RE: - Another Question

[Guest guest]

Hi Suzanne,

I just wanted to pop in regarding your concern about high beta levels. I

know a little about them due to an unsuccessful pregnancy I had in '98.

There are a couple of things this could be, one good, one not so good.

I'll start with the not so good first...and please remember this is not to

scare you, just to make you aware to be sure you follow up with you doctor.

I ended up with a surprise pregnancy in February '98. I, stupidly, let

myself bleed for about three weeks before my husband finally asked me if I

was going to see a doctor. Finally, after I promised I would call the doctor

that day, I went to the gym to work out. I remember it as one of my best

workouts ever. I had so much energy, felt so good that I doubled my reps and

time on the Stairmaster and increase the level of intensity. DUMBO! By the

time I sat on the mat to do floor exercises I realized I had bled through my

tights and headed for the bathroom. There I proceeded to hemorrhage in a way

I have never done before and to a point that I was truly alarmed. I managed

to compose myself enough to alert my husband that I was going to the car to

call the OB. The first thing they ask is are you pregnant. I say, certainly

not as I've been on my period now for three weeks!! Well, BINGO, that's all

they needed to hear when they said come right over for a pg test. Of course,

it was positive...and very, very positive. That was a Monday and they could

not get me into a dr. until Thursday, yet sent me home with the prescription

to stop worrying. That was about impossible with the amount of bleeding I

was having. The nurse said, don't worry, people bleed all the time with

their pregnancies...it turns out, not like that though! Anyway, I barely

make it to Thursday as I now feel worse every day from the blood loss. On

Thursday, they take a vaginal u/s and immediately get that alarmed look on

there face. They think I have what is known as a 'molar' pregnancy. At this

point in the story I will tell you it turned out I did not have a molar

pregnancy and I also learned a lot more about them than you want to know

right now. But, I will tell you a molar pregnancy is not a viable pregnancy,

one indicator is elevated HCG levels and it is worth asking your dr. about

at your next visit. Now, it's important to note...

AN ELEVATED HCG DOES NOT ALWAYS MEAN A MOLAR PREGNANCY, and I am also an

example of that with my last pregnancy...

With the birth of my daughter 14 months ago, I too had elevated HCG's. I

will quickly tell you she is a wonderfully healthy and developmentally

advanced (not bragging, just trying to calm you) little girl...so NO

WORRIES! I only knew I had an elevated HCG because I insisted they check my

HCG at my first OB visit due to the problem I had in '98. Low and behold, I

had a more elevated HCG than with my pregnancy in '98. We quickly did all

that's necessary to rule out a molar pregnancy, then they tried to confirm

multiples. It was so odd to me they could not, and somewhat concerning when

there answer was simply...everything is fine, it just indicates you have an

unusually large placenta. You see, the HCG level is directly related to the

size of the placenta. Therefore, with a multiple birth, a larger placenta or

more than one placenta and a higher HCG. At the time, I confirmed their

comment of a large placenta with an OB/GYN friend of mine and did my best to

forget it for the rest of the pregnancy. It turns out it was hard to forget.

I can honestly say that placenta took on a life of it's own. I was larger

with this pregnancy, not gaining more weight, just LARGER! (and the baby was

smaller by more than a pound) The U/S technicians who were present during my

amniocentesis had a difficult time finding a place to insert the needle

because so much of my uterus was consumed with placenta. They actually

consulted with more experienced technicians because they couldn't figure out

what they were looking at when they saw the placenta. They argued with me as

to whether I had any previous surgeries, i.e. c-sections, or fibroid tumors!

As well, I acquired gestational diabetes with this pregnancy as I had never

had it before. It can be argued I was in a higher risk category for this

disease solely because of my age, but I had none of the other risk factors.

And, gestational diabetes, is a direct result of the pancreas being unable

to function the way it needs to during pregnancy due to the higher levels of

HCG from the larger placenta. As it turns out my daughter was born 3 1/2

weeks early, the pregnancy was unlike any prior, but we all survived and my

daughter has had no ill effects. I, on the other hand, am now a member of

this group as a result of that delivery and the doctors inability to

manually extract the placenta in totality when it would not spontaneously

release...and consequently, his poor technique and lack of precaution with

the subsequent D & C one month to the day of my daughters birth.

A final note of curiosity came when I went to another OB for a second

opinion and the visit that confirmed Ashermans. He stated, with all the

factors I've just relayed, it is likely I was carrying twins and at some

point the other embryo did not continue to grow into a viable birth.

Interesting, huh. I had heard of that before, but it never occurred to me.

With that news, my husband and I looked at our daughter who was just a bit

over a year, very rambunctious, a climber like none of our others and

decided...her twin must have been a boy!!!

Suzanne, please take the above epistle (Sorry for the length) as nothing

more than information for yourself to insure you ask the proper questions of

your dr. Remember, molar pregnancies, are VERY RARE, luckily. And, since

that time in my life I have actually met two woman who have had confirmed

molar pregnancies and have come out fine.

I am sending you my thoughts and prayers for a wonderful and uneventful

pregnancy. Remember, I am also the one who conceived two of my children

within weeks of a miscarriage and they are all very healthy, wonderfully

productive, contributing little citizens.

If you have anymore questions, I'd be glad to try to answer them. Let me

know what the doctor says about your levels.

S.