Pregnancy of unknown location

[Frost1]

Hi all,

Has anyone had any experience of this? I had an early scan today due to extreme pain I’ve been having and they found an empty sac. I should be 6 weeks, but they said I could be earlier, miscarrying or be having an ectopic pregnancy

I’ve been extremely sad today and hate having to wait a week for another scan. I’m also spotting brown blood today, which could be okay but I’m not feeling very positive.

Anyone have experience of this?

I didn’t want to read and run, I’m so sorry You’re going through this. I’ve never had a PUL but I’ve had a missed miscarriage before so I understand the pain you’re going through. Have you got a plan incase the pain gets worse over weekend? Are your epu open? X

Wish I could say something positive but I miscarried over last couple weeks. Extreme pain on left side and brown blood constantly for 3 weeks. The odd day with dark red blood.

I never got as far as a scan as I was literally just pregnant.

Hopefully yours turns out well but I suppose it's always good to expect the worst 😞

I had an early scan and they told me to wait another week for another scan as the sac was empty. They suspected that the dates could be wrong and I could be early. Turns out they were right. I was only 5 weeks at the earlier scan so they couldn't see much. A week later they could see the fetal pole and the heartbeat.
They initially told me that things can go either way from there. So glad it turned out fine for me and I hope and pray it's the same for you. Have faith and be positive. You could have ovulated late and so could be earlier than what you expected. Just relax and eat well. It will all work out perfectly.

@willow146 I’m sorry to hear about your experience, the waiting is the worst thing because I can’t even come to terms with what’s happening because I just don’t know!

If the pain is worse I’ll go to A&E I suppose? I hadn’t thought about it to be honest (although now you’ve asked I feel silly haha), I was just holding out for my second blood tests on Monday and my scan on Friday. The pain is off and on, definitely a lot less than I’ve been having in the previous weeks but still there. The scan was booked a few days ago because of the pain but it started easing off. I was looking forward to the scan today until the discharge started this morning (weirdly after having dreamt about the same thing happening last night)

@ApplePie86 I’m sorry to hear about your miscarriage. It’s awful to be going through this and I’m finding it hard not to blame myself even though I know it can happen This is my second pregnancy as the first I was forced to terminate years ago (which really affected my mental health) so my first two experiences of pregnancy have been awful! So I’m expecting the worst as if I let myself hope I think I’ll just be crushed!

@MahamChoudhury Thanks for this! I’m glad it turned out well for you I was hoping this would be the case and probably wouldn’t be worried had they not diagnosed me with pregnancy of unknown location. I guess they have to be really careful and warn you of all the risks early but I’ll do nothing but stress now for a week! I don’t know how I’ll concentrate on work next week!

Have they taken two blood tests 24 hours apart? (Not sure if they would do this in the current situation). The hormone levels can be a better indicator of whether there is a viable pregnancy this early on. I had a diagnosis of a pregnancy of unknown location from an EPU scan following bleeding, but hormones were fine and I now have a healthy four month old.

You say pregnancy of unknown location but they saw a sac? Was the sac in your uterus? They should be able to see where it was located, im sorry youre going through this stress but it could be that you're just a bit earlier than you thought!

@SomethingLikeAPhenomenon I had bloods today and I think HCG was at 1600 (which she said could be consistent with the scan if I am early) or something like that. I’m having my second round of bloods on Monday morning to check for an increase. I hope there is but planning for the worst case scenario at the moment.

How far along were you? Did you end up being earlier than they thought? My last period was 24th April so going off that I should be 6 weeks today.

Hey OP, I had a diagnosed tubal/PUL last year. My body did miscarry but didn't lose all the tissue and I needed to have medical management to ensure full MC - I had a scan and was having bloods done every 48 hours. I was offered methotrexate, which I took, as the alternative was surgery. The methotrexate worked and was considered successful after 7 days when they redone bloods. That was my first pregnancy so not a good experience so I feel what you're going through. Happy to try and answer any questions that you may have xx

@EllieJai44 if you’re ectopic you can get a pseudo sac in the right place, which mimics a normal pregnancy except nothing grows in it. They couldn’t see anything around the sac or in it. Or at least that’s what they explained to me

They said the sac isn’t as rounded as they’d like to see, which is also an indication of ectopic. So at this point they said all I can do is wait for bloods and the scan, if bloods aren’t looking good they’ll rescan ASAP. Otherwise my scan is on Friday They did say my HCG levels today were good and could be consistent with an early pregnancy but I also have symptoms of miscarriage and ectopic so they can’t rule anything out at this point.

@Frost1 I'm sorry :( miscarriages are so hard and just cruel!

Hi OP, didn't want to read and run. I have no experience at all of ectopic or early miscarriage but I have experienced my dates being wrong.
I went for a scan when I was 7+5 according to LMP but baby only measured 6+1. I was lucky to hear the heartbeat etc but if I'd gone for a scan and earlier, there really wouldn't have been anything to see.
Obviously every situation is different but I just wanted to say, maybe don't lose all hope just yet!
Good luck.

OP I truly sympathise, I am currently going through a very similar situation.
I had a scan on Weds and I am meant to be 6 weeks but all they could see was an empty gestational sac. I have aches, cramping and bleeding.
I had a miscarriage in April so this has happened straightaway which is making it very hard to process as I feel I can’t cope with two consecutive miscarriages.

I had bloods done today and back Monday for second lot. Just wanted to reach out and offer my support as I feel we are in a similar, confusing and upsetting place

I thought I was around 6 weeks, in the end I was corrected by over a week so would have actually been less than 5 weeks when they initially scanned which is why they couldn't see much. It's all fairly imprecise that early on, fingers crossed for your bloods. Hope you can manage to relax and take it easy over the weekend, the waiting game is stressful.

It is isn’t it, I hope you can get some rest and relaxation over the weekend too

@Frost1 - hi , just wanted to let you know that you're not alone in this- I had sharp pains in one side Saturday morning and because I was due to ovulate this Thursday I took an ovulation test, in case I was early - it was a strong positive - something didn't feel right and I'd heard that OV tests can work as PG tests so I followed up with a cheapy pregnancy test to my surprise it came out a strong positive !! The reason i was so shocked was that I got my period (what I thought was a period) on the 28th of last month - two weeks ago!!! I'd also done a test just before my period was due and it came out negative ... because of this I ended up going for a scan they couldn't see any sign of problems or a sac - my bloods came back low level at only 400 yesterday and I've got to go back for a repeat blood test Tuesday, so far they have diagnosed pregnancy of unknown location so I'm playing the waiting game now just like you - fingers crossed and sending virtual hugs to you ❤️❤️❤️🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼xxx

@sel2223 Glad everything was okay for you! On my second scan the scan had grown but was still empty and they could see another empty sac so I have to have a third scan on Friday

@Diorissimo1985 I’m sorry to hear about your miscarriage - it’s an awful thing to go through. How did your tests go? Fingers crossed everything is working out for you!!

I was waiting to respond because I thought I’d have answers on my second scan which was last Friday. I’m more confused than ever to be honest! They found two sacs now but both are empty. I think they expect me to miscarry. I’ve been bleeding for two weeks now I’m fed up I have another scan on Friday. The worst thing is I feel so sick, so my hormones must still be pretty strong. I’ve had a google and I suspect it’s probably a blighted ovum for me.

@SomethingLikeAPhenomenon I was hoping that would be the case but nothing was on my second can either. I think by my third scan this Friday, if that sacs are empty, then I’ll probably ask for them to come remove it if they can. I’m terrified of miscarrying and the pain.

@Luan82 Sorry to hear you were diagnosed with a PUL! It’s such a stressful time not knowing what’s happening! I was so paranoid about ectopic pregnancy because of the pain I had but in the end it’s not, I think mine is probably a blighted ovum. I’m waiting on a final scan before they finally diagnose me.

Did you have any more tests or scans? I hope you’re doing okay

@Frost1 - bless you, it's such a horrid horrid thing to go though, Unfortunately my news went from bad to worse - been back and forth for blood and scans. My levels have gone from 403 to 648 to 903 to 1614 and final one at 1931 i've had two scans both show no sac in the uterus and no signs of mass in the tubes though they did find some free fluid on my lower right cavity and a cyst on both the left and right ovary. My endometrial layer has not thickened and is still at 7mm. I have very minor cramping pain no bleeding currently just a bit of spotting when I wipe. at this point they have pulled me in to explain they are offering me methotrexate or booking a final scan Sunday the decision on which route is mine to make. as they can't guarantee that it's 100% ectopic / not viable I guess there is still a chance all be it very very very slim that this is a normal pregnancy, slow growing and particularly early (as my dates don't add up) - Im completely devastated and to top it all off I have to make the decision to encourage a miscarriage before I have a complete guarantee it's not viable or risk a rupture this week by waiting for the next scan 💔 I do hope you get an answer soon so that you can start to heal and that you are getting lots of support xxx

Hi OP I was diagnosed with PUL a few months back. They couldn't tell if it was a mc or ectopic. Really stressful times and it took almost 3 months to get fully resolved. I was being monitored and scanned to ensure I miscarry or until they can see something In one of the tubes. They couldn't see anything but after a while they discovered a round shadow that might have been the beginning of a sac in the uterus. In the end they performed a pipeline biopsy to confirm the pregnancy was in the right place. But they could only do that cause my pregnancy was definitely not viable - hcg was at 80-120 or so (just wasn't dropping). But it did put my mind to rest that it was definitely not ectopic and 'just' a blighted ovum. Perhaps you can ask if a biopsy is an option to rule ectopic out?

Hi all,

I just wanted to update about what happened with me in case anyone finds this thread in future.

Mine turned out to be a complete molar pregnancy. This is extremely rare I’m told (just my luck)! I had an op to remove it in June and have to be monitored for 6 months once my HCG levels return to 0. They reached 0 a few weeks back, so I’m on the road to recovery but have a long time to wait until I can try again.

What happened to me is very rare, but I just wanted to share my story.

@Frost1 oh I am so so sorry to read your news. I hope you are doing ok and have around people who can support you. It's great that you are on the road to recovery, please take it easy.

Hi All,
I’m new in mumsnet and sorry for my English too.
I start to have light bleeding when I was 6 weeks and 5 days I went for privet clinic when I was 7 weeks (according for my last period date) they saw an empty sac and blood outside the sac and they sent me to the hospital with unknown pregnancy location on the report they did a blood test and my HCG was 6000 they sent me home and told me to visit for my scan after 2 weeks which im waiting for that.
Im having very mild period pain and I did had my period but I still don’t know what is happening any advice plz