Ectopic ladies please chime in

luvboston

So my levels have been jumping up and down for two weeks and I have had light spotting when I wipe and the OB thinks its ectopic but can't see it on u/s. She offered me methotrexate and I declined because I think my body will go crazy and it would be dangerous for me because my body does not react well when we try to force it to do something. However I am worried that they will not find the pregnancy and then I will lose a tube. So my question is has anyone had a natural ectopic just go away? Also did anyone choose a lap over the methotrexate? 

 

Tomorrow they will retake my hcg and then monday I will have another u/s and b/w. 

angielayne926

Mine was seen on u/s since I was 6wks along.  I tried the methotrexate to try to avoid surgery, but my tube still ruptured and I ended up losing it.  I think tracking levels and then getting a follow up u/s is a good idea.  If you get any pain, go to the Dr. or ER right away.  FWIW, my Dr. said that ectopics do not resolve themselves naturally very often, so I wouldn't avoid treatment of some kind for too long.  Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.  (((((HUGS)))))

delino

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

My first was treated surgically because it was identified too late. My 2nd was treated with MTX after low betas that were rising appropriatly, but coupled with bleeding. Finally we saw it on u/s when my hcg reached 875. The third, my hcg fluctuated around 100 and I kept pushing off the MTX hoping that it was resolve, but it didn't. Both times the MTX worked.

A TTCAL'er opted for a lap for her first and then MTX for her second, but wound up getting a lap anyway. Another girl had a suspected ectopic that resolved on it's own.

This probably wasn't too helpful as there are lots of different experiences. Good luck to you. I hope it does resolve on its own.

katharine25

I had a pg that ectopic was suspected but never confirmed that resolved naturally.


At 6w my betas had only reached 860 and there was nothing visible in the ute or the tubes, and I had a full AF at 4w and constant spotting. My OB did not want to intervene until there was actual confirmation. After some severe pains which I can best describe as constipation which sent me to the ER, my betas started to drop on their own. I don't know if it was ectopic or not, but it did resolve naturally.

Those 2 weeks were absolute he!! I'm so sorry you're going through this

killian09

MTX is a nasty drug--I didn't have an easy time with it--but I would not do surgery to avoid MTX, if I needed it again in the future.  Surgery seems like a much riskier proposition to me.  Indeed, my OB strongly strongly recommended MTX over surgery to me.

I had a similar situation where my OB was initially uncertain if my pregnancy was ectopic or intrauterine. In addition to ultrasound and watching my HCG (which is not a fully conclusive test as you mention), they actually did a biopsy of the tissue in my uterus.  (They called it a "karman biopsy" and described it to me as a "mini D&C".  This was a quick office procedure done without anesthesia.)  The pathology report found no chorionic villi in that tissue, so they concluded that it was not an intrauterine pregnancy. This was how I finally got diagnosed as ectopic.  It was only after that biopsy confirmation that they prescribed the MTX. 

Maybe you can ask your doc about the biopsy?  It wasn't much fun, but at least it confirmed for my docs and me that MTX was the right course. 

The only situation in which I would think it was safe to see if the pregnancy will "resolve" on it's own is if your HCG is already low AND steadily declining without intervention.  If it's bouncing around,  I'd think you're at risk of an ectopic rupture, and I wouldn't mess around with that situation.  It's truly dangerous.  Ectopic pregnancies are the #1 cause of maternal mortality in the first trimester, but with appropriate management that risk can be very, very low.

Sorry that you are going through this!  ((hugs))

 ETA: I was 7 weeks along when we began to suspect this diagnosis.  My HCG was 10,000. 

CandaceMM

Hi, I'm popping over from the TTGP board.

 July 27th I found I was expecting. August 15th I had what the Dr.s were saying was a miscarriage. They continued to monitor my hcg levels every other day for 3 weeks!!! The first day I started bleeding, they were at 124.  Finally, on Sept 6th, they were at 550. My Dr. called me in to do an u/s to make sure nothing was in my uterus. Then scheduled an emergency D&E and lap for the next day. They performed the D&E just to make sure they wasn't any tissue left that would be causing my numbers to spike. Then they did the lap. My Dr told that as soon as she got in there, she saw where the tube had already began to bleed from how bad it was bulging and that it was a good thing they did the surgery when they did. She was able to remove the pregnancy and save my tube. I still have no idea why it wasn't showing up on the u/s when it was as bad as it was. I would have been 10weeks at the time of my lap.

If you have any concern at all, I would do the lap. It really isn't that bad other than the gassy and bloated feeling afterwards. I wish I would've spoken up a lot sooner and told them that's what I wanted to do. It would've saved me a lot of stress and about 3 weeks worth of getting my hopes up just to be let down at the end of everything.

Good Luck. Sending lots of hugs and T&P your way. 

Sorry for being a dirty lurker. I hope to be I can join you ladies soon. You all seem very sweet. 

PumpkinAndThePeanut

I had an ectopic in May after my first IVF cycle. My first hcg level was very low at about 14 days past ovulation, so although the pregnancy test was technically positive, we were told to be "cautiously optimistic."  My hcg continued to double over the next two weeks, but when we had our first ultrasound at just past 6 weeks, there was nothing in my uterus. My doctor couldn't see a baby anywhere else (tubes, ovaries, etc.) but she knew it was in there somewhere as my hcg level was so high. I was given methotrexate, and I was worried too since it wasn't exactly "confirmed" ectopic. But I knew in my heart that it was ectopic - there wasn't a yolk sac or anything in my uterus.  The methotrexate didn't work - I took it on Thursday afternoon and by the following Monday evening (at 7 weeks exactly) I started to have some pretty severe cramping on my right side, plus vomiting. Called my doctor and could tell she was concerned. She had me come in for another ultrasound first thing the next day, and by then, the baby was visible far up in my right fallopian tube. I had to have a laparoscopy that very day, and she removed my tube just to be safe. 

I don't think these things resolve on their own very often...  Hopefully they should be able to see something at your ultrasound on Monday. Good luck.