Is this an Ectopic? any advice appreciated

[Delbo]

Hello, thank you for reading my thread.

I am 35 years old & found out a month ago I was pregnant, very excited as I had a M/C last year. About 3 weeks ago I started having cramps & brown discharge / spotting was sent to EAPU by Dr as she was afraid of ectopic.

I had U/S & bloods - Scan was inconclusive as they couldn't see much, Hgc levels were 103 - which the Dr said were quite low. Went back 48hrs later and levels had dropped to 79 - Dr said 'failing pregnancy' & to expect M/C- both of us were devastated.

Went for bloods 48 hrs later, levels risen to 160. I started to bleed quite heavily with clots, back to hospital,my levels went down to 67 - we thought everything was coming to an end. U/S showed thickened lining ( as in a period) scan didn't show signs of ectopic, but again they couldn't rule it out.

Went back again for further bloods (felt like a pin cushion by now!) levels risen to 87 - back again further test, levels up 150.

Consultant looked at the notes, admitted doesn't know what is going on! but don't seem to be worried as levels are so low - follow up with another U/S ( which I had this morning - scan again not showing anything) and due to have more blood work on Tuesday.

I feel in limbo to be honest with you - can anybody throw any light on this? as the hosptal sure hasn't got a clue - I'm very worried as I feel the longer this is going on - the more dangerous / damaging its becoming.I have begun brown spotting / discharge again for the past 4 days

Many thanks.

Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2009 12:05 pm

sorry you are having problems and i hope everything is ok for you. my friend had an eptopic and she said the pains were stabbing rather than cramps/aches but i have no experience myself.
hope you are ok.

hi delbo, sorry you are going through this. it is very worrying. have you had a look at the ectopic pregnancy trust site? its fab and really helped me when i had my ep.

sorry i cant help more, but wishing you luck!!

Hi Delbo sorry to hear what you're going through. I had a suspected ectopic in September last year and like you I had to have lots of blood tests. The bleeding I had looked a little bit like prune juice (purplish in colour and quite watery) I didn't really have much pain. My HCG levels were going up but not doubling up as they are supposed to in the end they decided to give me the methotrexate injection as they were almost certain it was ectopic because obviously the baby was not developing as it should have been. They tested me every 48 hours I'm surprised they're not going to test you again until Tuesday? Anyway I know its a difficult time but just try and sit tight and wait and see what they say after you have bloods on Tuesday.

Hi Delbo

I'm sorry you are going through this.

Unfortunately the repeated bloods and scans are the only way the hospital can try to get a grip on what is going on. Once HCG levels reach 1000 - 2000 (depending on who you speak to) the hospital would expect to see a pregnancy in the uterus and if they can't they assume it is ectopic. When levels are lower it makes it hard for them to figure out what is happening.

With ectopics (or suspected ectopics) where hormone levels are relatively low I understand that doctors often just wait to see if over time the situation resolves itself. Not much fun for the patient, but potentially less damaging than exploratory surgery for example.

I second Lissie's suggestion that you take a look at the EPT website as I have also found them very helpful in the past.

Sorry I don't have any answers, but I hope this gets resolved soon. It's miserable, I know.

Hi Delbo

I'm sorry you are going through this.

Unfortunately the repeated bloods and scans are the only way the hospital can try to get a grip on what is going on. Once HCG levels reach 1000 - 2000 (depending on who you speak to) the hospital would expect to see a pregnancy in the uterus and if they can't they assume it is ectopic. When levels are lower it makes it hard for them to figure out what is happening.

With ectopics (or suspected ectopics) where hormone levels are relatively low I understand that doctors often just wait to see if over time the situation resolves itself. Not much fun for the patient, but potentially less damaging than exploratory surgery for example.

I second Lissie's suggestion that you take a look at the EPT website as I have also found them very helpful in the past.

Sorry I don't have any answers, but I hope this gets resolved soon. It's miserable, I know.

exactly mrshappy. many ep's actually self-resolve.

Mrshappy,lissielou,kay 1980, ilovetochat

many thanks for your replies, they are very much appreciated, its nice to know that you can discuss your worries here - although my dp is very supportive I do have a telling off when I go on the web as he think I'm making a self diagnoses!!

I will look at the website you mentioned.

Thanks again for your kind comments - roll on Tuesday!! xxx

Hello Delbo,
im sorry to hear what you are going through , i found out i was having an ep last wednesday, i have to say after reading other peoples threads that have had the same it seems the symptoms can vary.
With me it was a dull cramp and ache it was almost like a period pain but also felt as if it was in my bowel aswell. My bleeding was bright red and the pain didnt affect a specific area until the day before i found out it was an ep when it was mainy on my right side which was the tube it was growing in.
What scan did you have? cos they couldnt see mine on a normal scan so they gave me a scan via a viginal probe which they found the ep on.

all i can say is my thoughts are with you and after being through it only a week ago i know how you are feeling and am wishing you luck