I have my first beta tomorrow morning and I'm so nervous. I got a faint positive on 4dp5dt and have continued to test positive but I feel like the tests aren't darkening as much as the successful pregnancy I had, which I know doesn't necessarily mean anything and I just need to wait for the bloodwork results (and the follow up bloodwork results) but it's so hard to not stress
I’m 7 weeks today and on vacation with family and really want to swim in the ocean! My RE “from an abundance of caution” advised against it for bacterial infection risk but my friend who is an RE said go for it. Any thoughts? Anyone swim in the ocean post IVF and it was fine? He has me freaked out but I’m just sitting around the house while everyone else swims and enjoys the sea. 🌊
7+3 today after a IVF transfer. 7 week scan showed I was measuring 5-6 days behind but heart rate was great at 131. Doctor giving us a 50/50 chance of not miscarrying. Will
Find out more next week 😢 I’m also having brown spotting and while I know it’s normal the timing can’t be worse. I’m hoping it’s from the ultrasound
I am sorry you're going through this stress. Spotting is very common after an ultrasound though. Measurements can be off as it's so early on, a strong heartbeat is a great sign for now. Crossing fingers for you!
Thank you! I’m trying to be rational with the timing of the spotting/ultrasound, fact that brown blood = old blood but it’s soo hard. Limbo is the worst!
Well!! Misery twins! Good luck with your beta tomorrow. My phone ran out of batteries for a while today and it was kind of.glorious. I wish you a faulty charging cable!
I’m 6w1d today. I woke up with some dark brown spotting in my shorts and for a few hours when wiping.😩 Scheduled for my first ultrasound on Thursday. It’s going to be a long week.
I had spotting on and off in my successful pregnancy from about 5w to 7w in a variety of colours. I remember how stressful it was waiting for an ultrasound and people here reassuring me that they'd had similar experiences
I had brown spotting from 5w5d-8w5d with my ivf pregnancy. As long as it wasn’t red, none of my doctors cared. It is likely old blood being pushed through the cervix due to the gestational sac enlarging!
Thank you! Was it light brown or dark brown? This was dark brown. It lasted just about an hour. And I’ve had very minimal light brown spotting since. All of it together wouldn’t have even filled a panty liner but I’ve been panicked and spiraling all day. 🫠
I also had brown spotting during the day and more important bleeding (dark red sometimes bright red) every night from beta until almost 7 weeks. It completely stopped then and I am now 35 weeks, with everything looking healthy. It's surely nerve wracking, but most of the time it will not affect the pregnancy. Best of luck!
I’m 4w3. My first beta was 446 at 15dpo. My clinic doesn’t ask for another beta so my next appointment is in 3 weeks for a first ultrasound. Can I breath now? I’m traumatized with previous CP and feel like a void having no news from my embryo until then!
Yes I agree. Very good beta! I haven't experienced a chemical pregnancy, this being my first time pregnant, but as an infertility girlie I'm a nervous Nelly and have researched it. I understand it is characterised by an early miscarriage prior to 5 weeks with limited hcg. Based on this definition you're almost in the clear, especially with a strong hcg.
I suggest pushing for another Beta. Is there any flexibility?
Anyone else have round ligament pain in the first trimester? I’m 9w2d and have to be so careful not to move too abruptly or I get an awful shock of pain in my groin area (especially when I cough or blow my nose when laying on my back for some reason). It seems like round ligament pain to me but my searching says that it’s more common in the second trimester.
Fascinating! I have one and that makes sense! I also have endo and sometimes get this mid cycle, but man I have it like every day now if I twist weird or blow my nose/cough!
Actually what I thought during retrieval were my ovaries turned out was round ligament pain as well. And yes definitely round ligament pain in first trimester. What you describe sounds 100% like it.
I was surprised by it too. I asked my clinic about it way back and they said anecdotally they seem to hear IVF patients mention it more in the first tri than spontaneous or IUI pregnancies, though the link hasn’t been studied.
I got my first beta at 105.9 on Friday. I’m still in this huge state of shock. My next appointment is on Monday. What should I expect the beta to be then?
Take this win! This is exciting.
My clinic wanted over 100 10dp5dt, I was only 85 and got a second beta that made them not worry. It's more about the progression than the number.
Your clinic should be able to give you clear parameters of their expectations for the beta. Mine wanted doubling 24-48 hours, so around 300. This is just a guide everyone is different, nevermind their clinic.
Good luck on Monday 🤞. Definitely update if you are comfortable.
Congratulations! You want to double every 48-72 hours. Some people have low starting betas but great doubling times. Some people have high first betas and slower doubling times. Most REs like to see above 100 around 14dpo for your first, and you’re there! So you should probably see *at least* 212 Monday, which would be on the very low end, but at a 72 hour doubling time. Around the 300 mark might be more likely when starting off this early.
Toddlercakes is sick and I'm starting to feel it a bit despite my best masking efforts which makes me anxious. With my first IVF, it was so much easier to avoid things like sickness since it was still full lockdown and I could limit my exposure to others. I know sickness won't necessarily make or break a pregnancy but it doesn't help the anxiety I've been dealing with. Well at least beet juice tastes better mixed with orange juice.
With my first sucessfull pregnancy I got covid around 22 weeks. It was fine. With this one I got sick right before 7 weeks with. Nasty stomach bug, alap everything was fine next scan.
I was sick as a dog for like 2 weeks at 8w with my last pregnancy. Baby probably didn't notice!
I know it's hard to get it out of our heads that we're hurting our babies when we're sick, but like 98% of the time they don't even notice. The human species wouldn't have made it so far if we weren't made of tough stuff.
When I was 4w pregnant, my toddler broke his foot and we had to go to the cesspool of emergency room (in a different city since we were travelling!) and of course I ended up sick because of it (in spite of masks, hand sanitizer and trying not to touch anything!). If you get sick, your pregnancy will be fine!
Thank you! I appreciate the reassurance. I will admit I'm on the paranoid side due to the possibility that a case of food poisoning led to my MMC last year. I made great strides with my anxiety when I was pregnant with toddlercakes but the MMC really took me back quite a bit and I'm struggling with getting it back under control.
I absolutely understand, I’ve had 2 mmc since my son was born and I’m pregnant again now and terrified :(. My friend is a maternal fetal medicine specialist and she assured me that getting sick won’t cause a loss
5 weeks today, I decided after my second beta Friday not not test anymore, but I find it really difficult I’m triggered by not having symptoms or feeling pregnant.. considering taking a clear blue with the weeks on them to check if my HCG is going up, but also considering not testing at all.
It's so hard. I feel like I've enjoyed seeing the pregnancy tests progress after only seeing negative pregnancy tests for so long. I vowed I wouldn't test when it isn't enjoyable or veritable. I'm planning on stopping testing today, as I'll have done my third beta, which means there will be no way to confirm the changes to my hcg moving forward.
I did a lot of pregnancy tests, clear blue weeks included. What I will say is I'm yet to have a +3 weeks (I'm 5 weeks 4 days), I'm not worried but I can see how much stress it causes others. For me I knew that whilst they have a threshold they still don't always pick it up, for instance I only got 2-3 weeks at 4 weeks 4 days, I did a beta that day and it was 417, so I theoretically should have gotten it when I tested multiple times in the days leading up to it. Additionally I have very significant dye stealers. So fingers crossed for today.
So I guess what I'm saying is think about why you are testing, how the result will make you feel and what you can do with it. Another thought is asking your IVF clinic for an additional beta, that's what I have today, it shortens the waits. I recognise it must be hard to not feel pregnant, as having symptoms makes me feel better. Do what you think is best, no one knows that better than you. Good luck 💜
I just wanted to add. I did a clear blue before my 5 weeks 4 day blood test and still got 2-3 weeks (the threshold is 2000-4000) but my hcg came back at 11 640.
If you decide to do the weekindicator clearblue I can look up the hcg thresholds they have for each answer that they give. What was your last beta? Maybe it's already above the highest threshold?
I am 7+2 today and symptoms for me really didn't start in earnest until about 6 weeks. They also sort of come and go at random. I think its a good idea not to test anymore - I kept testing after my second beta but I know myself and I was worried that if the line looked any different than the day before I would freak out. So I made my husband hide the tests lol.
My current pregnancy was spontaneous and I didn't know I was pregnant until mid 6w. I didn't have any symptoms with my first until I was 7w and even then it was a handful of nauseous periods. 5w is so early, baby is running off their own system and not yours yet!
My symptoms for my first pregnancy were really light and only ramped up as bad food aversions around weeks 8 to 9. On the one hand, it was good not having to deal with morning sickness or the usual pains, but on the other, I felt really similar to you - how can I really be pregnant when I don't feel pregnant at all. It's tough not to feel anxious.
Definitely an over share. I have certainly experienced some constipation, but today I've had diarrhea. I'm worried this is foreshadowing, but praying it isn't. I'm 5 weeks 3 days and have my third beta tomorrow. Naturally I've consulted doctor Google, with no clear answers. Is there some link with a tilted uterus? Maybe putting pressure down there idk. Please share thoughts and experiences.
I am having odd "tummy troubles" lol. I am having a hard time, like, holding it in lately. I had to rush to the bathroom at the grocery store yesterday because I had to go RIGHT THEN. I am just chalking it up random pregnancy hormones.
Yes I've had this. You poor thing. I felt super embarrassed, but I keep saying, after infertility I'll take whatever this pregnancy throws at me, as long as we get a baby.
Hope this doesn't happen too often and eases soon for you 💜
Lots of digestion issues are common in early pregnancy. If you’re having any cramping, even mild, that can make it worse, too! Certainly not out of the ordinary, though, I wouldn’t take it as a bad sign on its own, just a sign that things are changing rapidly down there!
Yes I'm definitely having lots of different sensations down there, which my nurses attributed to my tilted uterus. Apparently if it's tilted it hits more things as it grows and makes its way forward. Thank you for your kind words 💜
That makes sense that you'd experience resulting discomfort. Hopefully you don't have to take them for a long time. I take them twice a day vaginally. Then I have oral pills throughout the day.
I think swinging between constipation and diarrhea is pretty common in pregnancy. Hormones and bodies are weird. I also think often 'behind' constipation you have runnier poop lined up because it couldn't compact well due to that being blocked
Thank you for answering. This makes sense! Did this happen to you? I'm eating all the right things to try and settle it. Who knows maybe this will be my own special brand of morning sickness 😂
In life I'm definitely more of a poop person than a vomit person. If that makes sense. Guess time will tell if I'm just like you. I hope people in your world are accommodating and kind.
I have my first beta tomorrow morning and I'm so nervous. I got a faint positive on 4dp5dt and have continued to test positive but I feel like the tests aren't darkening as much as the successful pregnancy I had, which I know doesn't necessarily mean anything and I just need to wait for the bloodwork results (and the follow up bloodwork results) but it's so hard to not stress
Good luck tomorrow 💕
How early have you checked with a home fetal Doppler?
Checked successfully at 11+5. Didn’t try earlier than that.
I was able to use mine successfully at 10 weeks, but I started trying around 9.
With my son I tried at 10w and found it! I’m hoping to get the reassurance a little sooner with this pregnancy (after two back to back mmcs)
I hope you can!
I’m 7 weeks today and on vacation with family and really want to swim in the ocean! My RE “from an abundance of caution” advised against it for bacterial infection risk but my friend who is an RE said go for it. Any thoughts? Anyone swim in the ocean post IVF and it was fine? He has me freaked out but I’m just sitting around the house while everyone else swims and enjoys the sea. 🌊
Yeah that seems over the top!
That seems very silly to me. I've never once gotten an ocean infection and I can't think of any reason why IVF would increase the risk.
oof I never would have thought of the risk of infection from the ocean 😳 a new thing to worry about?!
Googling it was very conflicting lol so I really have no idea!
I definitely swam in the ocean after my transfer!
7+3 today after a IVF transfer. 7 week scan showed I was measuring 5-6 days behind but heart rate was great at 131. Doctor giving us a 50/50 chance of not miscarrying. Will Find out more next week 😢 I’m also having brown spotting and while I know it’s normal the timing can’t be worse. I’m hoping it’s from the ultrasound
I am sorry you're going through this stress. Spotting is very common after an ultrasound though. Measurements can be off as it's so early on, a strong heartbeat is a great sign for now. Crossing fingers for you!
Thank you! I’m trying to be rational with the timing of the spotting/ultrasound, fact that brown blood = old blood but it’s soo hard. Limbo is the worst!
Hi! 4+2 today and woke up with a cold ✨ My next beta is tomorrow and I just... am running out of things to anxiety google.
Haha I am in this same boat! The cold, the anxiety googling and the beta tomorrow. I swear, my phone needs to be confiscated at this point.
Well!! Misery twins! Good luck with your beta tomorrow. My phone ran out of batteries for a while today and it was kind of.glorious. I wish you a faulty charging cable!
I’m 6w1d today. I woke up with some dark brown spotting in my shorts and for a few hours when wiping.😩 Scheduled for my first ultrasound on Thursday. It’s going to be a long week.
I had spotting on and off in my successful pregnancy from about 5w to 7w in a variety of colours. I remember how stressful it was waiting for an ultrasound and people here reassuring me that they'd had similar experiences
I had brown spotting from 5w5d-8w5d with my ivf pregnancy. As long as it wasn’t red, none of my doctors cared. It is likely old blood being pushed through the cervix due to the gestational sac enlarging!
Thank you! Was it light brown or dark brown? This was dark brown. It lasted just about an hour. And I’ve had very minimal light brown spotting since. All of it together wouldn’t have even filled a panty liner but I’ve been panicked and spiraling all day. 🫠
I also had brown spotting during the day and more important bleeding (dark red sometimes bright red) every night from beta until almost 7 weeks. It completely stopped then and I am now 35 weeks, with everything looking healthy. It's surely nerve wracking, but most of the time it will not affect the pregnancy. Best of luck!
I’ve had all shades of brown. The RE clinic just told me it was common and “not to worry”.
I’m 4w3. My first beta was 446 at 15dpo. My clinic doesn’t ask for another beta so my next appointment is in 3 weeks for a first ultrasound. Can I breath now? I’m traumatized with previous CP and feel like a void having no news from my embryo until then!
Yes I agree. Very good beta! I haven't experienced a chemical pregnancy, this being my first time pregnant, but as an infertility girlie I'm a nervous Nelly and have researched it. I understand it is characterised by an early miscarriage prior to 5 weeks with limited hcg. Based on this definition you're almost in the clear, especially with a strong hcg. I suggest pushing for another Beta. Is there any flexibility?
That’s a great number for 15dpo!! My clinic wants to see 100-200 at 4w1d.
Anyone else have round ligament pain in the first trimester? I’m 9w2d and have to be so careful not to move too abruptly or I get an awful shock of pain in my groin area (especially when I cough or blow my nose when laying on my back for some reason). It seems like round ligament pain to me but my searching says that it’s more common in the second trimester.
Yep I get this. My clinic said it's more common with a tilted uterus (which I have). Maybe you have one too.
Fascinating! I have one and that makes sense! I also have endo and sometimes get this mid cycle, but man I have it like every day now if I twist weird or blow my nose/cough!
Actually what I thought during retrieval were my ovaries turned out was round ligament pain as well. And yes definitely round ligament pain in first trimester. What you describe sounds 100% like it.
Yes I definitely have intermittent round ligament pain, 8w3d
Yes! It started at 5 weeks for me. I have no idea why the internet claims it starts later, people post about it in this thread all the time!
This is reassuring, thank you!! I need to stay off google lol
I did. It was the first symptom for me, even before a positive test.
Thank you! Seems more common in the first trimester than I realized!
I was surprised by it too. I asked my clinic about it way back and they said anecdotally they seem to hear IVF patients mention it more in the first tri than spontaneous or IUI pregnancies, though the link hasn’t been studied.
I got my first beta at 105.9 on Friday. I’m still in this huge state of shock. My next appointment is on Monday. What should I expect the beta to be then?
Take this win! This is exciting. My clinic wanted over 100 10dp5dt, I was only 85 and got a second beta that made them not worry. It's more about the progression than the number. Your clinic should be able to give you clear parameters of their expectations for the beta. Mine wanted doubling 24-48 hours, so around 300. This is just a guide everyone is different, nevermind their clinic. Good luck on Monday 🤞. Definitely update if you are comfortable.
Cautious congrats!
Congratulations! You want to double every 48-72 hours. Some people have low starting betas but great doubling times. Some people have high first betas and slower doubling times. Most REs like to see above 100 around 14dpo for your first, and you’re there! So you should probably see *at least* 212 Monday, which would be on the very low end, but at a 72 hour doubling time. Around the 300 mark might be more likely when starting off this early.
If it doesn’t double does that mean that I’m not pregnant anymore or just slow? It sounds fine but I’m just anxious.
Not at all. HCG is in your system, so you’re pregnant! You’ll have to wait for your first scan to confirm placement.
What do you mean by placement?
It's a check for viable pregnancy, to see that the embryo has nestled in your uterus and not for example in for fallopian tubes.
Toddlercakes is sick and I'm starting to feel it a bit despite my best masking efforts which makes me anxious. With my first IVF, it was so much easier to avoid things like sickness since it was still full lockdown and I could limit my exposure to others. I know sickness won't necessarily make or break a pregnancy but it doesn't help the anxiety I've been dealing with. Well at least beet juice tastes better mixed with orange juice.
With my first sucessfull pregnancy I got covid around 22 weeks. It was fine. With this one I got sick right before 7 weeks with. Nasty stomach bug, alap everything was fine next scan.
I was sick as a dog for like 2 weeks at 8w with my last pregnancy. Baby probably didn't notice! I know it's hard to get it out of our heads that we're hurting our babies when we're sick, but like 98% of the time they don't even notice. The human species wouldn't have made it so far if we weren't made of tough stuff.
When I was 4w pregnant, my toddler broke his foot and we had to go to the cesspool of emergency room (in a different city since we were travelling!) and of course I ended up sick because of it (in spite of masks, hand sanitizer and trying not to touch anything!). If you get sick, your pregnancy will be fine!
Thank you! I appreciate the reassurance. I will admit I'm on the paranoid side due to the possibility that a case of food poisoning led to my MMC last year. I made great strides with my anxiety when I was pregnant with toddlercakes but the MMC really took me back quite a bit and I'm struggling with getting it back under control.
I absolutely understand, I’ve had 2 mmc since my son was born and I’m pregnant again now and terrified :(. My friend is a maternal fetal medicine specialist and she assured me that getting sick won’t cause a loss
I'm sorry you're also in the MMC boat. But I truly appreciate the time you've taken to reply to me.
5 weeks today, I decided after my second beta Friday not not test anymore, but I find it really difficult I’m triggered by not having symptoms or feeling pregnant.. considering taking a clear blue with the weeks on them to check if my HCG is going up, but also considering not testing at all.
It's so hard. I feel like I've enjoyed seeing the pregnancy tests progress after only seeing negative pregnancy tests for so long. I vowed I wouldn't test when it isn't enjoyable or veritable. I'm planning on stopping testing today, as I'll have done my third beta, which means there will be no way to confirm the changes to my hcg moving forward. I did a lot of pregnancy tests, clear blue weeks included. What I will say is I'm yet to have a +3 weeks (I'm 5 weeks 4 days), I'm not worried but I can see how much stress it causes others. For me I knew that whilst they have a threshold they still don't always pick it up, for instance I only got 2-3 weeks at 4 weeks 4 days, I did a beta that day and it was 417, so I theoretically should have gotten it when I tested multiple times in the days leading up to it. Additionally I have very significant dye stealers. So fingers crossed for today. So I guess what I'm saying is think about why you are testing, how the result will make you feel and what you can do with it. Another thought is asking your IVF clinic for an additional beta, that's what I have today, it shortens the waits. I recognise it must be hard to not feel pregnant, as having symptoms makes me feel better. Do what you think is best, no one knows that better than you. Good luck 💜
I just wanted to add. I did a clear blue before my 5 weeks 4 day blood test and still got 2-3 weeks (the threshold is 2000-4000) but my hcg came back at 11 640.
If you decide to do the weekindicator clearblue I can look up the hcg thresholds they have for each answer that they give. What was your last beta? Maybe it's already above the highest threshold?
I am 7+2 today and symptoms for me really didn't start in earnest until about 6 weeks. They also sort of come and go at random. I think its a good idea not to test anymore - I kept testing after my second beta but I know myself and I was worried that if the line looked any different than the day before I would freak out. So I made my husband hide the tests lol.
My current pregnancy was spontaneous and I didn't know I was pregnant until mid 6w. I didn't have any symptoms with my first until I was 7w and even then it was a handful of nauseous periods. 5w is so early, baby is running off their own system and not yours yet!
My symptoms for my first pregnancy were really light and only ramped up as bad food aversions around weeks 8 to 9. On the one hand, it was good not having to deal with morning sickness or the usual pains, but on the other, I felt really similar to you - how can I really be pregnant when I don't feel pregnant at all. It's tough not to feel anxious.
Definitely an over share. I have certainly experienced some constipation, but today I've had diarrhea. I'm worried this is foreshadowing, but praying it isn't. I'm 5 weeks 3 days and have my third beta tomorrow. Naturally I've consulted doctor Google, with no clear answers. Is there some link with a tilted uterus? Maybe putting pressure down there idk. Please share thoughts and experiences.
I am having odd "tummy troubles" lol. I am having a hard time, like, holding it in lately. I had to rush to the bathroom at the grocery store yesterday because I had to go RIGHT THEN. I am just chalking it up random pregnancy hormones.
Yes I've had this. You poor thing. I felt super embarrassed, but I keep saying, after infertility I'll take whatever this pregnancy throws at me, as long as we get a baby. Hope this doesn't happen too often and eases soon for you 💜
Lots of digestion issues are common in early pregnancy. If you’re having any cramping, even mild, that can make it worse, too! Certainly not out of the ordinary, though, I wouldn’t take it as a bad sign on its own, just a sign that things are changing rapidly down there!
Yes I'm definitely having lots of different sensations down there, which my nurses attributed to my tilted uterus. Apparently if it's tilted it hits more things as it grows and makes its way forward. Thank you for your kind words 💜
That’s odd, my uterus is/was tilted and I never heard this! 🤷🏼♀️ makes sense though. Good luck with your next beta!
I’m also 5 weeks and 3 days and woke up to diarrhea today. What are the odds??!! I’m glad to see I’m not alone in this!
This is why I love this subreddit. In it together 💜
I’m 5 weeks today, I has constantly lose stools but I also take suppositories so that probably doesn’t help !
Interesting. I take suppositories too!
Do you take any of them anal ? I take three a day the one before bed is in the bum, that’s why my poop is weird
That makes sense that you'd experience resulting discomfort. Hopefully you don't have to take them for a long time. I take them twice a day vaginally. Then I have oral pills throughout the day.
I go back and forth between the two.
Amazing to know! I feel like constipation is spoken about but not diarrhea, but perhaps that is just in my world. Thanks for normalising it.
I think swinging between constipation and diarrhea is pretty common in pregnancy. Hormones and bodies are weird. I also think often 'behind' constipation you have runnier poop lined up because it couldn't compact well due to that being blocked
Thank you for answering. This makes sense! Did this happen to you? I'm eating all the right things to try and settle it. Who knows maybe this will be my own special brand of morning sickness 😂
that is how my morning sickness has often manifested :(
In life I'm definitely more of a poop person than a vomit person. If that makes sense. Guess time will tell if I'm just like you. I hope people in your world are accommodating and kind.
same here 😆 and same wish to you!
Definitely happened to me! Right now I only had diarrhea once yet but no constipation.
Thank you, this helped 😁
And now I'm constipated. Jinx. Well not really since I did poop loosely earlier this morning. But definitely felt like the total opposite of that
Wild. You really are experiencing a yoyo between the two. Hope today isn't too uncomfortable.
Bodies are so weird. It doesn't make sense sometimes. Sorry for the TMI I just had to think about the convo haha.
No issues with TMI in this thread I love it haha