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Pregnancy

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Original poster

Help me is this Ectopic pain or implantation pain?

37 replies

Bronte186 · 11/03/2008 15:14

Please help me, I'm not sure what to do - I have a Doctor's appt this evening as I'm 4.5 weeks preg. However, I've had cramps for a few days (which I suspect is normal judging by everyones experiences) but today they have changed and I guess its more of a pain in my lower right abdomen, fairly constant but not doubling me up in agony - when I checked internet search it indicates this could be ectopic pregnancy and when the pain comes it means your fallopian tube could burst, I absolutely hope I'm worrying unnecessarily but has anyone else ever had this type of pain in early pregnancy and been told its ok?

Any info appreciated.. Regards B

OP posts:
sleepycat · 11/03/2008 15:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

B1977 · 11/03/2008 15:20

Sorry have been through EP and really hope you are not, sending hugs and good luck wishes, hope your appt goes well - try to get a scan if you can but it's early days so they might not be able to see anything either way?

If your dates are right I think that is early for that sort of pain for an EP as my understanding is that such pain relates to the rupturing of a fallopial tube, when the embryo is stuck in the tube and outgrows it IYSWIM - I think that is more likely to happen after about 6 weeks if it is an EP.
Bear in mind drs measure pregnancy from the end of your last period, not from conception though.

Look at www.ectopic.org.uk/ for better info about EPs, I do hope it is not though.

Carmenere · 11/03/2008 15:20

My bf had an ectopic and had a lot of pain. I would ring NHS direct iiwy, if nothing else they can reassure you that it is ok to wait until you see your doc.

HarrietTheSpy · 11/03/2008 15:20

In the meantime you could call the helpline at the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust>

www.ectopic.org.uk

Super people, very helpful site.

Fingers crossed for you - don't skip that appt and if they suggest scanning you, it's a transvaginal scan you need, they may well not be able to see everything they need to from an external scan.

x

bethoo · 11/03/2008 15:21

another symptom if an ectopic is pain in the shoulder.

Original poster
Bronte186 · 11/03/2008 15:39

Thanks everyone - you've been really kind and supportive. This is such a good site.
I will call the ectopic helpline I think. I'll be at the Doctor's in an hour now too. I hope with all my heart this is just me panicking. We've been trying for nearly 2yrs and i thought I'd missed my chance (I'm 36 my partner's 47) so I guess I'm just so desperate not to lose this little Bean.

Regards B...

OP posts:
EHM · 11/03/2008 15:45

Bronte wishing you, your dp & little bean lots of luck.

Alexa808 · 11/03/2008 15:47

Had the same symptoms and they found a cyst on right ovary.

Do you have fever, dizziness, etc?

Do go to the appointment. I think you'll be fine. Power hug!

orangina · 11/03/2008 16:04

I had quite a pain in early pregnancy with dc#2... turns out I had a small cyst on my ovary (they saw it in early scan), which no-one was worried about and eventually went away. Could be that...... good luck...

Aitch · 11/03/2008 16:17

i hope it's okay but just to say that if you're goiing to the GP there is not a thing that they can do to tell you whether it's ectopic-related pain or not tonight. they could take blood from you today and then thurs and then saturday and monday to track hormone levels of the baby but that's more likely to happen at the hospital.
what your doc should do today is arrange a fast appointment at your local EPU for tomorrow morning, where they will decide whether to do hormone bloods or a scan. a scan can find a cyst on your ovary or may be able to see something near the tube if there's been bleeding internally. or of course it might find that baby all safe and warm, which is what we all hope for.
but if your doc fiddles about in your bits and feels your tummy then tells you 100% that everything's fine... he or she is talking out of their arse.
i hope it's all fine. i've had two ectopics and the worst pain i got was with my healthy pregnancy, so symptoms vary wildly.

Pinkali37 · 11/03/2008 16:25

I am 4 weeks and 6 days and get pain in my ovaries which my consultant told me was fine as it is a cyst creating hormones on my ovary. So try not to worry ( so much easier said than done).

Am thinking of you and your little bean xx

Aitch · 11/03/2008 16:28

did he scan you, pink?

B1977 · 11/03/2008 16:29

Yes I remember being a bit freaked out in my 6 week scan for my healthy pregnancy after an ectopic and being told "look, there's the baby's heartbeat and over here is your ovarian cyst". I was told that once your ovary has done its job of sending the egg out, when it's fertilised, it turns into a cyst and pumps out pregnancy hormones throughout your body, accounting for morning sickness, and then after a while the placenta takes over and targets the hormones just to the baby and the sickness therefore usually goes away. Our bodies are truly fascinating!

BTW I am not a medical person at all, so I might have misremembered but I stand by the amazing statement .

B1977 · 11/03/2008 16:31

Hmm, not a very clear post that, sorry. Appreciate if anyone confirm or clarify?

Hope all OK Haworth lady and let us know how you get on.

Pinkali37 · 11/03/2008 16:37

That's it B1977, i knew it was something like that! lol

Aitch - No didn't get scanned, he didn't sound worried at all. I have sever endometriosis so i think he was expecting it. I am however being booke din for a 6 week scan (probably to shut the stupid woman up)..

Aitch · 11/03/2008 17:14

right, well if he didn't scan you he's guessing, tbh. now he's 99.9% going to be right about that, so he probably feels okay about guessing, but i've known women who've been minutes from death because they've been the small percentage for whom things were more serious. it actually enrages me, really.

there was a woman on here who had a gynaecologist examine her internally, declared her cervix closed and that it therefore couldn't be ectopic and was most likely an ovarian cyst. had we MNers not sent her straight to the hospital she'd have died in her home that night, according to the doctors who treated her.

Aitch · 11/03/2008 17:15

and not everyone's corpus luteum becomes a cyst, either. in three pregnancies i never had one. the corpus luteum, however, is reabsorbed and does the hormone thing.

B1977 · 11/03/2008 17:18

Thanks Aitch for clarification and re the internal exam diagnosis!

Pinkali37 · 11/03/2008 17:19

Blimey.. a Corpus Luteum?? A what?

That's what I think is so wonderful about this site, the whole support everyone gives.

Aitch · 11/03/2008 17:24

it really is utterly shocking. i think in my year and a half or so of being on here i've seen 5 or 6 really serious incidents being avoided by MNers having more of a clue about ectopics than the doctors. some people do get excellent care, of course, but some people meet doctors who can't be bothered keeping an open mind.
there was a woman on here a couple of weeks back, i'm still a bit worried about her. lots of EP symptoms and then we've not heard from her again.
i'm not saying this to scare you AT ALL, by the way, because the fact is that an EP is by FAR the less likely result. but you need to be careful and listen to yourself as well as the doctors.

Klaw · 11/03/2008 17:26

I had pain at 4 wks, refused to leave surgery until seen by a gp, turned out to be probably a UTI , which was flushed out by cranberry juice (YUCK). I never knew that UTI symptoms could be so different from normal when you're pg.

Thinking of you....

Aitch · 11/03/2008 17:28

oh yes, a UTI, good one Klaw. that's another very common thing in pregnancy. you might as well get on the cranberry juice.

Klaw · 11/03/2008 17:30

Exactly Aitch, Listen to your instincts, and get checked out. A bit of wasted time and embarassment is far better than something serious happening!

and we all know that you have to camp on their doorsteps very often in order to get a fair hearing

Original poster
Bronte186 · 12/03/2008 07:41

Thank you to everyone - there's such an abundance of knowledge and experience on here it's excellent.
Anyway I went to the Doctors, told her symptoms, told her how the crampy feelings I'm having are different to the pain I'd had through the afternoon. She examined me and poked about my tummy, saying it was very soft (which is apparently good,more likely because I'm a stone overweight I thought !) she said as i had no 'pressure' points she did not think it could be ectopic, she did say there was no way she could really say though and no way of preventing it if it was, I said i was worried and didnt want to get to a stage where my fallopian tube ruptured if it was. She said she thought I was worrying unnecessarily as it's my first baby and something i want so much ...anyway she just said if the pain gets much worse go to the hospital or back to her. So i feel I was a bit fobbed off really as a silly bugger panicking ! (I'd be happy if that is it though)- anyway still no bleeding and the pain has gone this morning, was fine too last night when I just rested. I guess I'll keep an eye on it and if i think anything's changing I'll go straight to A&E rather than Doctor again. I'll get on the Cranberry too, just in case ;-)

Thanks again for your support, you're terrific, I hope everything goes perfectly for you all.

Regards B..

OP posts:
EHM · 12/03/2008 07:53

good stuff B wishing you, your dp & little bean well.x

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