Do I need to fast when taking hcg and progesterone?

During pregnancy, women's bodies will also produce more hormones due to the effects of estrogen and progesterone. Among them, progesterone and hCG are two particularly important hormones in pregnant women. In the early stages of pregnancy, every normal pregnant woman should go to the hospital for hcg and progesterone testing. The tests for these two hormones mainly involve blood tests, so do I need to fast before doing the progesterone and hcg tests?

Do I need to fast when checking progesterone and hcg during pregnancy?

HCG human chorionic gonadotropin enters the maternal blood after fertilization and proliferates rapidly until the 8th week of pregnancy, then slowly decreases in concentration until the 18th to 20th week, and then remains stable. Generally, an increase in the level of human chorionic gonadotropin to at least 2.5MoM is associated with Down syndrome. However, the actual average level of complete human chorionic gonadotropin in the maternal blood of DS patients is only 1.3MoM, which cannot clearly identify DS patients.

Progesterone is the main biologically active progestogen secreted by the ovary. Before ovulation, the amount of progesterone produced per day is 2~3 mg, mainly from the ovaries. After ovulation, it rises to 20-30 mg per day, most of which is secreted by the corpus luteum in the ovary. Progesterone can protect the female endometrium. During pregnancy, progesterone can provide support and protection for the early growth and development of the fetus, and can have a certain calming effect on the uterus.

Blood tests for hcg and progesterone do not require you to be on an absolute fasting stomach. Eating or drinking water will not affect the results of the progesterone test.

HCG test is the earliest and most accurate way to test whether you are pregnant. Blood HCG test can usually be done 8-10 days after sexual intercourse. You do not need to fast before the test, but it is best to test in the morning. Progesterone increases significantly during the 9th to 32nd week of pregnancy, reaching 10 to 100 times that of normal people. When drawing blood to measure HCG, progesterone can also be detected at the same time. Similarly, fasting is not required for progesterone testing.

How to deal with low progesterone

Low progesterone levels can cause great harm to women's bodies, especially during pregnancy, as low progesterone levels can threaten the fetus and easily lead to miscarriage. The outward symptoms of low progesterone include: hypothyroidism, fibrocystic breasts, gallbladder disease, hypoglycemia, etc. Symptoms are not easy to detect, but irregular menstrual cycles, weight gain, vaginal dryness, breast tenderness, etc. may also occur.

Progesterone is closely related to fertility. If low progesterone levels occur in early pregnancy, it is recommended that you go to the hospital for treatment in time to effectively improve the situation. If the insufficient amount of progesterone secretion is due to luteal insufficiency, women can take progesterone supplements for treatment. Or if women have low progesterone due to premature ovarian failure, treatment is required based on their specific situation.

The reason why many female friends have low progesterone levels is due to disease factors, among which endocrine dysfunction is the most common one. Therefore, it is necessary to go to a regular hospital for relevant examinations in time, identify the pathogenic factors, and treat the symptoms in order to effectively achieve the goal of curing the disease.