Empty sac? Ectopic?

[LaceAri]

Hiya,

Last night, after 2 years and 8 months of trying we got our big fat positive 😭♥️

By LMP, I would be 7 weeks pregnant today. Clearblue digital said 2-3 weeks. Normal tests are giving a bright line before the urine has even passed the window. Super strong positive:

I (obviously) started to panic anyway given our journey plus previous loss and booked a reassurance scan for today. We went at 1pm and basically the outcome was a “pregnancy of unknown location”. There was just a small empty fluid filled sac.

Obviously this indicates

1. Too early.
2. Miscarriage.
3. Ectopic.

I just don’t know how by dates it could be too early unless I ovulated really late (this wouldn’t necessarily be unusual for me as my cycles can vary massively)? I’m having an achey feeling (I think it’s usually more sharp/stabbing?) in my shoulder so now I’m convinced it’s an ectopic pregnancy. No other symptoms apart from really light cramping, slight headache, sore boobs. I now have to wait for bloods.

I guess I’m just basically asking has anyone been through this and everything been ok? And if you’ve had an ectopic and don’t mind, could you tel me what your symptoms were?

We were absolutely over the moon and now I just feel like I’ve made us worry, I’m scared about the fact we’ve tried for so long to finally get the result we wanted for it to all be going wrong already. But also concerned that obviously if it is somewhere else, that’s dangerous..

Thanks in advance ladies xxx

Oh bless you, it must be so stressful and the waiting between scans is awful.
You said that they could see a sac - was this within the uterus? That's reassuring in terms of trying to rule out an ectopic. Also the fact that they couldn't SEE signs of an ectopic anywhere is very good news. There are usually clues on ultrasound as to whether it is a gestational sac that they saw or just some free fluid in the uterus.
The likelihood is that it is a gestational sac. The difficult part is now waiting to see what the next scan shows. Like you said, it's very possible that you have ovulated later and that this is just a very early pregnancy.
Wishing you lots of luck and I hope time passes quickly for you x

I had an ectopic 5 yrs ago, only sign was watery bleeding for a while so went to the gp, then early pregnancy clinic for a scan of uterus and tubes and they diagnosed an ectopic miscarriage.
I had a scan with my DD at 7 weeks due to previous ectopic and there was a gestational sac but no fetal pole- the radiographer said it could just be early- all turned out ok though. Hopefully your blood results will be positive 🙂

Oh goodness, I can only imagine how you are feeling after trying for so long. Was it a transvaginal scan? They can see much clearer what is going on. I don't think they usually do those at the private scanning places. Have you spoken to your early pregnancy unit at the hospital if the scan showed it was an unknown location?

I am in a similar position. Went for scan at 7+3 and no fetal pole. Have to go back next week to early pregnancy unit for another scan to see if fetal pole has developed. It's a horrid wait, very jarring to go from elation to absolute devastation. Sending you lots of love x

Thanks so much for the replies. I’m really trying to stay positive but just so scared of the worst case scenario 🥹

So I have to wait for the hospital to contact me about getting my bloods done apparently and a rescan. I actually work at the hospital, in maternity, so I have all plans to try and use that to my advantage and get things done quicker if possible lol. Even if it means asking a colleague to do my bloods.

I really hope it’s just early but the tests were such strong positives, I’m unsure. Ahhh I hate this! Xx

I had an ectopic a couple of years ago.

I had pregnancy symptoms (nausea) before my missed period. I then missed my period but was testing negative until I got a faint positive 5 days later. I never had a strong positive, they were all very faint.

At 7 weeks I started to bleed. It was a Saturday and EPU wouldn't see me. By Monday the bleeding was worse and EPU agreed to see me (7+2). The scan I had then showed my uterus was empty, most of my womb lining was gone and crucially, it showed a pregnancy in my right fallopian tube. They took bloods and told me to have more bloods two days later.

I had surgery at 7+4 to remove after a rupture. The rupture gave me some mild shoulder pain and a little abdominal discomfort. If you develop any shoulder pain, even if mild please go to A&E.

However, it's reassuring that they couldn't see any sign of an ectopic with your scan.

Please try not to worry. Even if it is an ectopic they're very treatable and most women who want to will go on to have normal, healthy pregnancies.

I have also had an ectopic. It took them ages to find it (weeks of scans and bloods), but eventually they found it and I had the injections. Had all the pregnancy symptoms and tests showed positive for ages.

I also had a blighted ovum which showed up as an empty sac, could it be that? Again I had all the pregnancy symptoms and positive tests.

I think it’s a good sign there is a sac in your uterus as I think that would mean an ectopic is unlikely.