Could I be having an etopic pregnancy

[MoonstoneAndRoseQuartz]

I'm just wondering if anyone has has an etopic.
My current pregnancy is the result of ivf and know this can increase the chances. I'm 5 weeks 5 days pregnant. For the past 2 days I've had this pain that comes and goes. It's quite strong.
Irs just above my pubic hair. Kinda in the centre but slightly to the right.
Would you experience etopic symptoms at this stage ? Is etopic pain this low. My first hcg blood test which was taken equivalent of 20dpo was 450.
I mentioned to my gp but she wasn't really interested

I should add its not constant. It might come and go every couple of hours. It could last half hour on and off or could last 5 mins on and off then gone for hours . Its like a sudden surge of throbbing pain. I'm not sure if I'd describe it as sharp. Maybe more dull . I don't know what sharp pain would feel like

It's unlikely to be ectopic. Does it feel more like period pains as those are quite normal sensations at the early stage when the uterus is growing rapidly.

Do you have another blood test coming up soon? If it's ectopic you would unlikely get a good hcg rise. Alternatively at 6w it's not too early to scan to confirm pregnancy location, you could see if you can get a scan tomorrow to set your mind at ease.

For what it's worth when I had an ectopic the pain didn't come and go, it only escalated and got worse.

@LavenderSweetPea Thankyou for replying. No this dosent feel like period pain or any pain I've ever had. its just a sudden stike of pain that comes on. I havent had any bleeding. It's not gas.
I guess because it's every so slightly to the side it worries me. I would say if I trace my belly button down to my pubes, and 2 fingers to the right that's where the pain is
I have had to book my own private blood test later this week to check my hcg levels.
My epu requires a referral and my gp just won't do any more bloods. I have a early scan on 1st Dec.

Oh gosh I'm sorry your going to have to wait so long. Will your clinic not scan you sooner? Somewhere like window the the womb or ultrasound direct would see you as early as Tuesday if you have one nearby can get an appointment, might not end up being any more expensive than private blood tests.

I'd suggest taking some paracetamol for the pain and to take your mind off it. If paracetamol doesn't actually help, it might be worth going to a and e on Monday when the epu is open and they'll probably do a scan then.

If you get pain in either of your shoulders, or the pain gets worse, or you start bleeding go straight to a and e. This is what I ended up doing (my pain was sudden and severe) and they did take it seriously and saw me quickly - I was only 5w pregnant, also the result of fertility treatment.

Again, I think it's fairly likely to be standard pregnancy aches and pains, unfortunately they are very common in the first few weeks, but if there is anything wrong it's better to know sooner rather than later.

Hi 👋🏻
I had an ectopic which was mistaken for a miscarriage - a lot of blood and very light period like cramps. About 48 hrs later I was shaking, pale, in excruciating pains (I have endo and PCOS so I know bad period pains! And this was like that) so went to the hospital where they eventually located it a bit too late so I lost a fallopian tube.

I don't remember pains like you mention - but what I would say is that if you're worried I would go get checked. Finding things earlier is always better! Good luck, I hope everything is fine

never had ectopic however various weird sensations and pains were common throughout my pregnancy. At about the 5 week mark there is lots of uterus stretching going on- most likely that?

I had an ectopic. First sign of it was when I started bleeding at 7 weeks exactly.

I've since had two uterine pregnancies and early cramping and discomfort was the same in all 3 pregnancies as uterus grew.

I had a scan at 5+2 to locate second pregnancy and a scan at 5+3 with this pregnancy.

Is there another EPU in your area? My area has two - a self refer at the main hospital and a GP refer only one in my local hospital (all part of the same trust). With the ectopic it was a weekend so I went to the self refer one.

To maybe reassure you (though do get help if you need it!) at 6 weeks I was in excruciating pain, it was down one side. I got a scan and it was all fine, not ectopic. The hospital diagnosed it as sciatic pain alongside normal stretching of early pregnancy. I’d never had sciatic pain in my life and it’s been weeks now since I’ve had it. They just said it’s one of those pregnancy things, hormones are all over the place etc.
anyway I was so so worried because of the pain and it was all fine, I think no one really tells you those first few weeks can really hurt! They did say whilst I was waiting for scan that any signs of fever or bleeding and I should go immediately to a&e. Hope it works out for you op!

When I had mine, as pp said, it was painful but the most concerning part was the bleeding which was deep blood rather than mid-period type blood. It was during covid so I had a 5 day wait to be seen and had a lot of scans, internal scans and they couldn't see anything wrong. I was around 10 weeks and they said they had to perform emergency surgery to find out what was wrong. I had a cyst that had blocked the egg dropping which had to be removed, so I lost the baby at the same time. It was incredibly sad as I had wanted the cyst removed for years, which caused me pain, but was told it was too small to operate on.

Go for a scan when you can. In my mind, if you are not bleeding you are probably fine, especially if the pain is intermittent.