Ok its a bit scientific but do scroll down
a bit and there is a chart that may help
http://pregnancy.About.Com/gi/dynamic/o
ffsite.Htm?Site=http%3a%2f%2fwww.Advancedf
ertility.Com%2fearlypre.Htm
also note that levels decline after a peak
at about 8-10 weeks.
For some reason the link doesn't work but
heres the gist of it
or try cut and pate the link into your
browser
long post beware
hcg levels in pregnancy
hcg, or human chorionic gonadotropin, is a
hormone made by the pregnancy that can be
detected in the mother's blood or urine
even before the woman's missed period.
This hormone is what we look for with a
"pregnancy test".
Hcg is first detectable in the blood as
early as 7-8 days after ovulation by very
sensitive hcg assays (research assays).
In real life, blood pregnancy tests will
be positive (> 2 miu/ml) by 10-11 days
after hcg injection or lh surge.
In general, the hcg level will double
every 2-3 days in early pregnancy.
85% of normal pregnancies will have the
hcg level double every 72 hours.
Hcg levels peak at about 8-10 weeks of
pregnancy and then decline, remaining at
lower levels for the rest of the
pregnancy.
There is a large variation in a "normal"
hcg level for any given time in
pregnancy.
Pregnancies destined to miscarry or to be
ectopic (tubal) pregnancies tend to show
lower levels (eventually), but often have
normal levels initially.
Some normal pregnancies will have quite
low levels of hcg - and deliver perfect
babies. Caution must be used in making
too much of hcg "numbers". Ultrasound
findings after 5-6 weeks of pregnancy are
much more predictive of pregnancy outcome
than are hcg levels.
For women that have had an hcg injection
as part of their infertility treatment,
the hormone will take about 5-14 days to
clear from the woman's system, depending
on the dose and the individual woman.
This can causes problems with
interpretation of pregnancy tests done
earlier than 14 days after an hcg
injection.
Hcg levels from normal singleton
pregnancies
levels are listed for various days after
the ovulatory hcg injection or lh surge
first (same as third) international
reference preparation was used (second irp
gives lower values)
"high" is highest seen in this group of
pregnancies
"low" is lowest seen in this group of
pregnancies
"#" is the number of tests done for that
day in this group of pregnancies
these values are from a group of 53 normal
singleton pregnancies (a very small
group)
because this is a very small group of
patients and because lab assays vary, it
is important not to rely on these values
to try to determine whether your pregnancy
is viable, single, twin, etc.
Check with your physician about your own
levels
hcg levels from normal twin pregnancies
twin pregnancies tend to show higher hcg
levels on a given day of pregnancy.
However, there is a large variation in hcg
levels between pregnancies, and much
overlap exists between single and twin
pregnancies.
Levels are listed for various days after
the ovulatory hcg injection or lh surge
first (same as third) international
reference preparation was used (second irp
gives different values)
"high" is highest seen in this group of
pregnancies
"low" is lowest seen in this group of
pregnancies
"#" is the number of tests done for that
day in this group of pregnancies
these values are from a group of 29 normal
twin pregnancies (a small group)
because this is a very small group of
patients and because lab assays vary, it
is important not to rely on these values
to try to determine whether your pregnancy
is viable, single, twin, etc.
Check with your physician about your own
levels
also I have an insatiable need for
information - most of what I know is
completely useless to anyone but ho hum.
