ttc - post ectopic pregnancy.

[basketcase]

Would appreciate some advice for my sister.
She has been TTC for first baby since Xmas. She had an ectopic pregnancy and had one tube removed. Was told that both tubes were very healthy and no further problems likely. (They suspect her appendix was pressing on the tube blocking it, she had swollen appendix removed in same op).
Problem is that she has been given different advice from different medical sources - some say wait two cycles, others longer in order for "hormone levels" to settle down.
How long should you wait, are they any possible complications if she tries "too early" or is it just a matter that if her hormone levels haven?t settled down she is likely not to conceive?
She has been told her fertility level is unaffected so has as good chance as everyone else - but is this realy true with only one tube?

yes ovaries don't take it turn to produce eggs so it is possible for the ovary connected to the good tube to produce eggs more often. I had an ectopic June 1999 I had a mc Jan 2000 and had dd Dec2000 I would say that she ought to be guided by her body and if she feels mentally and physically ready then to try

As gothicmama says,the ovaries don't take turns producing eggs & also,eggs can be wafted over from the tubeless side to the 'good' side.There is a wonderful website at www.ectopic.org which will be able to give your sister more detailed information about ectopic pregnancies.

I had an ectopic in Sept 2002 & found out I was pregnant again just 7 wks later,my dd arrived fit & healthy & I'm now 32 wks pregnant with her little brother or sister.

The surgeon who operated on me told me that we could TTC as soon as we wanted to,so that is what we did.I waited until I'd had a normal period after the op,then decided to go for it.

Lots of luck to your sister

yes, I only ahve one tube, am TTC but have had a positive OV every month using persona since starting to try, my DR assures me the one tube/ovary I have left is working double time to make up for the missing one.

I can speak from expierence with only having one tube too,It is possible to concieve,and is always better to have one tube that works than two that dont....
If you want to talk you can always cat me....
although mine was a cyst not an ectopic, though still hope this helps...

thanks - I will email her this thread

Hi Basketcase. Thought I'd add my story (in brief) here to help spur on your sister.

First of all - yes! - get her to check out my lifeline (www.ectopic.org) and all the lovely ladies on the message boards there.

I had an ep in June 03 and had my left tube removed by open surgery. After 2 early miscarriages I finally managed a 'keeper' and am due to meet him in 6 weeks' time .

And - re: wafting eggs - yup, it can happen, in fact it happened to me. At my early scan they told me I'd ovulated on my tubeless side (they could see the corpeus luteum on my left ovary), so my determined little egg must have ventured over to my 'good' side - hurrah!

Yes, it is likely to take longer with one tube, but the statistics are that 65% of ladies manage to get pg again within 18 months of their ep. I hope very much that your sister manages it even faster.

In terms of how long to wait before ttc again, the usual advice is 3 cycles after surgery - to allow for physical and emotional healing.

i saw an article re: anna walker in a magazine the other day, she had a tube removed because of an ectopic and conceived twins soon afterwards

I had ectopic in November and had one tube removed
I was told to wait 3 mths if simply to let the scar heal over and the internal scarring to settle down ; as well as cycle regularity too.
I started ttc again end of Feb
I am told that both ovaries are in great nick, but there is no guarantee which ovary will ovulate each mth, could technically conceive from one without tube but implantation is a little more hit and miss.
She should be fine now to ttc I would have thought.

twins oh my gawd, they run on my dads side of the family... my dh had a dream that we had twins about 4 nights ago
tee hee
....
hmmmm