Ectopic questions

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Hi sorry wasnt sure where to post this
I was diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy in right tube yesterday after a couple of days of scans and PUL.
have had on/off bleeding for a few weeks. hgc (?) level was 118 on Thursday, bloods taken again this morning to see if it had gone up or down, and I was told they’d call in 2-3 hours to let me know the next steps, but I didn’t get a call and reception said the department had left for the day when I rang.
I don’t have any pain. I just feel so confused and scared of it rupturing, but feel a bit lost as I have no idea how likely that is or what to expect. They told me they don’t recommend the injection, I should either wait it out or go for surgery. I have a 2.5 year old and worried how I’ll cope looking after him after the surgery. Has anyone been through similar? Is 118 low and a sign it might resolve on its own? Or does it not work like that? I have v irregular periods so have no idea how far along I am. Nurse said she couldn’t tell but ‘reckons it’s been there a while’? Any help appreciated thanks x

Hello!

Sorry about your diagnosis, it's a worrying time. I had an ectopic pregnancy in 2022 and had my left tube removed (I'm currently 35wks pregnant with baby #2 by the way so an ectopic does not mean game over).

Your hcg sounds reassuringly low at the moment and I don't think they would have discharged you if there was an immediate risk of rupture. Ectopic pregnancies can resolve on their own, but the waiting can be a bit of a nightmare with repeated blood tests and scans.

Have they said what they'll do to monitor you?

I had surgery because I was bleeding internally. It was keyhole surgery. Very quick, minimal pain, and I was OK to look after my 1yo alone from a couple of days afterwards. No one wants surgery obviously, but I wouldn't worry too much about pain etc after, I think C-section recovery sounds much worse.

Thanks so much for your message. Sorry you went through it too. It’s all so confusing!!

they kind of weren’t clear because I’d only had one blood test so she said even though my hcg is only 118 she can’t tell if that’s got higher or lower from a few days before? So I had more bloods done today but haven’t got the results yet.

that’s good to know about the operation - in a way it sounds better than waiting around etc and blood tests. I had a c section with my son and didn’t cope very well so I’m a bit wary of operations! We’ve got our first family holiday coming up beginning of sept and I really don’t want to have to miss it because of monitoring or this not being over yet. Not sure if that’s possible tho xx

Sorry feel like I’m not making sense. She had nothing to compare my blood test results too I mean

Hey. No that made sense - hopefully the next set of results will shed some light. Do you know when you might have conceived?

The incisions for the surgery are really small. Just a few stitches in each. The scars are tiny too. Not like a C-section at all.

Hey, sorry to hear of your news, it’s a really tough thing to go through. I had an ectopic pregnancy in 2020.

Did they say why they weren’t keen on the injection? You seem to be a pretty good candidate for it with your low HCG. Mine was 500 and I had the injection which worked straight away and my levels slowly came down over 2 weeks. Seems a bit drastic to go straight to tube removal

@Peppermints2 I don’t know when I conceived cos I have really irregular periods - last one I have noted down was 19th may but definitely had some random bleeding throughout June that I’m not sure if it was a period or related to the ectopic!

@MrsB2019x thank you, sorry you went through it too. The nurse basically said she doesn’t recommend it as the side effects can be quite severe and you may end up with surgery anyway so I guess she meant it’s better to get it over with. I could ask again tho, I’m not sure if that’s the hospitals opinion or just hers.

Doctor just rang me to let me know the hcg level has gone down to 67 and she said it looks like it’s resolving itself… still worried it could go back up but fingers crossed!!

I’m so sorry you’re going through this.

I had an ectopic in 2019 and although it ruptured and I lost a lot of blood, I was largely back on my feet in a few days.

Having also had two Caesarian’s, the recovery is less intense.

I do think it’s worth asking some more questions, though. It’s a situation where none of the options are great, but you’ll feel much better about what you choose if you know for sure it’s what’s best for you.

If you do end up having surgery, I was told after mine that it only reduces fertility by ~10%, not half like you might assume. The tubes aren’t attached to the ovaries and can reach around to pick up eggs from the other side. The female body is incredible.

Wishing you all the best.