Ectopic pregnancy

[Pixie18]

after 8 months of trying i had a very traumatic ectopic pregnancy which ended with emergency surgery to remove the pregnancy and also one of my tubes . I an replaying the whole event in my head 24/7 and also terrified what will happen in the future and it’s driving me absolutely mental. Wondering if there is anyone thats gone through anything similar x

I went through the same in August - emergency surgery which has left me traumatised as well.
I did ask the surgeon about future pregnancies and he said it could happen again which does scare me I'm terrified it could happen again.
I have read positive stories on here though that people have gone on to have successful pregnancies after.

How far was you ? Did you also lose a tube? I asked all the wrong questions. I dont know why it happened or how long i should wait to try again.

How far was you ? Did you also lose a tube? I asked all the wrong questions. I dont know why it happened or how long i should wait to try again.

I am so sorry you have both gone through this. It is a deeply traumatic experience, and please allow yourselves the time to heal.

I had an ectopic pregnancy 20 years ago (OMG, that has startled me, typing that - how did I get to be so old?! 😂). I had to have emergency surgery, although my tube was repaired, not removed. I later found out that this would slightly increase my chances of a repeat ectopic, due to the scarring on my tube.

I went on to have 3 dc, with, thankfully, no more ectopic pregnancies. Dc1, now 18, was born 2 years after my surgery. Ttc was a worrying time each time, but it can, and does work out well sometimes.

I hope you both have good support. I used to visit the Ectopic pregnancy Trust boards a lot when mine happened. I’m not sure if the message boards still,exist, but there were lots of lovely women there with a lot of knowledge and empathy, and they helped me through the really tough times.

Thank you . I know it could have been worse but it was honestly the most awful thing . I got so ill and passed out my husband was terrified as cos he thought i was going to die . I can’t accept losing a pregnancy i know it happens to women every day all over the place . I am just struggling to accept the way it happened and that i now only one tube . Thanks for your kind words x

Ho @Pixie18 , so sorry to hear you are going through this. I had an ectopic in 2020, lost a tube too. I didn't even know I was pregnant (were ttc but hadnt missed a period) so a huge shock, didn't find out till it ruptured & was rushed to hospital.

I found it really useful to request a debrief with the hospital, they went through everything with me again, and I found it so so useful. I also had trauma counselling via the GP, it really helped.

I second @ElfDragon take a look at the ectopic pregnancy Trust, the forums are still there & are amazing support. There's also a load of supportive pages on Instagram, you'll find this sadly happens more than you think.

Re going forward, as you didn't have the injection you'll be ok to start ttc again as soon as you are ready, but I wouldn't rush, physically I felt ok but mentally it took a good while to be ready.

Sadly,I've had no pregnancy since, but I have numerous other things going on so I'm not 100% the lack of tube has anything to do with that.

Sending you love, be kind to yourself & take care

It's awful. I remember replaying it over and over also.

But it does get better, cliche but time does heal. It doesn't feel like it will, you are going to have to trust me on this own, but it does 💐

I lost a tube, and 6 months later I was pregnant again. Now have a happy toddler.

It's very easy to think the worst, I remeber absolutely balling my eyes out when my sister told me she was pregnant (about 5 months after my ectopic) and I never thought I would get pregnant or have a viable pregnancy.

There is a very high chance it will happen for you!! I'm sure you already know this but Losing a tube doesn't half your chances of getting pregnant. All the best

it can take quite some time to get over the trauma, ime. It is really quite a bizarre thing to go from walking about totally fine, to emergency surgery. My situation was complicated, as it was mishandled, and I was passed around various doctors for a couple of weeks. I didn’t know I was pregnant, and then I ended up in a gynaecologist’s office, one Friday lunchtime, who took a quick look at my notes, told me I wasn’t going home, and I was booked in for surgery there and then. It was weird. I went from not knowing what was wrong with me, to being pregnant, then having emergency surgery (my surgeon said my tube was at the point of rupture when he operated, so I was very lucky), all within 4 hours.

Honestly, I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but time helps. I couldn’t get my head around it all for at least a year. It felt odd to be mourning a baby that I hadn’t even known existed, and I didn’t know anyone in real life who had been through the same - my mum did, actually, but she had died the year before my ectopic.

Do try Googling the Ectopic pregnancy Trust. There was so much knowledge there, and I’m sure that there is more known now than when I went through it all.

I was 6 weeks when I had my op however bleeding and pain from 4.5 weeks.
I didn't have my tube removed - just the baby removed and my tube lasered / sealed closed again - so I am scared that will cause repeat ectopic.
You may have less risk of this happening again if your other tube which is left is in good condition as such?

I did a lot of reading and research as to why this happened to me and I read there is more risk after 35 (I'm 36) due to the tubes getting older.
However I also did read that a copper coil being inserted which was not completely sterile could cause an infection and tubes could be effected if infection was untreated (I had a coil for 5 years and had it removed a month before fell pregnant)
I also was under a huge amount of stress those few days that I ovulated / egg embedded so it could have been that as well.
It could be many things or just bad luck.
Those are my thoughts on my own situation anyway.

I was told to wait 3 months - and it's been 3 months this Friday.
When was yours?

That's so reassuring to hear ❤️
I wondered if all 3 later pregnancies were from the same side as your previous ectopic?
Did they all travel through the repaired tube?
Or did you ovulate from the other side all those 3 times?

I'm so sorry you have been through this. I had the same happen some years ago now. Completely unexpected and such a shock. It was very traumatic, and then the grief hit for the lost pregnancy and what might have been.
I found it helped to talk about it, so I did to friends and family, and a couple of unexpectedly supportive colleagues who had wives who had experienced similar.
I also met with the surgeon who did the emergency surgery. That helped me understand what had happened to my body, and that it wasn't my fault in any way.

I am one of those with a happy ending. A few months later I became pregnant with DS. The pregnancy was uneventful, and other than some early monitoring to check it wasn't ectopic I had no need for additional checks. I did worry a lot though, especially in the early weeks having had two previous losses (I had a miscarriage prior to the ectopic).
I honestly believe the ectopic sorted out my ability to conceive. It took three years but we got there in the end! So there is hope, remember that.

What you must do now is rest and heal both physically and emotionally. Don't rush back to work or 'normal' life. Don't blame yourself. If you think it would perhaps help, seek out counselling support, the EPU at the hospital should be able to point you in the right direction. The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust is a good place provides good information and support. You can keep posting on here too, strangers on the internet are sometimes the best to share the worst times with, and can give great advice and support.
I hope you feel more like yourself again soon, so sorry for what has happened

I honestly have no idea! I didn’t track ovulation that closely.

When I got pregnant with dd1, my gynaecologist monitored me very closely, as he didnt want me wrecking his perfect score (he repaired tubes wherever possible, and had them never had a repeat ectopic in any of his previous repairs). Thankfully all was fine - some discomfort from scar tissue stretching as my belly grew, but that’s all.

I had an ovarian cyst when I was ttc dd2, which gave me quite a scare, as that was on the same side as my ectopic, but it self resolved, so all good.

ds (dc3) was a surprise baby a few years later, so I didn’t have the same worry when ttc, but obviously once I knew I was pregnant it was worrying while I had my hcg levels monitored in early pregnancy.

I have a friend who has several miscarriages and then an ectopic including tube removal. Her surgeon told her the other tube would work double time in it's absence. Boy was he right! 4 kids later.

Good luck to you, sending good vibes for a future pregnancy

I had one at about 7w which was identified at an early scan because a heavy bleed (which I thought was a period) meant I wasn’t sure of my dates. No symptoms whatsoever apart from the bleed. I was “too pregnant” for the medication option so lost my tube, and was told it was at the point of rupture during surgery. I had none of the risk factors (being overweight, smoker, history of pelvic inflammatory disease, etc) either, but was told anecdotally by an EPU nurse they’re seeing more and more women with ectopics.

That was September 2021. I conceived again April 2022 which ended in a miscarriage but that was nothing to do with the ectopic. They did tell me however that I had ovulated from the side where I’d lost the tube, so the other Fallopian tube had indeed taken over like they said would happen.

I then conceived again in August; not sure what side I ovulated from, as I was so relieved to see it wasn’t another ectopic (which would have meant missing my mate’s destination wedding where I was a BM) I didn’t ask.

Both pregnancies post ectopic I’ve been scanned at 6w on the dot to make sure it was in the right place, which gave me a lot of peace of mind. I have a history of mc and it took me a while to conceive again after the ectopic compared to pre-surgery TTC, but I think my body just needed a break to be honest. Wishing you all the best x

Thank you , i hope it happens for you soon x

Thanks , im glad it happened for you and also now you have two cousins very close in age . That must be lovely x

So sorry OP

I lost my left tube to a ruptured live ectopic then 18 months later my right tube due to another ruptured live ectopic but 12 months after that i was pregnant with ivf twins

X

I was 9 weeks . So close to having my 3 month scan.

they did say my other tube looked good. I also had a copper coil for just over a year maybe… i also wondered if that was the cause … and also the reason it took me so long to fall in the first place. If i could go back i never would have got it i think.

it was only a couple of weeks ago so still very raw x

Thanks @Pixie18 yes they are just over a month apart and get up to endless trouble.

I really wish you all the best! From this thread you can see there are lots of us that went on to have successful pregnancies.

OP it’s such a traumatic thing to go through. I had an ectopic pregnancy in September 2019 and at the time it was absolutely devastating. I had a tubal miscarriage where the egg effectively fell out the end of my Fallopian tube, which meant I didn’t lose my tube but I had massive internal bleeding. The emergency surgery was all a massive shock and it was so so difficult to process afterwards, on top of losing a very much wanted pregnancy.

fast forward, I fell pregnant with my DD in October 2019 who was born in July 2020 and is my rainbow baby. It’s weird but if the ectopic hadn’t of happened I wouldn’t of had her and she’s the baby I was supposed to have ❤️ I then went on to have DS in June 2022. So three years on and I have two beautiful children which I will never get over.

keep the faith, you will have a happy ending. Make sure you look after yourself. I remember scrolling these boards for good stories so hopefully this is comforting.

I had a ruptured ectopic at just under 5 weeks. Lost quite a lot of blood from internal bleeding, emergency surgery to remove the left tube.

2 years later I had an ectopic in my remaining tube. Fortunately I didn't need surgery and had an injection to 'dissolve' the pregnancy. Well that's how it was explained to me! I don't know if it damaged my tube or not.

I'm quite pragmatic and wasn't traumatised, but do sometimes think how lucky I was with the ruptured one. The consultant said if i had left going to hospital another few hours I'd likely be dead from the internal bleeding.

A good friend of mine had a ruptured ectopic a few months after me and a tube removed. She went on to have two completely normal pregnancies without having to TTC for long for either of them.

Hi!
I had an ectopic in my right tube when I was 18. This was 30 years ago, so I lost the tube and gained a huge scar on my bikini line.

Then at 21 I became pregnant and now have a grown up daughter. At the time of her birth by csection they removed my right ovary because of a nasty looking large cyst.

When dd was 3 months old, I had another ectopic on the right hand side, ffs, the egg had travelled all the way across from left to right and lodged in scar tissue. That was removed laparoscopically.

We didn't expect me to be able to conceive again, yet, amazingly, I did. Ds was born hale and hearty and is now a strapping 23 year old.

With each ectopic I was unaware I was pregnant until I was in severe pain, and during my two healthy pregnancies I had early scans to reassure us that all was well.

I well remember the devastation and pain, but my two rainbow babies prove that there is always hope.

Xxxxx

So sorry you have experienced this OP. I well remember feeling absolutely shellshocked afterwards.

I've had two ectopics and lost my tube with my second one. Ironically we had been TTC for a long time and fertility investigations had shown that my tubes were open and clear just before I fell pregnant.

I have managed to have a successful pregnancy and I actually ovulated from the side with the missing tube. The human body is amazing!

I wish you all the best for the future.

Sorry to revive a thread from last month, but I also had an ectopic pregnancy with emergency surgery and tube removal a few months ago.

still feeling a bit knocked for six tbh!

my periods are still all over the place, which is really disappointing. Just popping in to say, I know, I understand @Pixie18

I was very worried about subsequent pregnancies also being ectopic but the fertility doctor I spoke to, after all was said and done, said it only raised the risk just marginally and that I could be monitored next pregnancy on that basis as well.

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to give some hope as I know that’s all I searched for. I had surgery for a ruptured ectopic in October and am currrently pregnant again. We tried after my first period and were extremely blessed for it to happen again. I am waiting for my 6.5 weeks early scan on Friday and I am obviously extremely nervous, but pregnancy can happen again, hopefully everything will go well.

I am 27 and had no issues to cause the ectopic, just “bad luck” as they say, but it was the worst thing I’ve ever had to go through in my life.

pregnancy loss is a terrible terrible thing
🤍