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This thread is open to those who are either going through or have experienced an ectopic pregnancy in the past. There are a number of complications that can affect an ectopic compared to other pregnancy loss. It is a shock to deal with and the long-term effects can be traumatic (eg, potential risk to life, loss of tube, increased risk of future ectopics).
This can be a place to share how those affected have dealt with an ectopic.
Hi PP - sorry you're going through this. I've been meaning to start this for a while but finally got onto it.
My story:
I've been through a number of losses, from early losses to stillbirth and neonatal death. Last year, I had 2 losses. A chemical in August and an ectopic pregnancy in October. The chemical, whilst disappointing, didn't really phase me as I figure it's Mother Nature doing her job. The ectopic was unbelievable.
The ectopic pregnancy was conceived on my first & only clomid cycle. Apart from having serious depression side effects from the clomid, the ectopic felt like an insult after injury. I started feeling pain about 4wks. I called my FS office and was told it was just stretching pain. I didn't think so. I've been pregnant enough times to know what early stretching pain is. However, when I felt full on stabbing pain and 4+4wks, I thought it may just be a gluten reaction. Happily, I had a GP appointment scheduled for 2 days later. By then, the pain radiated from my right thigh up to my ribs. She referred me to a scan & called the office to let them know I was coming, but also told me to call my FS and he'd get me in to scan me. I called him but he said to call him back the next week. As there was no bleeding, it was probably nothing. I can still remember standing at the tram stop, trying to work out what to do - go home or go to the ultrasound place. I was so scared it was ectopic and that it could rupture at any time. It was late Thursday afternoon and I didn't want to go through the weekend with that pain, not knowing what was going on. My Dh was interstate but he finally called me back and told me to get the scan. Friends told me to get the scan.
I jumped on the tram to the ultrasound place. An hour later, the pregnancy was found in my right tube. Apparently, the rib pain was from internal bleeding. The OB at the clinic called my FS and I was scheduled for surgery the following day. I was 5wks pregnant when my right tube was removed via a lap. I was seriously ****ed off with the universe. Surely, we'd already been through enough horror without my fertility being reduced even further. In recovery, my FS dared to ask me in recovery if I had my dates right...this is the guy who was monitoring my cycle and told me when to trigger! We found another FS. He gave me a photo from the lap - showing the blood clotting out of the tube and the huge mass that was an embryo.
I kept thinking, after all we've been through, what if this baby was finally a healthy one and my dodgy tube stuffed everything up. I was so bloody angry.
Recovery took a few weeks. I was surprised, but later realised, removing an organ is a big thing. 3 of the 4 lap scars have faded but the one above my right tube is still quite red and can feel sore sometimes. It's healed, but i feel it.
I was lucky I'd read some tips the night before the lap about how to deal with it, so I took things very easy. I have a wedge pillow so I was able to sleep sitting up for about a week. A week after surgery, I felt a heap better, so I went and overdid it and ended up flat out exhausted and in pain again. For pain management, I alternated between panadeine forte and ibroprofen.
I'll come back when I think of more. I hope reading this can help others who have been through or are currenty dealing with an ectopic.
Just subbing so I can come back later
PP thinking of you xxx Thanks L&B for the thread it couldn't have come at a better time. I'll add my story when I have time to write it. It's pretty long. So here I am 4yrs later still affected by my ectopic. Other then a few months we have been ttc for over a year now although only seriously since I weaned my 2yr old 3months ago. I'm just so disappointed that I haven't been able to conceive in a normal fashion. I expected it which is why we didn't use contraception after Jay was born early 11 but I still had hope this time would be different. I know take out breast feeding it's only a short time but considering my cycle retuned 18months ago and I know I was ovulating even when BF It certainly feels over a year of ttc and not a hint of another pregnancy. I hate that having a part of my reproductive track removed has now reduced my chances further of falling pregnant again. This time I promised myself I wouldn't get disappointed if it doesn't happen but as time goes on I'm getting more and more depressed about it. I don't want to feel like but I do and find myself wishing I had 2 normal tubes as we know that's what the problem is :(
I'm sorry that we are here after experiencing such a loss.
I had mine nearly 10yrs ago when I was still married to my daughters dad. We had had a mm/c at 12.5wks in the February of '03 and then the ectopic, resulting in the removal of my left tube in August of '03. I don't remember a lot - I remember it being a sunday and going to visit my friend but before I got to her house I felt 'wrong' and came home to use the toilet. I only had a little bit of blood, no real pain but a strange sensation in my right hip.
I don't know what to write - my tube was removed, I have a scar that looks like a C section scar that sometimes itches, I have this fear that I will have another ectopic and lose my last chance of natural conception. This last week I experienced an early m/c and have been frightened that my levels wouldn't drop and the Dr would suspect an ectopic. I didn't think having my tube removed would have such an effect on me but it was the straw that broke my unstable marriages back. I lost the plot - got all my hair cut off. Started staying late after work and drinking with co workers. I resented my husband not being there when I woke from surgery. I have no memory of who looked after my daughter in the days and weeks following the surgery - I assume it was my parents but I don't know. I was angry. So angry. And I ran away from everything and everyone.
I felt like a failure. I enjoyed the physical pain because it was all I could feel and without the pain I would be numb.
Sorry to be such a negative nelly but I can't put it into sentenances that make sense about how I felt regarding that time of my life.
Don't be sorry PP. I've been having a woo is me week after a few BFN. Everything was perfect with timing, I O'd from my tube side etc just rubbing it in that this is going to take time. I'm trying to look forward to other things besides having another baby to distract me from the fact it's not happening. I always get down around 12DPO when I realise I'm not pregnant again but on the bright side I'm happy when AF arrives as its on to a fresh cycle
My bleeding post surgery didn't really ramp up until day3 but lasted for 10days. It was just bright red not clotty like my normal AF is. I do remember ovulating on day17 post surgery and felt very fertile like my body wanted to be pregnant again. We couldn't ttc again straight away as my surgery showed my remaining tube was damaged from PID and endo and I needed more surgery to try and fix it (I had that 10weeks later)
Yes bleeding is completely normal as your uterus lining will shed. With ectopic you get a thickened lining but not like you would with a uterine pregnancy as the beginnings of the placenta develops in your tube also so you usually wont get all the tissue passing like you would get in a m/c.
I was on my ipod so couldn't keep writing.
As for pain relief I used nurofen and panadol. I am allergic to codeine so couldn't have anything stronger prescribed. I had pain relief for the first week and then 3weeks later for another week. I was also on large doses of antibiotics for 3weeks which is what they think contributed to my bowel abcess which became a problem 3weeks post surgery (that was horrific) The abcess definately slowed my physical recovery down substancially.
I was really surprised to ovulate so quickly after the surgery (day 17 and it was confirmed on day21 when I had a scan on the abcess. I normally ovulated on day17 anyway so was surprised my normal cycle returned so quickly)
Not that you asked about this but I couldn't DTD with DH until 1month post surgery and when I finally did I bawled my eyes out and was completely shocked about how it made me feel. I think we even stopped without finishing if that makes sense. We had been ttc for close to 18months and to finally have to prevent and still not have a baby or feel close to getting one was really awful. I have always had a high drive in that area and it took several months to feel ok about doing it again (although I made myself) but during the act was not something I enjoyed. That was really hard on our relationship as that's an area that's really important to me.
After my 2nd surgery we start ttc again straight away at the Drs orders (to make the most use out of his handy work with repairing my remaining tube) he said if we didn't conceive within 6months to try IVF which we were very keen to do. When 6months came around I still wasn't pregnant but by the time we had appointments (allowing for waiting times for appointments) it was 9months of ttc. On the next cycle (10months or 10cycles post 2nd surgery) we conceived our youngest DD naturally the very cycle before our first stim cycle. We were very very lucky as the FS almost put me on the pill for that cycle but decided not to.
I cant remember how long they suggest not lifting things. Probably when you feel ok to do it. Your body is the best thing to tell you if your able to do it and when.
I don't know how long it takes each person to feel normal again. I know for me it was a really long time. Probably when I was mid pregnancy with my baby I had after my ectopic a year later. Having her definitely assisted the heeling process. A lot of how I felt was related to infertility, my losses and the difficulties I had with our ttc journey and feeling ripped off that I was one of the unlucky ones. Unfortunately although we are going ok now DH and I were not a couple that grew stronger through what we went through and it did put a real strain on our marriage for sometime. I had days even a year later and even now when I cry on and off due to my ectopic but then again that is more because of the fact it was a big event in my fertility journey so when I don't get pregnant and there are numerous pregnancy announcements and others can decide to have a baby and have one in their arms less then a year later it just highlights the fact that now that's not going to happen for me which comes back to having the surgery as I do think its been the major contributer in me not been able to conceive again at the moment. I took 8weeks of work and changed my job as a midwife to a theatre nurse as I just couldn't be around pregnant and birthing women at that stage. I did go back to working as a midwife at around 5months post surgery but it was really hard. I'd hid away in the toilet or pan room crying but that did get better with time.
Just wondering what peoples bleeding was like with their ectopics? I am currently been monitored for another ectopic pregnancy and started bleeding on Sunday night. Its now very heavy and very clotty (not like the bleeding with my ectopic were my right tube was removed) I thought I must of been having a chemical pregnancy instead but I just did another HPT and the line came up quickly and is darker then it has ever been so of course I am worried the pregnancy is ectopic again but I am surprised that the bleeding is more typical of a normal m/c.
Yes but not until Friday. They wont give me methotrexate until my HCG is several hundred and on Saturday evening they were 32. Even if they double which I highly doubt they probably wont give me the injection on Friday anyway. Ive been reading on the ectopic pregnancy trust and my bleeding sounds too heavy and clotty to be a progressing ectopic so I can only hope that the HCG is from some tissue I haven't passed. Trying to be more positive and not think the worst.
I hope so PP. The urine I used wasn't FMU but it was concentrated. My line on Saturday was similar to todays in shade but todays come up way faster. On Saturday HCG was only 32 so going on the urine I'd say its still well below 100 but high enough to show a convincing BFP. My bleeding isn't even as heavy as my normal AF but I have had a lot of pain (like my uterus was full of cement and something is tugging hard on my ligaments down there on both sides and a weight on my back) and overnight I had a lot of big clots. So hopefully that's more convincing of an early m/c. Only time will tell I guess.
I didn't have any physical pain when DH and I DTD for the first time after my surgery but it was a month later. I was looking forward to it but when we finally did was shocked at how upset I was about it but that was because for the first time in 1.5yrs we had to prevent and I wanted to be pregnant more then anything in the world at that time so it was a huge reminder that the one thing that could help me get pregnant was not going to do any good if that makes sense.
How is everyone going? For me, those first 4-6 months after the ectopic were really hard. I was so angry and couldnt deal with other people's pregnancies or babies. My EDD for that short pregnancy recently passed. Whilst not really grieving, I still feel angry about it. That baby could have been healthy and born by now.
Something recently occurred to me about a possible cause to my ectopic. I have no idea if it could be related and it's irrelevant now. Anyway, in December 2011 I had pain on my right hand side that grew and grew. My GP sent me for a scan for possible gallbladder problem. That turned out to be ok but the scan was only on the upper quadrant of my abdomen. A month or so later I felt a sharp pain that subsided and that right sided pain never reoccured. In October 2012 I did a Clomid cycle, grew 2 dominant follies on the RHS, triggered, conceived and it implanted in the right fallopian tube. Which was removed through surgery.
In December 2012, we started down the IVF route and had counselling and basic tests in Jan 2013. A scan showed my right ovary was polycystic. Left ovary normal.
What I'm now wondering is, did I have an ovarian cyst back in 2011 that may have burst and damaged something, like my tube? Is that related to that ovary being polycystic? Could a burst cyst cause an ectopic? Would it have made any difference if I'd known?
i dont know. I just sometimes think about it.
This pregnancy was from an OI cycle. Though the instructions said to inject FSH all over the abdomen, I only injected on the left hand side and had 2 large follies there. None grew on the RHS. So maybe that made a small difference.
Hope you conceive again soon PP and have a long and boring pregnancy IYKWIM :)
Yeah clomid increases the chances of ectopic but my understanding was that it was only for that cycle so wouldn't affect your tubes later on. What I find interesting is the majority of tubes removed from ectopic are the right side. I cant remember why that is but there is a reason for it. Most of the people I know have lost their right tubes (including me)
L&B I had this disagreement with the Ob recently as I almost never ovulate from my tubeless side anymore. He reckons I wouldn't know but the times I have had an ultrasound I have never been wrong. I once read somewhere that the tube supplies the ovary with a large percentage of blood supply so once its removed the working capacity of that ovary is reduced so to me it would make sense that as a result you would then ovulate more frequently from the ovary with the tube bearing in mind both ovaries start growing follies and the leading one takes over with the rests been reabsorbed. To me that would make sense that the ovary with the best blood supply would win the race almost every month. I know the tube isn't connected to the ovary so I am sure how the blood supply from the tube also feeds the ovary but apparently somewhere along the line it does.
As for your theory I would imagine a cyst could damage a tube. You would think there would have been some tissue or fluid that could have been left behind in your tube and combined with the clomid cycle may have increased the chances even further.
Anyway no luck ttc for us. Its getting a bit disheartening. I hoped after having a hint of a pregnancy in May I might have been one of these freaky people who conceived the very next cycle. Im now about to O again but both DH and I are unwell and although have DTD don't hold much hope of anything surviving in my body. We have been really struggling with what to do as to ttc again or not. I wish I could give up trying but I know if I don't atleast give it our best I will always feel someone is missing and wished for another baby. I just hope if it doesn't happen I can move on and have closure that it was never meant to be. I hate the thought of my ttc days ending with a few m/c or another ectopic and another few years trying. I'd much prefer to close the book on ttc with the birth of another baby. But apart from that and feeling very unwell I am going well :)
I had a ectopic in dec 2010 I had been bleeding on and off for 3 weeks first I thought it was just af but after 3 weeks it was time to see the dr (didn't have time before as ds4 was only 3 1/2months old) I seen the dr on the 15/12/10 (day before my 24th birthday) she asked if I could be pregnant and told her no we had been using protection and had only dtd a few times (ds4 was a c-section) she asked if I had any pains or anything I said I had had a little crampy feelings twice on the right side just above my hip she asked to do a pregnancy test just to rule it out so we done it and the + came up straight away she said she wants to send me to hospital cause she thinks it's a ectopic but they can do scans and stuff at the hospital so go to the hospital and wait around for 4hrs they do bloods the nurse comes back and says we are keeping you in we can't get a ultrasound now (4:30pm) so will have one in the morning but results have come back and levels put me at about 10weeks so get taken to a ward and nurse up there says they will keep doing more bloods to see what my levels are doing and do a u/s in the morning and go from there the next morning 16/12/10 my 24th birthday I get bloods dne again at 6am them results come back lower then the night before about 11:30 I pass a clot the size of a small orange and end up double over in pain I get pain killers and they do more bloods at this stage I'm still waiting for u/s and they won't let me eat in case I go to theatre 2nd sets of bloods come back higher again dr came and said they are keeping me in again to keep checking levels if they go down in the next 2 lots I can go hme next day 3rd lot of bloods get done at 2:30and they are about the same as 2nd set 4th lot get taken about 6pm and they have risen a little I get told dr will see me in the morning and let me know what's happening Friday morning I get bloods at 6am finally get taken to u/s at 9:30am u/sshows a mass in right tube get another 3sets of bloods done during the day at 5pm head ob comes and see's me and says he wants to operate and remove the tube because his not happy with how my levels are (he was hoping it would pass on its own) he then said his not happy with me having any more kids as I have had 5c-sections in 6yrs and he doesn't like doing anymore then 4 he said he recommend having my left tube cut and tied while his in there so finally the morning of the 18/12/10 I was taken to theatre I remember much after that till the next day I do remember having the worst shoulder tip pain that night finally I was discharged on the 20/12/10 after spending 5days in hospital (felt so much longer ) I had no pain killers from the day of discharge back doing usual thngs day I got home as dh couldn't take time off work at that time of yr and had no family to help
Puzzle solved PP. Your left tube can pick up the egg from the right side or vise versa. As your tube isn't connect to your ovary it is possible for one tube to collect the egg from either side. The tube itself moves slightly and the fimbria (hairy things on the end of the tube closest to the ovary) create a vacuum which basically suck the egg in the direction of the tube. So despite it coming from one side the other side can get it anyway. Also it is very possible that the embie can make it to the uterus but decide to implant in the tube anyway. This is why having no tubes or having IVF does not prevent ectopic pregnancies. Actually with IVF the chances of ectopic are higher still.
Amazing really. That's why they say your chances of getting pregnant following an ectopic aren't reduced by 50% as it is possible for the remaining healthy tube to collect eggs from either side :) It didn't happen for me. My DD3 came from my tube side.