HCG

Essentials about hCG

When a woman becomes pregnant, her body starts producing human chorionic gonadotropin. The secretion of this pregnancy hormone begins in the cells that are going to grow into a placenta soon after conception.

When Can You Measure hCG Levels?

Checking the levels of hCG is a reliable method of detecting early pregnancy. Its levels grow exponentially in the first weeks of pregnancy, peaking between weeks 8 and 11. Once this term passes, hCG goes on a plateau and starts lowering towards the end of pregnancy.

When can you perform anhCG test to find out if you are pregnant? A blood test can detect hCG as early as 6 to 8 days after conception. But if you are going to use a regular home pregnancy test, you should wait for at least 4 – 6 days before your period to get the answer. Still, it is better to wait until one day your menses are late as the reliability of the urine tests reaches 99% by that time.

What Does it Tell about?

If you get to know about your pregnancy with a home test, your doctor may want you to pass a blood test as well. The test measures the levels of the hormone in mIU/mL, which allows specifying gestational terms and understanding whether your pregnancy is developing well.

Every term of pregnancy has its own numbers of hCG signaling the norm. If you measure hCG and it’s lower than it should be, there is a chance you have an ectopic pregnancy. Still, this is only an assumption, which should be double-checked with another test and an ultrasound. Please, don’t make any negative conclusions until you talk with your health care provider.

hCG from a Different View

Not only does hCG supports pregnancy, but it is also used as a treatment for certain medical conditions related to the reproductive system. Your doctor may prescribe hCG injections to treat:

• female infertility;
• insufficient production of testosterone and sperm in men;
• cryptorchidism in adolescent boys.

These are the only health conditions that hCG is approved for by the Food and Drug Administration. However, this hormone is also used off-label for weight loss purposes. The internet is flooded with hCG diet products, yet none of them can be trusted as they are labeled as homeopathic, and their quality is therefore not controlled by any official organizations. Be careful with such preparations, and remember that changing to a healthy diet and increasing your physical activity is the only healthy way to lose weight.