is it possible to still be pregnant if your hcg levels drop?
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Sometimes, hCG levels drop, but then rise again and the pregnancy continues normally. Although this is not common, it can happen. Decreasing hCG levels later in pregnancy, such as the second and third trimester, are probably not a cause for concern.
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A slow rate of rise or a drop in HCG levels during the first 8 to 10 weeks of pregnancy represents death of trophoblastic tissue and can indicate ectopic or nonviable intrauterine pregnancy. Serial quantitative HCG values are, therefore, helpful in management of threatened early pregnancies.
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Decreased pregnancy hormone levels Tolentino explains. Restoring a hormonal imbalance after miscarriage requires hCG levels to decline. To ensure this is actually happening your physician should be monitoring these levels.
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Recent miscarriage or abortion When a pregnancy ends, hCG levels begin to recede, but it's a slow process. The hormone can remain in your blood and urine for up to six weeks following the end of the pregnancy. It's possible to have a false-positive test until your hCG levels return to their prepregnancy state.
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An hCG level of less than 5 mIU/mL is considered negative for pregnancy, and anything above 25 mIU/mL is considered positive for pregnancy. An hCG level between 6 and 24 mIU/mL is considered a grey area, and you'll likely need to be retested to see if your levels rise to confirm a pregnancy.
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For example, if you do a pregnancy test too early, you could be pregnant, but there may not be enough HCG in your body to give a positive test result. Pregnancy tests vary in their sensitivity (how soon they can detect HCG and what level of HCG needs to be present).
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If your period is very late, or you've skipped your period, and you get a negative result, you are unlikely to be pregnant. If you are testing before the date of your expected period, you may be pregnant but your hCG levels are too low for the test to detect.
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Your hCG levels will slowly start to fall naturally, but a pregnancy test, may detect residual hCG levels and give a positive result, even though you're no longer pregnant. If you continue to see a positive result on pregnancy tests and are concerned, see your doctor.
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Causes of low hCG levels. If your hCG levels fall below the normal range, it's not necessarily a cause for concern. Many women have gone on to have healthy pregnancies and babies with low hCG levels. Most women don't ever have cause to find out what their hCG levels are specifically.
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“Low hCG levels may represent a very early pregnancy or a pregnancy that is ending in miscarriage,” says Dr. Lang. Other causes include blighted ovum (the fertilized egg fails to develop properly) and ectopic pregnancy (the embryo implanted somewhere outside of the uterus – usually the fallopian tube).
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Urine HCG tests often return false-negative results, particularly very early in pregnancy. This can be stressful and demoralizing to people struggling to become pregnant. Blood tests are typically more accurate, though even these may fail to pick up low levels of HCG in early pregnancy.
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The strength of the positive test line depends on how much hCG is in your urine. If the line is faint, it usually means that the hCG level is low. One reason why hCG levels may be low could be because you're still very early into your pregnancy.
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A low or slow-rising hCG level can be a sign of an ectopic pregnancy, but looking at hCG levels alone is not usually enough for a doctor to make the diagnosis. While a slow-rising or low hCG level can indicate an ectopic pregnancy, it does not mean that you are definitely experiencing one.
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Finally, it's important to understand that hCG levels may persist for up to a few weeks after a miscarriage. In other words, you may continue to have a positive urine or quantitative hCG level even after a miscarriage has occurred.
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A low hCG level can mean your pregnancy date was miscalculated and you're not as far along as you had thought. Further testing would be needed to determine the cause, which may or may not include a miscarriage, a blighted ovum, or an ectopic pregnancy. Slow-rising hCG levels may be a sign of trouble in early pregnancy.
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hCG Production If implantation has not taken place, a pregnancy test cannot detect hCG and will give you a negative result. So, implantation has to occur before a pregnancy can be recognized with a pregnancy test.
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After a pregnancy loss, hCG levels should drop down to less than 5mlU/ml within around six weeks. The time it takes to reduce will depend upon the level of the hormone at the end of the pregnancy, and how the loss occurred.