5 weeks pregnant, supposed to be going on holiday!

[T1212]

(Maybe a slight TW for mentioning ectopic pregnancy / infertility)

Hi, I have a unique situation, so this may be a very long post so please bear with me.

So me and my partner have been trying to conceive for nearly 3 years. We’ve had multiple tests and appointments etc. I had a HSG test done, received a letter that ‘confirmed’ my left fallopian tube is blocked.

I had a follow up appointment with a different gynaecologist, who said it’s not 100% confirmed, and it could have been a spasm. I was waiting for an appointment to get a laparoscopy to confirm, however I took a pregnancy test Tuesday 16th July, after I was 4 days late, and it said I was pregnant (1-2 weeks on clear blue, which if I’m correct it means I’m 5 weeks pregnant. First day of my last period was 15th June).

The only problem I have is I’m due to be going abroad to Spain on 5th August, which by then I won’t have my first ultrasound. I’m slightly worried as I know there’s a higher risk or ectopic pregnancies with possibly having a blocked tube.

Me and my partner are unsure if to still go on holiday as (god forbid) if something were to happen, we would be in a completely different country.

I’m awaiting medical advice, but I was wondering if anyone else has been through a similar situation or if anyone has any advice about going abroad etc.

Thank you so much in advance for any advice, I really appreciate it ☺️

It's Spain, healthcare is good, make sure you have your eh1c card (if that's what it's called now) and insurance cover. I absolutely wouldn't cancel a holiday.

You would get better medical care in Spain than in the UK you know.

You'll be fine in Spain if things go wrong, OP.

Just go, and enjoy yourself.

Congratulations! I’d call your local early pregnancy unit to see what they advise, or alternatively get a private early reassurance scan towards the end of next week when you’ll be almost seven weeks. Good luck!

Thank you all so much for the advice. I will call my local pregnancy unit, but I feel as though with all the positive advice we will most likely go anyways :)

Could you book in for a private scan in the meantime? It might have to be internal due to the early gestation but may set your mind at rest if something could be seen.

You czn get a scan ti check everything in correct place ie not ectopic. This would be private

Congratulations! I have had a previous ectopic pregnancy and paid for a private scan as soon as I got a positive test with my daughter in order to check the location. Would highly recommend doing this regardless of holidays if you can afford it, 5 August is a while away and not to scare you but I had already experienced symptoms and lost my fallopian tube by that point. An ectopic needs diagnosing asap.
Good luck, hope it all works out for you!

With a previous ectopic I am sure NHS would scan you before you go away (I found it easy to get an early scan in my pregnancy following a previous miscarriage). If you can't, I would get a private scan to confirm pregnancy is in the right place, ideally as close to your holiday as possible so you're more than 6 weeks and hopefully will then see heartbeat.

Congratulations. Pay for a private early scan to reassure yourself

https://www.aepu.org.uk/find-a-unit/

I went to an EPU walk-in on Friday because of one sided pain. If you have one near to you I think they'd see you because of your known blocked tube. Go as late as possible so you don't potentially end up with a stressful Pregnancy of Unknown Location situation. Your HCG needs to be over 1000 to see the see the gestational sac and confirm the location. (Clearblue showing at least 2-3 weeks on a digital. Preferably 3+)

Though if you prefer to go earlier they will at the very least be able to confirm the side you ovulated from. If it was from the right side you know you're ok.

But they don't reassure at this stage.

Very early scans just raise more questions than answers.

@TheShellBeach not true, they still have a duty of care and will refer to epu if it's suspected ectopic/ any other issue.

I had early scans at 6.5 and 7 weeks and they confirmed a viable pregnancy with a heartbeat in the right place as I had just started infertility treatment when I got pg. Surely that would be reassuring?

Make sure you have a GHIC card as well before you go and congratulations!

@TheShellBeach they can identify if it's an ectopic or not though which I think is what OP is most worried about being abroad

Not necessarily. of course an early scan can't guarantee anything, but in OP situation then a scan should show the pregnancy is in the right place (i.e. not ectopic) and there's a heartbeat - before her trip.

A scan at five weeks is very unlikely to show a heartbeat!

I had a private scan at 6 weeks + 1 which established a heartbeat. They say at least 6 weeks for that. But it would offer reassurance as to whether the pregnancy is ectopic or not.

I went to Spain at 10 weeks pregnant and all was okay. Was reassured that the health care system is probably better than ours.

I had two early scans in epu in my pregnancy following an ectopic, to confirm location. One at 5.5 weeks and one at 6.5 weeks. Also did a couple of HCG blood tests. I would give the local unit a call. I was specifically told to contact them immediately after a positive test as you become much higher risk for a repeat ectopic.

I live in Spain. Public healthcare is much better than the NHS. Twice in the last year I’ve been to A&E and had zero wait time, and the two ambulances we’ve needed this year came in 5 minutes. It’s easy to get a GP appointment and there are 24/7 GPs in cities. Just remember your GHIC card and you’ll be fine.

This. Plus prepare with knowing the Spanish words for various medical things. And download translation app dictionaries.

Having been in hospital in various other countries (!) it's great. I'd go back to at least one before I'd use the NHS!

I’ve just started using mumsnet again, apologies for the delay, and thank you all for your helpful comments.

I sadly had a chemical pregnancy a week after posting this, but I will take all advice in the future if I ever travel whilst pregnant

Sorry to hear that OP, I hope you are ok and continuing to try x

Thank you, I appreciate that :). It was so hard at first, but we are still trying, we’ve also been referred for IVF as I had a laparoscopy and dye done in December which fully confirmed my blocked left tube (they were unable to clear the blockage during surgery). Fingers crossed🙂x