Ectopic Pregnancy Experiences

[Skizii]

Hi Ladies,

As someone who has had 3 ectopic pregnancies (2 in the right fallopian tube & 1 in the left) I am interested in the experiences of other women please.

When did your pregnancy symptoms begin, if you had any?

What was your first symptom?

What other symptoms did you have & when did they develop?

Did you experience any mild discomfort or mild pain early on?

Did you feel a burning / pinching type sensation near your ovary area? Have you had this same sensation with a viable / successful pregnancy?

How many months after your last period was the ectopic pregnancy discovered?

Do you have an idea of what could have caused your ectopic pregnancy?

How was it resolved?

Have you had any more ectopic pregnancies? If yes, was it the same tube?

Have you gone on to have any children since?

Did you have any children before the ectopic?

Any other experiences / insights that you think may be useful are also welcome xx

Thank you for your time,

That's awful you've had three!! I had one in Feb. I also have a 2 year old so I know I can concieve in the right place.

My first symptom was spotting brown in the middle of my cycle. Then I had a faint positive the bleeding got heavier and I thought i had miscarried . Bled three days then done a test negative. It wasnt until two weeks later with sore boobs and feeling pregnant I done a test blazing positive. I started getting really really bad backache a week kater and shooting pain up my back passage and I knew something was off so went the epu. That's when they discovered I was having a ectopic but they couldnt locate it but my levels was way over 3000 I was 6 or 7 weeks my hgc wasn't rising properly so I had to have the injection. It took about four weeks for my numbers to fall was a awful experience. They did suspect that it was behind my left ovary. I didn't get any pains in my ovarys but with my son I got all kinds of twinges and sensations and that pregnancy was perfect.

I'm currently trying again I had to wait three months before we could try because of the injection. There's no way of knowing why ectopic happen and it's nothing to do with the person either it's nature and unfortunately we are part of the unlucky few who have experienced it xx

Thank you for replying @Jadeypie ,

The brown spotting you had, was it like prune juice as they say or no?

I also have a two year old, a little boy 🥰 conceived from my left ovary they think.

We’re also TTC & hoping 4th time lucky (2 ectopics & 1 MMC so far 😣) but not so sure if it will be if I’m honest 😢.

The latest I could have ovulated was 08-09 then had brown discharge (more like tar not prune juice) on 18-09 for 2 days, constant cramping in my back too but have had bfn ever since.

Not really sure what’s going on if I’m honest 🙈😫

I pray your road to no. 2 is a lot smoother @Jadeypie xx

Hi,

My ectopic was 13 years ago now so I will answer as best as I can remember!

I had one child already when the ectopic occurred.

We were trying to conceive so I knew within 2 weeks of ovulation that I was pregnant. Within a day or 2 of the positive test I had brown spotting. Then over the next few days I started to experience a lot of pain in my abdomen, like I was massively bloated and even sitting down hurt.

Phoned midwife re the spotting and was booked in for scan, which took place at around 5 weeks. Confirmed ectopic "a very large ectopic pregnancy" was how they described it, so I feel its a good thing I knew I was pregnant else things could have been disastrous.

Operated on the same day as the scan. They removed the tube but not the ovary.

Got pregnant again 6 months later (after 3 months of trying) and early scan indicated I had ovulated from the tubeless side, so the fertilised egg had got to the correct place this time without even going through a fallopian tube! That baby is about to turn 12 years old.

What caused it? I don't know. My mother also had an ectopic pregnancy so maybe it's inherited? Or it could have been due to me taking flucanazole for thrush when I was (unbeknown) a couple of days pregnant. These are just my thoughts, nothing a doctor has told me.

So sorry to hear you have been through it 3 times.

Also to add, the pregnancy tests were very faint and the line was not getting darker, unlike with my first pregnancy, so I felt this was also an indicator things were not progressing well.

My first pregnancy was ectopic - I found out at 6 weeks owing to sudden pain and an emergency trip to a and e. Was treated with methotrexate. I hadn't had bleeding, but I'd had mild cramping for a few days. I had no risk factors for ectopic, and I'd had my tubes checked via hycosy scan 6 months prior so I know there was no abnormality there. It was just one of those things I think.

Five months later I fell pregnant again, and i'm now 20+1. In the early stage of this pregnancy I had the same mild cramping I'd had the first time round, and I could also very much feel something like an achey pain in the same place as where the ectopic had been. I still felt that pain for a week or so after confirming the pregnancy was viable so it wasn't just in my head. I can only assume what I was feeling was the scar tissue stretching or something as it hadn't been that long since my ectopic.

Thank you @Lonelyandupset ,

I’ve read that this can happen with only one tube! Our bodies are miraculous (& confusing 🤪 sometimes) aren’t they!

Do you think there is any chance you could have been pregnant from the cycle before or were you testing & getting bfn before your period?

I feel like with my ectopics the hcg has taken ages (6+ weeks) to show in the first place, & so the egg was fertilised & maybe implanted in my tube in one cycle but was not developing properly so I had weird bleeding / spotting when my period was due but not enough hcg to test positive at that time, & then tested positive sometime in the cycle after (if that makes sense).

But I have been told by EPU categorically that this cannot happen & therefore each ectopic must have been conceived that cycle which therefore means that before each ectopic I’ve had this weird non period type bleeding then an ectopic the cycle immediately after…

I’m wondering if that could be related in some way…

Also @Lonelyandupset hope you’re ok generally.

Not sure if your username is old or still relevant but if you want to talk about anything or get anything off your mind / chest feel free to DM me.

God bless, sending you love & well wishes xx

Hi @LavenderSweetPea ,

Thank you for your reply too.

And a massive congratulations on your pregnancy!! 🥰🤗🥰🤗🥰🤗 Do you know what you’re having yet?

I wonder if the pain you felt could have been a corpus luteum cyst as I have had a burning type sensation all last week & again today & I have had it with at least one of my ectopic pregnancies (coincidentally on the other side) & from memory I think with a non ectopic pregnancy too.

Mine was 7 years ago now. I already had children and had been sterilised, paid and got a reversal, had loads of miscarriages then the ectopic. Woke with a dull ache and thought was going to be another miscarriage but pain was different and I knew something wasn't right, my neck was so stiff and vision was blurred. Called 111 and they sent a ambulance who said I was probably constipated as I seemed to be managing the pain. Hospital was busy and no one to scan me but was admitted to ward and given morphine. Tube ended up rupturing and I had emergency surgery, was in hospital 10 days as bladder went into shock and had infection after infection. Never tried for another child as we decided it wasn't meant to be, was also told the chance of having a baby were less than 10%.

Mine was a very long time ago. I had 12 year old son and to be honest can't remember what birth control I was using. Probably the Dutch Cap.

I had very irregular periods maybe 5 or 6 a year so didn't realise I was pregnant. Had what I thought was miscarriage something very strange came out of me when I had a wee.

Didn't bother going to doctors. For several weeks afterwards had terrible stomach pains thought it was my IBS playing up.

Went to visit a friend and she saw how much pain I was in and made me promise to go see GP when I went home.

Went to see GP explained the symptoms and he said I may have had an incomplete miscarriage so sent me to hospital.

Anyway to cut a long and traumatic story it was an ectopic and they took my tube out just before it ruptured.

7 years later after not using any contraction and very irregular periods, I fell pregnant with DC2 and 18 months after that gave birth to DC3.

It always amazes me how I not only got pregnant once but twice after 7 years of trying. I was 40 when I had DC3.

Oh my @Ohdearwhatnow4 😳🫣🥺 that is a lot.

I’m sorry you had such an awful experience (not to minimise anyone else experiences of course, it’s all really awful isn’t it)

I do the guidance needs to be updated because only once did I have doubled over can’t walk excruciating pain & funny enough that was when the ectopic was resolving itself.

All the other times it was cramping or a dull ache but nothing unbearable & a lot of other women have said the same.

Hi @ColdEvenings ,

It’s that age old “it’ll happen when you stop trying” isn’t it.

Sooo true - I think we know the affect stress can have on conceiving by it’s sooo hard to not be stress or become obsessive when TTC is especially when you want it soo badly or are marred by past bad experiences.

I’m nearing 38 this year so your story has definitely given me a little more hope that time may not be completely up for me just yet xx

Had an ectopic many years ago before my first son was born. Terrible stomach pain that felt like trapped wind. This then progressed to losing blood and having diarrhoea. Doctor was called out and suspected an ectopic or a “twisted cyst” and called an ambulance. Had tube removed just before it ruptured. Have two sons now x

@Skizii no my spotting wasn't like prune juice. Just like what u get before af really. And then the bleed I thought was a miscarriage was like af but light and short. I think the spotting started straight after ovulation.

My sons also two that's why we want another so the age gap isn't so big and while I still remember what it's like to have a newborn haha.

Don't give you hope I'm sure you will get your rainbow in due time. I also get the sheer panic of experiencing another ectopic and feeling like the joy of pregnancy has been robbed xxx

Thank you, you're very lovely 🤗. I'm fine, I really need to update my user name!

To answer your question about when I conceived, I'm 100% positive the baby was conceived when I thought it was. I was tracking ovulation, sex etc, and also my then DH worked away a lot so it wouldn't have been possible to have conceived the month before (he was out the country).

Hi, my ectopic was in April 2006, I'd had multiple miscarriages before and was desperately trying for a baby.

From memory I had had a strong pregnancy test and then started spotting. I was tracking my cycle too so new my dates etc.

The hospital gave me a scan and couldn't see anything. They then tested my hcg every 48hours (I have the amounts in a diary somewhere still in the attic) the level rose but wasn't doubling. After a week they rescanned me and I wasn't allowed to leave the hospital as they'd seen it in my tube. The following day I had a laproscopy. They put me on the bloody maternity ward in a separate room but I could hear the newborns crying. They allowed my husband to stay with me throughout.

I conceived my eldest in the November.

Have had more miscarriages since but have also had more children.

Thank you for your reply @Cubic , I most recently had a missed miscarriage - just when I thought enough was enough with 3 ectopics 😭.

I feel like I spent most of my younger life trying not to get pregnant only for it to become such an issue when I was finally ready! No one warns you that issues with TTC are far more widespread than you’d ever have thought do they!

I’m sorry your journey has been sooo tough but sooo happy for you that you’ve had rainbow babies after it all.

I pray we all have such happy endings ladies xx 🙏

7 years ago now. Already had DS with no issues. Had a positive test and then bleeding around 6 weeks so assumed mc. Scans showed no sign of pretty much anything but hcg was still going up slowly, so they said it was pregnancy of unknown location. I had methotrexate injection and then blood test every week for what felt like months on end until it came back down to zero.

DD amazingly was conceived the first month we tried again. (Think we had to wait for 3 months?) So she was born almost a year exactly to the day I had the injection. She is nearly 6.

I was told I was higher risk for it to happen again and the thought of going through that experience again and the risk of the outcome being worse, is definitely a factor in me not wanting any more DC. I’m extremely grateful for the 2 I have, and I hope everyone else going through similar right now has such a happy ending too.

I'm not sure this is helpful, but I had an ectopic this year. It was my first pregnancy, so I have no other experiences to compare it to.

I knew that something was wrong because I began experiencing sharp pain in my lower abdomen on one side. The pain was very localized and continued in bursts all day long and in the middle of the night. I had some pregnancy symptoms such as body changes, fatigue, and increased appetite. After the second day of pain and the positive test, I went into A&E and was quickly diagnosed with an ectopic.

There was no speculation from the hospital as to the cause.

After a week of monitoring my HCG levels, I was given the choice between immediate surgery or expectant management. Medical management wasn't offered. The hospital staff honestly didn't seem too clued up on my case, so I was hesitant to rush into surgery under their care - especially when it was described as optional.

Fortunately, waiting was the best path. However, it was the worst pain I've ever experienced. Miscarrying took nearly a week and I was given no guidance on what to expect or any pain management. I had been doing relaxation exercises and reading up on labor before this, but I have to say it totally blindsighted me. The pain was excruciating.

It was such a difficult experience - the pain, the A&E wards, the waiting, the fear, and the miscarriage - that it does make me worry about the possibility of it happening again. Especially, OP as you've shared, you had to endure three of them, poor soul.

I hear some people describe an early miscarriage as 'a heavy period', but my experience was nothing of the kind. Did anyone else with an ectopic have a terrible time miscarrying?

I'm so sorry about your missed miscarriage, OP. I hope you're healing. x