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Pregnant after a Loss
success after an ectopic pregnancy
Hi Ladies,
Im relatively new and am always happy to hear success stories! I have a couple questions regarding success after an ectopic pregnancy. This happened to me last month quite unexpectedly, I found out i was pregnant after over a year of ttc and there was no hope for the baby and in the same moment that my vitals were poor due to the ruptured tube and internal bleeding and was going in for emergency surgery. Needless to say it's been a pretty crazy roller coaster the last month and a half. Loss of my baby, loss of part of my fertility and knowing that I possibly may not have made it.
My questions are, what if any precautions did your OB take when you were ttc. Did you feel like they were cautious about the possibility of another ectopic?
What are some good questions to ask my OB tomorrow to determine if I am comfortable that they are going to do everything they can to prevent a future ectopic from getting to the point of rupture?
Were any of you scared of having this happen again?
Did you ask your OB to send you to a RE or were you comfortable trying on your own for a while?
I am not sure what to expect at my appointment tomorrow and am really nervous. Lots of questions I know! But thank you in advance for your thoughts!
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Re: success after an ectopic pregnancy
First, I'm sorry for your loss.
To answer your questions, yes I was nervous. I was told to wait at least 2 cycles after the bleeding stopped (I was treated with two rounds of methotrexate and bled for 2.5 months) before trying again. We were successful on the third cycle after we started trying. I was very nervous. My doctor was not very specific when I asked what my risks were for having another ectopic. She more or less said that it "could" happen again but since they never found the cause of the ectopic she wouldn't say much more. The biggest precaution they took was just doing lots of blood draws very early on to make sure my numbers kept doubling and a very early ultrasound to verify that everything was in the right place this time. With my ectopic I had faint brown spotting even before I got the positive test back and the bleeding turned red and heavier from there. This time I didn't have any spotting or bleeding at all so that helped ease my mind b/c things seemed different. I hope everything works out for you
I too, am sorry for your loss. I had my ectopic in December 2007. While I didn't lose my tube because it hadn't fully ruptured yet, I did find out it's partially deformed probably b/c of a birth defect and that's most likely the cause of the ectopic.
My questions are, what if any precautions did your OB take when you were ttc. Did you feel like they were cautious about the possibility of another ectopic? My doctors didn't really take any precautions other than I had an HSG and once they determined from that test that the dye was free flowing through both tubes, it wasn't necessary to take the damaged tube out unless I ended up having another ectopic.
What are some good questions to ask my OB tomorrow to determine if I am comfortable that they are going to do everything they can to prevent a future ectopic from getting to the point of rupture? Maybe ask them about doing an HSG test? And they may be able to find the cause of the blockage from that test. Then when you get pregnant again, you will have to be monitored constantly and have betas drawn every 48 hours until the baby is big enough to be seen on an u/s. My first u/s was at 5 weeks 2 days just to see if the baby was in the right place. Constant observation and catching it early is the only thing I can think of that would keep you from getting to the point of rupture.
Were any of you scared of having this happen again? Oh yes. For us it was like GETTING pregnant again was only half the battle because the chances were higher that b/c I'd HAD an e/p, that I would have another. Seeing that little blob in the middle of the screen was such a relief!
Did you ask your OB to send you to a RE or were you comfortable trying on your own for a while? I stayed with my OB and after 9 months of ttc after the ectopic she prescribed me Clomid. We started that in November and found out I was pg in January.
We tried for right at a year after the ectopic before getting pregnant again, but it DID happen! So the best advice I can give you and TRY not to be discourage although I know it's easier said than done and don't give up!
Hi - I'm sorry about what you're going through; I know how it feels; you're dealing with not only the loss of your baby, but a potential loss of fertility as well (and a considerable amount of physical pain too).
What precautions: I went on BC for a year after my ectopic, mostly for nerves, but the doc was happy with me taking the time. I had the tube removed but re-attached (basically like a tube un-tying) and that gave me time to heal. After that, I was a psycho with charting and testing. My OB gave me the clear for a very early U/S when I did eventually get my BFP.
Prevention: I had a gazillion tests done to find out "why" this happened. I never got an answer, all the tests were negative. Ended up with the "it just happens sometimes" answer.
You can ask for an HSG, although you will have to wait until you're completely healed.
Was I scared? YES. Terrified. Every BFN was both a terrible disappointment and an incredible relief; I was a nervous shaking wreck from the time I got my BFP till my first U/S (just ask the ladies on here!!).
We TTC naturally (charting) for a year. 2 weeks before my first RE appointment, we got our BFP.
Don't give up - keep your hope up! And give yourself enough time to heal, both physically and emotionally. It's a tough road, but you can do it!
I'm sorry to hear about your loss- ectopics put us in a whole other sisterhood aside from just m/c, that's for sure.
I had a similar situation as yours- emergency lap, lost my left tube. After I had recovered from surgery, my OB asked that we hold off TTC until I could get in for an HSG, to check and ensure that my remaining tube wasn't blocked. We were given the all clear to try after that, and I got pregnant that next cycle. I honestly don't feel like they did much of anything to make sure that pgcy wasn't ectopic, at first. When I was around 6 weeks or so, I started spotting and went in for an u/s- I think if I hadn't had spotting, they wouldn't have done a thing (this is my OB's office). The u/s showed a baby, with a hb, in it's proper place. Unfortunately, at 11w, I m/c'd that pgcy with a missed m/c, which has nothing to do with my ectopic history- just crappy luck. We then tried for just about a year total with no luck- I wound up with a PCOS diagnosis, went to an RE, did RPL testing and found out I have MTHFR and PAI-1, so we went in with a game plan for the next time that I did get pregnant of me being on Metformin, Progesterone, extra folic acid, and baby aspirin. I took a lot of pills during the first tri! But, this baby is sticky, finally, and I'm due only a few weeks after my last baby would have been due. Your sticky baby is on it's way, I know it. Just hang in there!