Ectopic - Methotrexate

[Dreamer30]

I've posted a few times over the past week and it's now confirmed I have a pregnancy of unknown location so are saying most likely ectopic. Had bloods for hcg on Thu (141) Sat (147) and today (145) and because my levels are steady and not really dropping they think it's the right time for intervention.
They said surgery may not be the best option because sometimes they go in and still can't see what they have to so injection is best.
Does anyone have any experience of the methotrexate injection? The information just says side effects are nausea vomiting tiredness etc but with it being a chemotherapy drug I suspect it's not going to be very pleasant :(

First of all really sorry this is happening to you. It is such a roller coaster I had methotrexate in October for a PUL and although the actual injection did sting quite a bit, there were absolutely no side effects whatsoever. The booklet I got after having it said that 90% of women who receive it don't have side effects so hopefully you will be in the majority like I was. It worked for me and I only needed one dose, 10 days after having it my HCG levels were below 10 and I was discharged. Hope it all goes ok for you x

I’m sorry this has happened to you

I used to take oral MTX for rheumatoid arthritis & the side effects were tiredness, vomiting & nausea. I don’t know how the injection works but I just wanted you to know that the side effects were manageable for me

Hi @Dreamer30 really sorry to hear you are going through this. I had the same thing in 2019 and had a dose of methotrexate to resolve the ectopic. No side effects at all. Take care of yourself xx

Hi @Dreamer30, so sorry you’re going through this
I had an ectopic last year and was treated with methotrexate - I felt quite wiped out afterwards, very tired and had some stomach pains around day 3. No nausea/vomiting though and it subsided after a couple of days. My levels were back to normal in 2 weeks but my HCG was 501 to start with.
Whenever you’re ready, there’s a group on the Conception board ‘TTC after ectopic part 2’, there’s so many ladies there who have all experienced similar and lots of success stories too ☺️

Thank you so much for all of your advice. Was just a little worried about side effects but you've all reassured me. Hopefully things won't be too bad then. You hear about it but you're just so naive to think it won't happen to you 🙈 definitely has been a roller coaster that's for sure!

How are you @Dreamer30 - been thinking of you

Thank you @AncientandFabulous, that's so kind of you. If I'm honest I've been better lol I was fine on Tuesday when I got the injection and most of yesterday until evening. I had to go out and pick up a few things and I got really faint and shaky and had to sit on the ground. Once I was home I was okay. This morning I woke up and I've had cold sweats, can't stand up too long without being dizzy and feel a bit nauseous. Hoping it passes soon. Thought I'd be one of the lucky ones with no symptoms lol x

Hope the side effects pass quickly

@Dreamer30 I'm so sorry to hear this... :-(
I missed out on methotrexate as my ectopic ruptured, so was rushed straight for surgery. But if you want to talk, send me a message.
There are some good facebook support groups for ectopics, TTC and pregnancy after ectopics... when the time is right for you, of course.

Be reassured that there are plenty of good news stories of people falling pregnant again after and having normal and natural pregnancies... and if/when you fall pregnant again, tell your GP straight away after the positive as you will be referred for early scans to check placement :-)

@AncientandFabulous thank you ♡

@SillyBry I'm sorry that happened to you, it must have been terrifying. Thank you for the support. I now have to wait 3 months to ttc again because of the methotrexate but the doctor said the same as you, that if I fall pregnant again I can call as soon as I get a positive test and be booked in for a scan, so that's reassuring x

@Dreamer30 I'd had 2 weeks of bleeding and on/off pain leading up to it rupturing... but due to Covid, noone would see me and just told me I was miscarrying. It was all fairly grim, but I considered myself lucky as at least when I went for the scan, I was expecting bad news and so had already sort of processed the pregnancy wasn't viable. Plus, at least I got scanned before I collapsed or it actually became a life threatening emergency.
(I laugh now because they were like "your tummy is full of blood, we need to get you a wheelchair to get you to a ward... you mustn't walk anywhere" and my response was "but I can't be?! I drove 40 minutes to get here... I can walk up a flight of stairs!!" The strange reactions you have when faced with adversity!!)

I also had to wait 3 months, which at the time, I was super frustrated with as I just wanted to get on with it... but actually, it was really good for me. I focussed on my own health and wellbeing. I really enjoyed throwing myself into my fitness... and then when the time came to try again, I wasn't overly enthusiastic... I had told myself to expect a long wait as losing a tube reduced my fertility etc... but amazingly, I fell pregnant the first month, despite losing a tube! So there is plenty of hope :-)
Life is all about the journey and the person it makes you, right?! ;-)