JF198 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply and for the information. I’m very sorry to hear that you have been through all of this x

[MrsOrangejuice]

I'm sorry you're going through this. I had two in a row on fresh transfers and the first was quite a while after OTD, or at least that's when I learned of it, as I got HCG done late and that showed the numbers weren't going up. I had stopped testing on FRERs at that stage as I thought it was just a case of waiting for my scan. I didn't have any bleeding or spotting on that one. When I then did a FRER the lines were lighter than they had been. They then suddenly lightened to nothing - over maybe two days - and I got a negative on a CBD. My NHS clinic said at that point stop the meds - got my period a few days later. Next time I was a bit more ready for it and when the lines stopped getting darker around OTD I got my HCG done - showed again no more development. I kept getting lines that time for maybe a week but I was also spotting so didn't have much hope. My GP said HCG anything over 5 is technically viable but they want over 20 realistically. Also it's not necessarily the one number, but a roughly doubling they want to see, so I had a couple of tests done each time. Took a while for HCG to go below 5 on the second and I my private clinic asked me to keep up meds until then just in case and also so they could check it wasn't ectopic. It wasn't and when I got a zero HCG I stopped meds and again had period 2-3 days later. On both the period wasn't any different to normal.

PM me if you need anything. If it gives you any hope, each time I was able to go back into a collection or FET on my next period, so you can begin again quickly if you're feeling up to it, but some clinics want you to wait an extra period in between x

[JF198 in reply to MrsOrangejuice]

Thanks very much for your reply. I am sorry you have been through all this. The waiting sounds so hard. I just feel like I need some closure now.

We had a successful fresh transfer in 2018 to conceive my son so I feel super lucky to have him. This is our second FET to try for a sibling. We had a failed FET in November, likely chemical this time and now we have one frozen embryo left.

Could I ask whether you have ever had any fertility counselling? I know that it’s available via my clinic and this time I am considering it x

[MrsOrangejuice in reply to JF198]

It's tough. You don't necessarily have to wait - speak to your clinic as I think sometimes they will just say stop the meds if they also think it's a chemical, and I had different reactions from the NHS and my private clinic.

I didn't take the counselling option as my way of dealing was to just keep on going (not sure how sustainable that is!) and luckily, the FET in the month after my second early loss worked and has at least temporarily banished the negative associations. I had CBT in the past though and that was very helpful so definitely something that can help. X

[DianeArnold Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hi JF. So sorry to hear this and hope you've got plenty of support just now. I imagine the blood test is just to rest your Beta hcG levels. It can take up to 3 weeks usually for your level to get to zero. Your menstrual cycle might take 2-3 months to get back to what is normal for you. Diane

[JF198 in reply to DianeArnold]

Thanks Diane

[Shaze12 in reply to JF198]

Sorry you are going through this. I had a miscarriage back in April. I was 7 weeks.. i had my second bleed straight away then started doing opks got pregnant the following month and had a live birth to a healthy boy. (Mashallah) I has a chemical last month and had my period as normal... The only thing that has changed with that is my positive opk was delayed by 2 days...

[Shaze12]

Had*

[leah30]

When I had a chemical I had a positive test then 2 days after had a bleed . Fingers crossed it’s not a chemical for you x

[JF198 in reply to leah30]

Hi, thanks for your message. Unfortunately my blood test today has confirmed a chemical pregnancy. I have stopped meds so should have a withdrawal bleed in next few days. We have one frozen embryo left and we need to decide whether to go straight into another round at my next period or wait a while. Have you had a further round since your chemical? X

[leah30]

We had a cycle 2016 had 2 viable embryos our first fresh failed and we had our little boy from our only and last frozen embryo he’s coming up 5 . We then decided to give it another try so we had no regrets not trying again . Our fresh was a chemical that was a year ago last September we went straight for our frozen cycle this time using lubion and a long protocol as normal for us ,and I gave birth in September we have a little girl who’s 6 months . Good luck hun , it can happen xx