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I had an ectopic pregancy removed on Friday (7 weeks). It has taken me 2 years metaformine and chlomid to conceive and now to EP only have 1 falopian tube. Feeling a bit anxious about the whole situation and was wondering whether anyone had any tips or advice about starting to try again - which we are hoping to do asap with the best possible result as early as possible is it IVF, or more of the same?

Sorry to hear this. I also have fertility issues so know how painful this is. If you became pregnant on clomid then you should be able to again even with one tube. Otherwise it is the IVF route. The fact that you have been pregnant at all is a huge bonus though and really does bode well for your future chances.

Thank you anything positive at the moment is a massive bonus.

So sorry it's bloody awful isn't it.

I had one and lost a tube, I have since had 3 babies. i just wanted to say that it can still happen with one tube.

I am afraid I have no experieence of IVF though.

Good luck

Hi Kate

I had two ectopics last year (both on the same side) and lost a tube with the second one. It's shitty, I know.

After my second ectopic the advice was to go away and keep trying. I wasn't happy to leave things to chance since I was worried that would take ages, so opted instead to go to a private clinic and get some tests to check my remaining tube and that my uterus was ok. It was a week after my uterus got the all-clear (and about 4 months after my salpingectomy) that I became pregnant again naturally, and this one is in the right place.

If your remaining tube is ok then you should be able to conceive naturally or with clomid. If not I guess you might want to go for IVF, which will take some of the guesswork out of conception, but you do need to see someone decent if that is the route you want to go because I have read that IVF carries a higher risk of ectopics. I felt it was worth paying a doctor to oversee all of my care and to weigh up the risks and benefits of my various options, and it did take away a lot of stress to have someone decent on the case.

FWIW, apparently the egg that fertilised this time came from the ovary on my tubeless side. The human body is amazing; please don't feel too despondent.

Hi Kate

I had two ectopics last year (both on the same side) and lost a tube with the second one. It's shitty, I know.

After my second ectopic the advice was to go away and keep trying. I wasn't happy to leave things to chance since I was worried that would take ages, so opted instead to go to a private clinic and get some tests to check my remaining tube and that my uterus was ok. It was a week after my uterus got the all-clear (and about 4 months after my salpingectomy) that I became pregnant again naturally, and this one is in the right place. I felt it was worth paying a doctor to oversee all of my care and to weigh up the risks and benefits of my various options, and it did take away a lot of stress to have someone decent on the case.

FWIW, apparently the egg that fertilised this time came from the ovary on my tubeless side. The human body is amazing; please don't feel too despondent.

Don't know what happened there...

Mrshappy how did the egg reach the womb? Just curious as I only have one tube as well.

It's because the fallopian tubes are mobile and not fixed at the wider (open) end.

I read a paper that suggested that the egg drops out of the ovary into the Pouch of Douglas (a space in the pelvis) and then the tubes sort of sweep backwards and forwards and one of them picks up the egg. And as all of these bits are quite close together it is possible for a tube to pick up an egg from the other side.

I also saw a report that studied location of the corpus luteum cyst (from where the egg comes) in ectopic pregnancies which suggested that the egg switches sides as often as 30% of the time.

Because I always imagined (naively I suppose) that an egg was released from each side in turn so I would only be fertile every other month (not that I use that as birth control!)

but your information is very interesting, thank you.

Oh, I think it is sort of random. The ovaries have a sort of race and the egg that is ready first comes out. Not that it matters anyway if 30% of the time you have a chance of the egg being picked up even when you ovulate on the other side. I guess this is why we have 2 fallopian tubes!

When I had my ectopic the doctor told me I would have trouble concieving naturally in the future and may have another ectopic.

It sent me into a deep dpression and I met DD's father and he was very unsuitable and I didn't give a damn about contraception and slept with him without it.

I was late and was amazed but when they gave me a blood test they thougth it was ectopic again. I nearly died that night, DD's father left me alone and basically ended it with me there and then.

When I was in hospital being scanned to check if it would be ectopic again 3 nurses told me positive stories of pregnancy after ectopic, so heartening.

and the little sac was in the right place, amazing little dot, my DD!

I wish the Doctor hadn't been so negative as the period of time after having the ectopic I was seriously depressed. If only the postitive nurses had spoken to me I wouldn't have thought my life was ruined.

anyway, just want to repeat the positive message on this thread

I had a EP in November 06 and lost my right tube. I then conceived in Jan 07 but sadly had a MMC. By May 07 i was pregnant again with DS and he too came from the ovary on my tubeless side . I never thought that this could happen but it did and hes the proof. Clever little egg boy .

Dont give up

Hi Kate,

So sorry to hear oyur news. I had an ectopic last year and am now 20 weeks pregnant. However, I didn't lose a tube so slightly different. I did do a lot of reading thoough as I was very worried about the chances of a) conceiving again & b) another ectopic. Nearly everything I read states that over 60% of women who have had an ectopic go on to have healthy pregnancies (some women decide not to try again) which is very positive. I found the ectopic pregnancy website and message board invaluable and an amazing source of information and suppport.

I will never "get over" my experience and loss and can only advise you to give yourself a lot of space and time. I hope you have love and support from others xx

Thanks for all your support, saw my specialist yesterday who has advised the best way forward is more of the same for 6 months (chlomid/metaformin) then if that doesn't work it'll be IVF but your right IVF doesn't rule out another ectopic but then neither does loosing both tubes so looks like it's just going to be another thing to worry about....

That's exactly right Kate. I always felt like I would rather risk another ectopic than not get pregnant again. I'm sure that we regret not doing things more than doing them. And lots of luck to you - it can (and does) work out.

i have had 2 ectopic pregnancys,, the 1st was november 07 and that was in my left tube which has shown up on a scan that it is blocked,, my 2nd was may 09 and was in my right tube which i had an opp on and they sliced the tube and removed the pregnancy,, im just wondering has anyone got any kind of success storys on the lines of this as i am only 22 and i am really giving up hope. please help

hi
i had an ectopic pregnancy in march this year and thanks to the a&e doctor messing up i lost a tube......

i was also told that i have damage to my remaining tube so chances of me getting pregnant were slim

i am now 14weeks pregnant which has shocked my doctors

looks like i got pregnant a month and a half after my ectopic

was a massive surprize but goes to show the human body is amazing

hi,
I had an ectopic, lost a tube and was preg with ds (now two) within two months of trying. Since then have had another pregnancy (in the right place but miscarriage) and am now pregnant again (9 weeks, right place- but bricking it in case it's another miscarriage). As others have said it's perfectly possible to get preganant with only one tube- good luck

I lost my right tube and have had three babies since.

Good luck.

If you lost a tube then you're working on one side only, but one is enough.