Possible ectopic-is this normal?

[LulaBear]

Hi. This was my first pregnancy, and when I was eight weeks started to have really bad period pains, and then bleeding heavier then my normal period. DP and I went to A&E but were treated awfully, and after 6 hours I started clotting and then was told it would be at least another two hours before I saw anyone, so I decided I would just go home.
So I went to my GPs. The dr had me do a pregnancy test but wouldn't wait even a minute to see positive line-once test line showed up she said not pregnant, even though I said "look, the other line is showing up now".
Later that day I got the most awful pains of my life, honestly, in my abdomen. They passed after about 20 minutes and I managed to get in to see the dr. She made me feel like I was in denial about MC, and actually asked me if I had ever had a stomachache
The next day I got the pains again, for about an hour this time, so went to A&E (but a different a&e) and got in to see the early pregnancy asessment unit at the hospital. They did an internal scan and said that there was no baby, but they could see something near my ovaries. But they don't know what it is! I've had 3 blood tests in the last week and they say my HCG levels are going down, but too slowly.
I'm really scared because there are things everywhere about ectopics, surely they would be able to spot one? I'm really scared it could be cancer or something, but they say I'm way too young for that :(
Is it normal for them not to be able to say 100%, "you had an ectopic pregnancy".

Hi Lulubear, sorry to hear what you've had to go through, you must be feeling very frightened.

I had an ectopic about 2 years ago, and another suspected 6 months later - and from my experience they are not generally very good at diagnosing it. I was told mc, then threatened mc, then normal pg, then finally ectopic and surgery with the first - and given the really helpful (not) leaflet titled 'pregnancy of unknown locatoin'.

However, the fact that your hcg is dropping is really, really good - I think ectopics usually have rising hcg still.

Is your bleeding heavy? Mine was very watery and dark brown with the definate ectopic, and the pain was quite unusual too, more in the bowel area than stomach cramps.

Please do go back and ask them to keep monitoring your hcg if they aren't already doing this. They should monitor until it goes back to less than 5.

Ignore your gp, they obviously aren't going to be any help, sadly that seems very common too. Call the pregnancy assessment unit, they are the best people to help you, and ask for another scan and ask them what they think it is again - sometimes the more you ask they more they will tell you in the end.

I'm sorry this is a bit rambling, hopefully there is something useful in there! I do think the fact that your hcg is going down is very promising though, so hope all is well. By the way, if you are mc it doesn't mean that it wasn't ectopic, you can mc an ectopic as you would a normal pregnancy.

god, stuff like this makes me so fucking angry

your HCG levels are falling which, as lily says, is a good sign. however, they are decreasing slowly, which sounds like the pregnancy is trying to resolve itself. have they mentioned treatment? how many weeks are you now?

EPs seem to go unnoticed, because often pregnancies dont show on a scan until 6w, and that is unfortunately when the ep reaches its critical point.

Aitch is awesome on these types of thing (sadly) I will see if I can grab her.

oh you poor, poor thing, it's so utterly RUBBISH all this. my total sympathy.

i have a question, though, when they say 'too slowly', do they mean they're goiing down too slowly for it to be an ectopic, too slowly for their liking, or too slowly for it to be a miscarriage?

What a horrible time you're having. Unforunately ectopic pregnancies can be very difficult to diagnose.

The important thing is that they continue to monitor you closely until they know exactly what is going on. Are you having more blood tests? My first ectopic pregnancy was managed expectantly for three weeks and I had HCG tests every other day. They were then able to decide how to treat it.

The other important thing is that you are aware of the symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy so that if they do become worse you can get medical attention straight away. The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust website is a great source of information.

Hi lula I'm so sorry you are going through this. I had an ectopic pregnancy last month which ended up in a miscarriage.
It was a very confusing time with lots of conflicting information. I went to 2 different hospitals and had lots of scans and blood tests, the HCG levels took a while to come down and when they did I was very emotional for a long time.
My local hospital actually told me I had miscarried without losing any blood! I had to push for more blood tests and was so scared of it rupturing, eventually 4 days later I started to miscarry and they had to overturn their original diagnosis.
I found mumsnet was the only place I could find out anything.
My advice is to keep asking questions and write them down if you cant think straight. Dont take NO for an answer!
Good luck

Hi. Last time I went into hospital my HCG levels were falling from 300 to the 200's just slower than they like I think, so they said it's definitely lost x

so they think it's a self-resolving ectopic and are allowing it to self-manage? i take it that they are still monitoring your HCGs?