ttc with one tube - is it even possible?

Hey ladies

I probably post too many little threads asking silly questions. But I have just been sitting here dwelling on the whole ttc journey of mine that hasn't gone too well this year. And I just thought to myself - is it even possible with just one tube?

I don't know for sure how my body works, but I had one doctor at hospital tell me that chances of conceiving with 1 tube is very slim as you predominantly ovulate on the one 'favoured' side. So If i've lost the favoured tube, where does that leave me?

Then again, I've heard someone talking about O happening on alternate sides each cycle which means that if i last O'd on my left side, this cycle would be my right side and I won't have any possibility of conceiving this cycle as i only have my left tube.

Sorry for the ranting, just venting my frustrations for the day I guess.

Any other ladies ttc with one tube who have some insight into this stuff??? I mean, can you even tell which side you are Oing on? Am i meant to cramp on that side during O or will my CP be different accoring to which side i O on??

I just feel this is never going to happen for me :(

My neighbour tried to fall pregnant for two years, then lost a tube due to an etopic pregnancy. After she lost the tube she was pregnant 2 months on and has recently given birth to a healthy baby boy. Hopefully it all works out for you too. Try and stay positive TTC can do weird things to a womans brain. Good luck

i have a friend who recently gave birth to a healthy baby girl after concieving with one tube...so i guess it is possible :)

GL hun and try and stay positive. :hug:

I don't know the specifics of your situation, but I do know from personal experience that it is possible to conceive with one tube. I have conceived three times after ovulating from the left ovary, with my left tube being the one removed.

So not only is it possible to conceive, but it is also possible to conceive when ovulating from the ovary without a tube. According to two different specialists I have seen, even though the chances are much slimmer, it is apparently even possible to conceive with both tubes removed.

I don't think you can physically feel which side you are ovulating from, but an ultrasound can pick it up as the ovary enlarges and remains so for some time.

Hope this helps to renew hope for you :hug:

Thanks so much ladies for your posts. it does make me feel a little better hearing some success stories. I think i'm just at that point where you go... is it even worth it??? Been feeling a little disheartened.

Whoops - you are right, ttc CAN do weird things to our brains! I'm doing my head in here thinking about it all the time! Thanks for your well wishes. And thanks for sharing your friend's story - a short ttc journey after ectopic! That's just what I hoped for.

Sunshine - thank you also for your well wishes. I'm glad to hear your friend's success.

Suse - what great information. Thank you so much. I can not begin to tell you how much i appreciate hearing this news. I wonder how that works, must be a hormonal thing?? However it works, I'm glad it does... so i don't feel all this extra love making wasn't for no good reason!! (yes, it was fun.. but I wasn't sure the extra stress of it was worth it).

Thanks again ladies

Ciara, from what I was told, the ovum can either travel 'round the long way' (so to speak) to the remaining tube, or just bypass the tube altogether. I don't think it's known exactly why or how this happens, just that it sometimes does. I believe it's also the reason that tubal ligation doesn't always have a 100% success rate. It's pretty freaky though.

When I had my ectopic I was told that even when it is detected very early and it would be possible to repair the tube it is generally recommended to remove rather than repair because it is more likely having another ectopic on a tube that has already experienced one than it is to not conceive with only one tube. I don't think that they really know exactly why an ectopic occurs so maybe there's a bit of bet-hedging with this theory.

Maybe if you are not seeing someone already, you might get some better answers and some fresh hope from a different doctor or FS? If it was a hospital doctor who you spoke to last time, there may be a FS who has more experience in TTC after ectopic. IME, hospitals are more used to treating people from a surgical perspective when they've had a miscarriage or ectopic and not so experienced in helping them conceive afterwards.

It is most definately possible!

I lost a tube due to a ruptured ectopic which nearly killed me...but that's another story...your tubes don't sit in one spot as such they move around...so it is possible for the one tube to catch the egg from either side...so my fertility specialist told me...and hey...I fell pregnant for bub 2 while still breast feeding and that was after 10 years of waiting for bub 1...hang in there hun...after my journey I really believe in miracles and I hope you have yours in your arms soon xxx

Oh...forgot to add..that both bub's were conceived naturally after years of IVF!

Suse you're right, hospital doctors don't care so much about the 'after effects', they're just interested in the here and now. I get a little embarrassed asking people these types of questions in person, which is why this forum has been great for me. But you're right, I probably do need to bite the bullet and go to see a FS.

Thanks again for all your help, much appreciated!

Ellie- i just saw your post. Oh i'm sorry about your experience. I know what you mean, I got to the hospital with just minutes to spare apparently. Not a great thing to go through is it?

Congrats on your two miracles! And thanks for the info! It just gives me a little more hope that I will also get a BFP in the new year. Good luck with the pregnancy, and thanks again.

My friend lost one of her tubes from an ectopic and is now pregnant.
Apparantly the alternating sides is a myth as you could have the same side ovulate consecutive months. She had also had 3 other m/c so was seeing a specialist who used to get her in for a scan each month to check what side she was going to ovulate from.
Just keep trying and see how you go. Its is possible!

Thanks ShellBell, I appreciate your input. i might need to start doing what your friend did - getting ultrasound each month. perhaps it would ease my mind a little more and prevent these 'down' days i get when i feel like i'm going nowhere with it.

I feel the same way ciara.e. I know how possible it is to get pregnant with one tube but so far it hasn't happened for me. I think its just the difficulties in ttc when things aren't going right. I mean when ttc we all expect initially to go off the pill/condoms etc have sex for a few cycles and bang be pregnant if not sooner. I am still waiting for the end of my ttc journey to know what happens from here and that can be really hard. Just know your not alone.

Thanks so much Emmy. You have no idea how nice it was to read your words of support. I'm so sorry for you that you haven't managed to get your BFP yet. I only hope it will happen for you very soon. Let's hope both of our ttc journeys reach their end very early in the new year!

xxx

My mum had an ectopic and lost one of her tubes as a result. The doctors said that she shouldn't have any more children, she had 4 + 1 m/c + the ectopic as it would could seriously compromise her health and she probably wouldn't survive (i think it had something to do with the ectopic wasn't picked up early and it ruptured). I think a year later she fell pregnant with my sister and carried her to term with no serious complications, and delivered a 10lb baby
So YES you can fall pregnant with only one tube... relax and enjoy all the practice you are getting, it will happen when the right little angel is ready for you

Hey hun, i also have a friend who suffered an eptopic pregnancy early this year and i am delighted to tell you she is now approx 27 weeks pregnant so there is hope - dont give up darl, hope your BFP isnt too far away :hug:

Anything is possible sweety!! Take me for example, lost my right tube due to ecoptic pg, then I fell pg with DD and ovulated from the right side (this was confirmed by two ultrasounds) so the little egg went the long way round.. DD is 28 months old and im almost 29wks pg with bub#2 who was a complete suprise as we werent even ttc. So after the drs telling me my chances were slim blah blah blah Ive gone on to have two healthy pregnancies both concieved naturally.

Best of luck, and believe in yourself and your body, you can do this xx

Belle, Westy and Lisa - thanks so much for sharing your success stories. I guess the whole ttc journey isn't as easy as we all hope it would be.

Congrats Lisa, on your little miracle #2!!! Healthy pregnancy vibes your way!

Westy, great to hear about your friend... and Belle the same about your mum. All these pregnancies after ectopic just make me feel a little more confident that it will happen for me soon.

fingers crossed.

and happy new year to all

No worries at all darl, i really hope the New Year is the Year for you ...fingers crossed :hug:

Just want to say thank you to all of you who have contributed to this thread.

I have just got home today from the hospital after having my left tube removed due to an ectopic pregnancy.

My obstetrician told me I should be fine to conceive again, but even though he said that I still wanted to read some real peoples experiences.

So thanks guys.. I have hope now.


Now if only I didn't have to wait 2 cycles before I could try again *grr*

My friend/hairdresser lost her left ovary after a ruptured cyst (it had to be removed). She managed to conceive her first son just a couple of months later and has just given birth to (surprise) son #2. I know it's a bit different to a tube, but I thought it might give you hope that you can certainly fall pg with just one ovary.

hi meggles - sorry to hear that this has happened for you also. It was definately not a plesent experience for me so I know what you're going through. I had complications after surgery and couldn't walk for about a month afterwards, but i am actively ttc now so i'm sure you'll be back at it in no time also. I didn't start AF on a regular cycle after the laparoscopy, i think it took almost two months to get back on track.. but it's regular now. I know you didn't ask this stuff, but it was all things i was wondering when I had the ectopic. I wish you a fast recovery, take some time to grieve babe.. you'll be back on track soon. Perhaps we can be ttc buddies!! All the best babe xxx

Jen - thanks for sharing your story also. it's helpful to know that there are different challenges that women face with ttc, but there can always be a positive outcome.

Meggles, i am so sorry to hear this has happened to you. I wish you all the best and i hope you get your BFP really soon :hug:

Thank you for posting this Ciara. We had an ectopic pregnancy in June 09 & we are ttc once again. So far no luck but its a new yr, fingers crossed. My Dr is wonderful and has told me not to worry, the chances of falling pregnant with one tube is still quite high, apparently your chances of conceiving naturally only drop to about 70% so its not like it drops to 50% as most people would expect. We are trying again this month, if no luck I am off to get some added help from a specialist. Starting to get impatient lol. Hope you get your bfp soon, will be keeping an eye out for your announcement.

Meggles you poor thing, which hospital were you in? I went to KEMH they were pretty terrible. Its such a huge dissapointment isnt it :( As for waiting two cycles to try again, they all recommend this however my Dr said there isnt really any need to wait, unless you had your tube repaired instead of removed, to give it time to heal and hopefully prevent further ectopics. Good luck.

Madsmum - You and I have had a similar journey haven't we? It would be fantastic if we both got our BFPs at the same time... really soon!!! Fingers crossed for this month!

I'm so sad reading about all the women who have had a rough trot ttc. And being one of them, i understand the heartache involved. May this year bring us all our miracle babies!

Yes I know, very similar!!! Are you in the 2 week wait period now or waiting for ovulation?

in my tww, with fingers crossed so hard!! how about you?

Trying to figure out when ovulation is, its either at the moment or another five or so days away lol. What a mission!!!! Hope you get a bfp!

naww hun, i hate the 'not knowing when you're body's going to kick back in again'. you should come over to the 'trying to conceive after miscarriage or loss' thread. So many wonderful women over there (if you're not already part of that one). I know it feels like a mission, boy do i know that feeling!! There's something kinda nice about having another person in a similar boat to share the journey with, isn't there?

And thanks, i hope its a BFP also... but i'm not convinced this time. we'll wait and see. Fingers crossed you get some O signs soon. In the meantime, have fun BDing hehe. Praying we get our 2010 bubs
xx

Hi,

I am ever so sorry to hear of your loss and to all of you wonderful ladies that have posted....

I had a ruptured ectopic and lost my right tube and nearly my life too.... BUT I went on to have a beautiful cheeky boy and have just had a gorgeous girl (well 11 weeks ago) ... so it is possible hun.....

Wishing you all the best for 2010 and I can't wait to read your pregnancy annoucements -
ciara.e & MadsMum & Meggles xxxx

Chepie - thanks so much for sharing your wonderful story! I am sad to hear that you also sufferred such a horrible loss, but going on to have two gorgeous babies is wonderful news! It's like candy to my eyes reading about the miracle babies after ectopic. congrats on the recent addition to your family! And thanks so much for your well wishes. I am hoping that Meggles, MadsMum and myself can share our ttc journeys and hopefully our BFPs very soon!!

xx

Thanks Chepie for sharing!! Congrats on your new baby girl!

Ciara this sounds ridiculous but I dont want to join the ttc after loss group, its nice to know there are plenty of others sharing the same situation as me, but at the same time I dont want to dwell on it any more than I already am, does that make sense?? I am trying to not put any added pressure on myself, that sounds crazy seeing as I am lurking in the ttc & miscarriage section of the forum lol!!!! I dont know I cant find the words to explain it, but I just dont feel right about it?

Yes Mads, i understand where you're coming from. Wanting to move forward from it is a good thing! I guess the first month or two were the hardest for me. Now it's probably more the impatience of not being UTD already! haha.
Have you figured out your O dates yet? or just BDing like crazy????

Pretty much, as I really have no idea when to expect ovulation this month. Time will tell if we got it right! How many days till you can test?

i'm only at 6dpo. wish i was further along as the suspense is killing me! haha. you know when you start to analyse every little sensation and then convince yourself it's a symptom! haha. Well, one more week. I at least wanna wait til the weekend before i test, but AF is due next monday so it would be cheaper to wait til tuesday to see if she shows up.

I have my fingers crossed that u got it right! haha, no harm in keeping up the lovin' just to be sure. So how are you going to work this cycle? I mean, are you gonna just wait 2 weeks from when you thought ovulation would have been, and then test.. or what?

Well today is 6 days since my surgery. Had my stitches out yesterday, wounds are looking good. Still sore and have some twinges inside, but much better.

We actually had sex yesterday.... *oops* ... maybe a bit soon, but the midwife said as long as I felt comfortable and wasn't still bleeding then go for it.. hehe.

She also said "you didn't hear it from me, but I see no reason not to start trying to conceive again straight away either ... I've been through it myself and had 3 different ob's tell me to try again right away because so many women get pregnant right after having a tube removed and an ectopic... maybe because you get all 'cleaned out' and have a fresh start inside..... so I say go for it... but.. you didn't hear it from me *wink*"

Hehehe... so I'll see how I'm feeling.. hopefully get my period real soon and can gauge where I'm at from there.

I should really learn how to chart my cervical mucous... *thinks I'd better read up on that*

Meggles its great to hear you're doing so well. Yeah it may take some time for AF to get back on track, but recognising CM has been a blessing for me. i just read every little thing i could find on it, and now i haven't missed ovulation once (well at least, i don't think i have haha). It may take one or two cycles to get the hang of it... but hey, sooo worth knowing.

I wish I had such a great midwife tell me about ttc straight away. LOL, she sounds cheeky.. love it! I didn't have sutures to be removed (they glued my cuts as i'm allergic to sutures) so my follow up was just with GP mostly.

Glad to hear you're back in the bed with your man! that was the scary part for me.. so once you have that out of the way, you know you're set for ttc!

Babydust to you!
xx

How are you going in the tww ciara.e? I think we must be around the same. I caved and tested and BFN surprise surprise.
My Gyno was adament I not ttc for at least 3 periods post EP which was actually 4months after the surgery. It was heart breaking waiting that long but now its over it wasn't as bad. Its as bad now ttc and not getting pregnant again. Another Gyno did a lap and dye after 12weeks and we started ttc after then. I needed that reasurance my remaining tube was opened as I did have a pile of things that caused the ectopic in the first place (endo, adhesions, infection)
Best of luck ttc in 2010. Hope it all brings us our much wanted and waited for babies.

Hi Emmy!!
Sorry i haven't been on lately! I've just had soo much going on at home with family going back home after christmas, so i finally get to finish unpacking after moving house before christmas!
I'm sorry you got a bfn. I feel as though i'll be getting the same also. I too caved today and tested. There was the faintest pink line there, but i don't think it's enough to call it a bfp line. possibly just a shadow. So i'm going to just wait a few more days and test again with fmu. Ultimately it's all about whether or not AF shows up isn't it?
It's great that you've had those tests done. Sounds like your gyno is on the ball! Hopefully your bfp isn't too far away either. No matter what, i'll be right here on the same journey as you!