Ectopic and methotrexate

Smals

So its been a roller coaster of a week. First I was told at 6 weeks t was a blighted ovum. They were watching it daily and hoping my body would miscarry naturally. Then yesterday they tell me they think its an ectopic pregnancy. We were so disappointed because it took a long time and a lot of fertility treatments to get us pregnant. Today they injected me in two spots with methotrexate. Those of you who have had this done: what effects did you feel and when? what should expect? how long after did you get your period? did any of you conceive with a healthy pregnancy soon after?

trizzie

I had a similar experience last week. I had the injections Thursday afternoon and by Thursday night i was sick as I have ever been. Mine turned out to be a blighted ovum, so I took cytotec Monday, so I can't answer the rest of your questions.

carolinamommy2014

We found out today that we have an ectopic pregnancy also also 6 weeks. The doctor gave me the shot but told me the surgery was still an option if I didn't want to wait to see of the med works. He said the med takes 7 to 10 days to show results but up to 4 weeks to completely work.
Did your doctor give you the option for surgery?

katka512

I'm sorry you have to do this. We discovered I had an ectopic pregnancy on May 2, after my first IVF cycle. I took the injection on a Friday, and had betas drawn for the next 3 Fridays and then it was finally down to zero. So it took 3 weeks from the injection. They will check your beta day 4 and day 7 post injection and then weekly. It will likely go up on day 4 because the MTX wouldn't have started working yet and then hopefully decline by at least 15% on day 7. 

There are several restrictions you have to follow until beta is 0 e.g. No sex, no alcohol, no prenatals or food with folic acid in it, be careful of the sun.  

I had a little cramping around day 4-7 post injection and then on day 9, I had awful cramps and was nauseous. It was horrible but didn't last that long.  

I got my period a few days after I was down to 0. I just had my first FET on Friday so I don't know if its successful yet. Some doctors say to wait 3 months after a negative beta to start trying again but mine let me try right away. He said my folic acid levels would be fine by the time of FET.

Best of luck to you and let me know if you have more questions. Also, you said you've done fertility treatments. If you're interested, please come join the Infertility board.  It's a wonderful group of knowledgable women! 

Smals

carolinamommy2014:

We found out today that we have an ectopic pregnancy also also 6 weeks. The doctor gave me the shot but told me the surgery was still an option if I didn't want to wait to see of the med works. He said the med takes 7 to 10 days to show results but up to 4 weeks to completely work. Did your doctor give you the option for surgery?

i feel for you as welll. I'm sorry. 

He said I probably wouldn't need the surgery bc my hcg levels are fairly low (like500) 

Smals

Thanks katka512

Chelsta2468

I'm so sorry for your loss. It's such a disappointment to try so hard to get pregnant just for it to end up being ectopic. I've actually had methotrexate twice. The first time I got the injection and the very next day started cramping and getting nauseous and faint. I went to the ER and it turned out my tube was slowly rupturing and had to be removed. So I really didn't experience the effects of the injection with that one. This second time I didn't have any side effects other than being a little sore at the injection sites. I was a little dizzy but had experienced that before the injection as well. In my case I actually started bleeding 9 days after the injection, even though my hcg levels were not at zero yet. I had bad cramping and nausea the day after bleeding started but luckily it went away and we believe it was just my body actually passing the pregnancy. I noticed some tissue that same day. I called the on-call doctor since I didn't think I should be bleeding so soon and she said not to worry unless pain/cramping become severe or I start bleeding so much that I'm going through a pad every hour or so. The fear is that your tube can still begin to rupture even after the injection, as in my first ectopic. Just be sure to listen to your body and don't hesitate to call your OB with any questions. My hcg levels are STILL not at zero, almost a month after the injection so I'm hopefully going in for one last set of labs. I don't understand how I can pass the pregnancy, stop bleeding and my body is still showing signs of the hormone. I think it's just so different from person to person.

 I wish you the best of luck. This is not easy, by any means.