Ectopic pregnancy and methotrexate

[Carah]

Hi all, I found out recently that I had an ectopic pregnancy - I have received treatment by the form of a methotrexate injection. I really wanted to know if anyone else had experience of this that they could share with me. It can be quite scary going through it and not knowing what will happen. Thanks in advance girls - I know how informative you lot are!! XXXX
ps sorry to the mods if this in the the wrong place - I couldn't find any posts about ectopics?!

[Rach75]

I went thru this is Oct 02

please what ever you do make sure you are taking 5mgs folic acid and dont fall pg within a year of last injection

we weren't told of side effects nor told to go on 5mgs folic acid not trying to scare you but the methotextrate completely robs you body of folic acid stores and take a good year on the 5mgs to get up to a good level again (as you know folic acid helps to prevent NTD in babies)

:hugs:

[Carah]

Thanks for that Rachel - I have actually been told its dangerous to take folic acid when getting the injection - and it only stays in your system for 3 months - advice on leaflet says to wait 6 weeks but we were going to stay on the safe side of 3 months. In all honesty I don't feel like TTC for a good long while - just want my body to recover first. Can I ask if you bled and how long it took to start/stop?? Sorry if TMI - please PM me if thats better. XXX

ps I was just thinking that maybe because its over 5 yrs ago since you went through it - maybe they have changed the guidelines now.!??!

[Rach75]

I had 2 injections after 2nd I think it took 5 days if anything now it wasn't that bad in comparison to my natural m/c in mar 05

the reason I mention waiting a year is we fell pg in the april of 03 our little girl was s/b @21 weeks due to NTD anecephaly the OB said to us after reading our chart says were you not told to wait a year, because of the folic acid depletion, we didn't know we were told wait 2 cycles after intial bleed, although many other enviromental issues may have cause Katy's NTD things I have read show the depletion of folic acid is a major cause of anencephaly so in saying that I beleive falling pg so soon after was a major factor

I am no medical expert just going by our experience

again :hugs: I am so sorry to hear of people going thru this

[Carah]

Thanks Rachel - Well I had the choice of either the injection or removing the tube - I opted for the 'chicken' approach and took the injection - but it has really knocked me for six!!! So tired - am sleeping constantly and hate the nausea!!!
Its not a pleasant experience but I am just glad about my tube not rupturing really.
Thanks for your help - I'm going back on Thursday and will ask heaps more questions!!
xxx

[chepie]

Hi Carah,

I am ever so very sorry for the loss of your angel... I too had an ectpoic pregnancy in 2006, though my right tube ruptured with massive internal bleeding... anyways even though I lost my right tube you can still conceive just as well as your tubes do move around so e.g if my right ovary was o'ing then the lefty tube can move across to collect the eggie clever huh..... anyways I know that your situation is different to mine but I want to send you BIG hugs hun and hope that you and your dh get through this difficlut time xx

[Carah]

Hi Chepie
Thanks so much for your post! I think the main thing was I was in no pain/ had no free fluid etc and even though my hcg levels were high (6600) for the methotrexate - they still thought I'd be ok. I did however spend 8 hours in emergency yesterday (oh joy!!) because I felt truly sick and had pains down my right sade (arms and legs) - I was discharged ok though and still no rupturing and the hcgs are happily reducing. So I'm quite thankful I didn't have the whole ruptured thing (I can't imagine how painful that was for you). I'm so sorry about your loss too. To be honest I feel very positive and we're giving TTC'ing a break for about a year then will get back when I feel my body has got back to normal. I think the hardest thing about ectopic is your poor body stills feels like its pregnant (I have blue veins everywhere!!!!) and I just want to be back to normal now. Are you TTC'ing again now? Sending you happy vibes anyway honey!!!
XXXXX
ps very impressed with the whole moving tubes etc....funnily enough if you loose a tube you chances of conception only go down by 10% not 50% like most people think - because the body understands whats going on...etc....'very' interesting!!!!

[chepie]

Hi Carah,

Wishing you all the best with ttc in near future! Sorry to hear about the pain sweetie... glad to hear that you are so postive xxx We have a lovely son Aiden who is 4.5 months old- and while we aren't actively ttc we aren't being too careful either

Take care hun and GL xx

[Lady_Penelope]

Hi ladies

I too had noticed that there did not seem to be any threads re ectopic pregnancies, so am glad that a thread was started!

I too suffered an ectopic pregnancy in March 2007. I had symptoms for days - massive pains in the right side - I initially woke up with these pains at 2am one morning - went on for about 5 days. My DH is actually a DR and told me I was to take laxatives (!!!!!!) as that would be my problem - I was too early along for the preg to manifest as ectopic. (I believe ectopic pregnancies often don't give trouble until about 8 weeks?) Anyway - a few days after this I had a slight bleed, and insisted on going to hospital (given I had had a spontaneous miscarriage the year before - which AGAIN, was not taken seriously at the time).

Anyway - it was quickly diagnosed and I ended up having to have surgery - I was never given the option of methotrexate. I have only recently heard about it as being an option. Obviously I was too far along in terms of rupture risk though - my gynae said if I had not presented within about 12 to 24 hours there would have been a massive rupture. I was rather devastated to lose the right tube - and had been told about the remaining tube migrating about - however, I have never been able to find research on this.

It is a horrendous experience, isn't it?

Tracy

[*las*]

I had methotrexate last year, but not for an ectopic, for a blighted ovum. It took about 10 days for the bleed to start...then I bled on and off for another 8 weeks and took all that time for my HCG levels to drop (they never got that high in the first place either!). IT was painless, but just took ages to be over. I only had to wait 3 cycles before being able to ttc again.

Hope you are looking after yourself

[Counting Days]

Hi all,
This does NOT occur. The tubes do exhibit some movement but like your skin they can only move so far. The tubes do not reach around and collect eggs from opposite ovaries.

Husband who is an RN.

[Trillian]

I just wanted to clear something up about the MTX and Folate - No you don't take it on the same DAY as your MTX dose, you take it two days afterwards. Say if you had MTX on Monday, you would start taking your Folate (5mg) on Wednesday, and then for the next 3 days. MTX and Foalte cannot be in your system at the same time. You need to stop folate 2 days before the MTX when it's time for your next dose. For my situation I take MTX on Saturday, then start folate on Mon-Thurs, giving me a 'rest' day on Fri before my next MTX on Sat.

[ClareBear28]

Hi all,
Counting days - I am 20 weeks pregnant at the moment and I lost my left tube in April last yr due to it rupturing severely from an ectopic preg (I almost bled to death as I was misdiagnosed - very scary stuff!). I'm not too sure about the whole tubes moving bit, but with this pregnancy I actually ovulated from my left ovary (this is where the "ring of fire" or "dominant follicle" showed up on the ultrasound) both my obstetrician and the sonographer who did the scan said that it is possible to still fertilise the egg from that ovary even though there is no tube on that side for it to travel through - they told me that the egg can make its way down the opposite tube... natures way of making up for the missing tube I guess?

[Counting Days]

I have just had my 7 day check up after MTX my levels have dropped by over 50% so I have been given the all clear.

The whole ectopic experience was horrible pain nausea and vomiting. I am lucky it was picked up early as no need for the surgery option.

We now have to wait 3 months before trying again due to the possible side effects of the MTX. No need for folate for the time being. Not to happy about having to wait after I had IUD removed I will need to go on the pill for 3 months but I guess this is better than the possible birth defects in any pregnancy before the MTX is out of my system.

[elainenokes]

in reply to your letters .. i was told i had an eptopic pregnancy a week ago the baby was growing in my right ovarie but by hcg levels were still quite low 1285 at first they gave me the option of an op but i went for the injection .... i only had it yesterday i feel sick and could sleep for england .... i have experianced a small amount of pain but have managed it with co-codamol and a hot water bottle ..... i feel like i need to rest all the time though ...is this normal ?? i also have fears even though iv been told that it looks as though the egg is dying even before i had treatment i still feel like im a ticking time bomb ... its an awful feeling ..... im so glad this is being mentioned as feel like im very much alone ... i have 2 lovely girls and keep being told i should think myself lucky ? i do but i have such a sense of loss and my hormones are every where ... feel like im on full spin on washing machine .... sorry for going on

[Counting Days]

Sorry to tell you but you will feel like crap for awhile yet and sleep will be your best friend.

I have been bleeding for amount a month now wish it would stop as really over it now.

[elainenokes]

thought it would prob go on for a while ... thanks for the advice

[Trillian]

thought it would prob go on for a while ... thanks for the advice

the tiredness and nausea are side effects of the MTX, they should soon pass for you. Make sure you drink loads of water to ease the burden on your liver and kidneys