Miscarriage or ectopic?

[Sparrow11]

Long post. Need advice or just a hand hold

I had a +ve test on 24th july. I went to A&e on Friday 2nd aug as I started with some watery pink discharge, which turned brown and then eventually red. They booked me in yo epu for the following day. She lasdy doing the scan said she could see no viable pregnancy and said it looked like I was having a miscarriage with most of the lining or tissue (I can't remember the word she said) looking like it had already come away but looked like there was a little bit left. When the nurse called me back im she said there was blood my uterus? Further down than than where a pregnancy would normally implant and from how she was talking I took that it was likely working itself out. She said it was an area of about 13mm x 9mm, something like that. But she said she still had to do bloods to prove what it was and rule put other possibilities. So she took my blood to get the baseline and said in implantation and normal pregnancy she would expect the rate to increase by about 60% every 2 days. Decrease for miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy is a bit tricky As it can go up a little or down a little. After this appointment I thought it was probably a miscarriage as the bleeding got heavier with clots and bits like tissue in.

I went back for my bloods again and it's gone up from 120 to 124, so they asked me back in 2 days later again. Now the bleeding has pretty much stopped and my bloods from today are 147. They've asked me to go back on Saturday for another scan.

What the heck is going on? Does this sound like an ectopic pregnancy?

I've had cramps in my abdomen and back for around 2 weeks to be honest I'd assumed it was implantation. Feels like period pains in my lower abdomen and back, seemed to get a bit better when I was bleeding but coming back now.

Where would I also feel shoulder tip pain? Is it always in the tip for ectopic pregnancy? I've got shoulder blade pain on my back but could be unrelated.

Could this be retained products and it was a miscarriage they saw? Would hcg still rise with retained products?

Basically I'm sitting here scared silly feeling like a ticking time bomb, wondering if ill make it to Saturday.

Hey honey firstly I am SO sorry youre in this position. I myself went through an ectopic in april so know first hand how much of a mind mess this can be! so for me I actually didn't have any symptoms but I know they wouldn't confirm ectopic for me until hcg got to 1500 and the hope was if it dropped it was a self resolving ectopic but if not then the sac would be visible to confirm so this sounds like what they are doing

re symptoms it's usually loose bowl movements, abdominal pain or pain on one side...shoulder tip pain is one of the last I believe but it feels like you have slept funnily if that helps?message me if you want to talk xx

@Livingonhope thank you so much for commenting. I'd been having cramping pains for about 2 weeks like period pain/needing to go to the bathroom but it wouldn't hurt to go if anything seems to relieve temporarily. Abdominal pain has been in different areas so that seems okay. I did have a dizzy spell in work Monday which I told the nurse about and she didn't seem too concerned. I've also been getting headaches constantly which could be stress. I feel like every little thing I'm thinking "is that a symptom?" "Did I have this before?" I keep bursting into tears because I'm petrified. I don't want them to keep waiting to see incase it is ectopic and I rupture. I'm scared ill miss the signs and not realise in time

Have you seen anyone other than a nurse?

I've had two of these and always seen a consultant plus specialist nurse. You can ask for a second opinion.

It must be so stressful worrying.

Take care

Sorry you're going through this, I well remember the stress of waiting to find out what the hell was going on. They couldn't tell for me for 3 weeks. I was back and forth to the epu pretty much every 2 days getting bloods and praying for my hcg to be high enough to show something on the scan. When it got to 1000 they could see free flowing blood in my pelvis which meant it was rupturing but I didn't really feel that much pain to be honest. They booked me straight in for emergency surgery but it took 12 hours for the surgery to happen because there were more important emergencies going on. Anyway, they removed my tube and the pregnancy. Recovery took about 2 weeks or so. It's longer than that if they have to do open surgery. That 3 weeks of waiting was like torture. I hope you get answers quicker.

I recovered and had a baby a year later despite the missing tube.

@acypop Hey, no I've only seen the nurse on epu. I think she said it is nurse led but she confirmed results and decision with doctor before giving my results on Monday (when it has increased by 4) to come back in today for repeat bloods. I just want to know what is going on the wait is killing me

so I think I used to get light headed and I thought I had slept funny and I also had constant loose stools however I am pregnant now baby in right place and the toilet habits are the same I think this is the issue the symptoms can be the exact same as normal pregnancy I will give you advice that others may disagree....if you think it's a symptom get it checked and chased down..doesn't matter how many times this is you your body and your future fertility so it's worth fighting for xx

Just wanted to reach out to say I know exactly how you feel ❤️ the wait and anxiety is torture. The symptoms I had of ectopic were consistent bleeding with no real signs of stopping (looking back now must be because I had internal bleeding) Bad "period" type pain and back pain so assumed I was miscarrying. A week later it wasn't until my right tube had partially ruptured I got the shoulder tip pain, and it felt like an ache rather than pain all around my neck, tip and blade on the right side. Had heaviness down my right side of body, a few dizzy lightheaded moments. Looking back also had loose bowels but didn't realise this was a symptom at time. Hcg rose slightly over 48 hours, a week later remained static then 3 days later rose again. Every day that passes feels like a week so if you don't want to wait until Saturday definitely worth a call to see if they can scan you any sooner x

@pinkrose001 thank you for your message. I have pain in my right shoulder blade but I'm unsure whether this is related. I rang epu 1st thing this morning crying as i feel like im just sitting here waiting for something really bad to happen. They've managed to bring my scan forward until tomorrow. Initially they said they needed to wait that long, I guess so that whatever/wherever it is has more time to show up? I mentioned the shoulder pain and they didn't really say anything about that. They just say if it gets worse ring us straight away. I feel like I don't know what I'm looking for. I've already told them about the cramping, bleeding, headaches and shoulder pain.

I had same problem at 5 wks couldnt see anything, they then scanned me at 7 wks & could see the pregnancy on a scan. So glad they managed to bring your scan forward. You are in the best hands. Best of luck for tomorrow x

I’m sorry you’re going through this. I had an ectopic a few years ago, and it found it so stressful.

Apparently it’s most commonly misdiagnosed as a miscarriage or gastroenteritis. Like others on here, I had no idea that tummy problems could be a symptom.

I had no other symptoms and had no idea anything was wrong, despite two previous miscarriages. No real cramping, no spotting, plenty of pregnancy symptoms. It ruptured one night, I had to go to hospital for emergency surgery, and it was then that I had the shoulder tip pain. It’s due to blood in the abdominal cavity pressing on a nerve, so if you get this, head straight to hospital.

Hopefully it’s not and the tests will show that tomorrow. Wishing you all the best

Thanks for everyone's support and sharing their experiences which I can appreciate may still be painful ❤️ hopefully find out what is going on today 🤞 hoping to have no more bloods as I'm already quite bruised- But I know that won't happen

So just an update, the scan showed no signs of ectopic pregnancy, the nurse said potentially some retained product in the uterus which she referred to as messy blood which was around 5mm. She said she thought I needed a good bleed. I haven't had any bleeding since around 7th August though. But they were going to discuss my case at the mdt meeting with consultant and contact me after on the Monday.

Monday they call me and advised consultant said I can have a repeat blood test on the Friday (so a week after the last scan) or I can just do a urine test in 3 weeks. As the last time I had bloods they'd risen, I opted for the bloods. So yesterday I had my blood test and they've risen again to 163. So I feel like I'm back to square one wondering what the hell is going on. It's been over 2 weeks now that I went into epu for the first scan with bleeding

@Sparrow11 hi please could I ask how this turned out? In a similar situation now and very worried!! Thanks x