Your Advice: Ectopic

KingLED · May 2014

Please share your advice and/or anything you wish you knew before, during, or after your loss.

*I will be adding this to the pinned advice thread soon.

FmrAFBrat · June 2014

What I wish I knew before my first loss is that doctors are not always right. I was diagnosed with round ligament pain over the phone and my doctor at the time refused to see me. I also never bled or spotted with my ectopic leading me to thinking there was no problem. I was bleeding internally the entire time.

Signs you are in danger:

Dizziness
Constant Cramping
shooting stabbing pain (they are usually to one side, however mine were centered)
Extreme lightning Crotch

Now when I ruptured I went into shock..I was hot and cold at the same time.

If your betas are over 5,000 (as mine were) do not attempt methotrexate. It may make you immediately rupture in a lot of cases.

If you have a rupture and an emergency salpingectomy expect your stomach to turn black, then purple, then,blue, and then green. It is normal from the internal bleeding.

If there is no underlying cause for your ectopic and your remaining tube is normal you should be okay getting pregnant again. One of several things can happen:

-when you ovulate on your bad side 15% of the time your tube on the other side will pick it up.

-sometimes removal of the tube will affect blood supply to that ovary causing it to ovulate less often. A similar phenomenon happens to some women when they get their tubes tied and they end up going into menopause. Generally this is why your doctor says that your fertility will return at some point close to normal.

Other notes:

-you will have side twinges and hot flashes after the surgery. It is all normal. Also expect to me a hormonal mess for a few months.

-Make sure your betas are watched to 0. Do not rely on a HPT to do this for you, as a lot of times they do not do a D&C with an ectopic and you can have tissue left in your uterus for various reasons including sloppy work or a missed twin.

-if you have high HCG levels have your doctor investigate all masses in your uterus before allowing them to give you the methotrexate shot. This can be skewed by fluid (ie blood). This is especially important if you have fraternal twins in your family (like mine) or had fertility treatments.

-if you are given methotrexate make sure you wait at least 2 months to TTC. If your doctor says it's okay go somewhere else.

jddonahue · August 2014

I was just given methotrexate after finding out I had an ectopic. I was 5 weeks pregnant when I began having sharp pains. During the course of my short lived pregnancy I had brown spotting. Many nurses and doctors assured me that spotting was normal but I just didn't feel right. This was mine and my husbands first pregnancy so I had faith in all advice that was given to me in hopes that what I was experiencing was normal. At exactly 5 weeks I began to have bright red bleeding when I thought I had to have a bowel movement. I went straight to the ER. What they previously thought was a corpus luteal cyst ( which I was told can be harmless) was actually fetal tissue in my Fallopian tube. My OB advised to use methotrexate given my Hcg levels were 2100 and was my best option to save my tube. Being 24 and healthy I chose the shot. I have never felt so scared in my life and i saw my husband cry for the first time in our 8 years together. I am completely scared of future ectopics considering I'm at a higher risk now. My worst fear has happened. I am emotionally and physically exhausted and I'm praying the methotrexate works well. Any other experiences with this medicine?

MeganRusticBarn · November 2014

A few nights before Friday, I woke up in sharp pain in my abdominal area. I couldn't move, walking made the cramps worse. I ended up using a heating pad to relive pain in the abdominal area. The next morning, I woke up with sore abs. I was also having constipation, so I thought that maybe it was connected with ab pain. This was my first pregnancy and I didn't really know what is normal/abnormal. A few days passed, I had cramps that were severe but they went away with lots amounts of water.

On Wednesday I had my levels checked -and they had doubled. I had my first nurse appointment was told to pretty much stop worrying about "every little thing" I asked for a 6 week u/s to ease my mind when the nurse actually suggested not too bc everything she thought looked fine.

On Friday we went to our U/S and then was rushed up to see the on call doctor . I had an ectopic pregnancy and needed to go into surgery right then and there. So many emotions were going through my mind. 30 mins ago, we were upstairs holding on to hands with my husband in the waiting room and now we are going through emergency surgery.
One of my Fallopian Tubes was partially removed and the doc said the other tube looks good. After surgery I was complelty out of it due to pain meds and Being put under.
Today I suffered a panic attack and was back in the hospital with chest pains and having a hard time breathing. This weekend has been a roller coaster of emotions.
I still think this is all not true.

I have to remember that thank god I listened to my body and suggested an U/S when the nurse did not want me to have one. Our next US was not scheduled until Jan 5! That would of been a long wait with the egg stuck in my tube and God knows what could of happened, ectopic pregnancy is the number 1 cause of death in females during 1st trimester. I was very lucky to share my story and still here. I'm in pain, emotionally and physically exhausted and hoping to try again in a couple months

alovett26 · December 2014

- if you were told it was a miscarriage make sure to follow your numbers to zero and do it soon. I waited a week (when the docs scheduled it) and ended up with an ectopic that ruptured and ended up having to get a tube removed which may have been prevented if I monitored my HGC earlier.

- it doesn't always present itself as you read. I had one day of minor cramps, no pain, no dizziness, nothing much at all and mine had ruptured and I had internal bleeding.

- allow yourself time to heal. Some feel okay in a few days, but it may take weeks. Even if you (pain wise) are fine, I was extremely tired and worn down 2+ weeks after.

- when your period comes back can be a mystery. I am six weeks out with nothing yet, others can return as normal. I am talking to my doctor right now about taking supplements to jumpstart my period again.

- be your own advocate. Ask questions, be annoying, get your answers. No question is stupid and it is a trying time.

- sometime you just have to be okay with "we don't know" & "it's just bad luck" sometimes an ectopic is just that. There is not a reason for it and it's bad luck. Although it seriously sucks, There may not be a reason why.

jazmin333 · May 2015

I was about 8 weeks pregnant and I wanted to have my baby but my parents took me to the abortion clinic and I was with my boyfriend. Never had any bleeding or cramping, nothing no pain. They took me in and started the ultrasound. They didn't see anything at all, I was so scared I knew something was wrong right away so they started a vaginal ultrasound and like 6 nurses came in and out just looking at the screen. After 30 minutes of anticipation they told me that the fetus was in my left tube and took me to their office telling me that they were gonna send me straight to the hospital because I needed surgery to remove the baby. I started crying so much I didn't know what to think they told me I could die and I just panicked I thought about my baby like what is gonna happen to him or her. I went in and waited 6 hours for my stomach to clear up because I had eaten I was crying of hunger I was so sad the whole time. Right before sugary I went to the bathroom and laid down, the nurse told me that she was gonna inject the loopy medicine and I blacked out. My boyfriend said I looked at him and smiled with a tear running down my face. He said he saw how sad I was even though I was smiling (because I was drugged out of my mind). I remember waking up and the nurse telling me I ripped out my IV it was taped onto me after that, I couldn't move it hurt so much. They told me they had to remove my whole left tube because the fetus grew too big.. I needed help to walk the only ones there were my boyfriend and my mom. The first night was so horrible all I did was cry I didn't sleep I kept waking up crying my mom was laying down on the couch, she slept well. But my boyfriend was sitting next to me sleeping only for a minute until the next time I woke up crying for water. He took such good care of me, we went home the next day and I was in bed for a week. He stayed every night with me bringing me my food downstairs and water sleeping next to me and helping me walk more and more. I was so depressed I cried every night thinking where my baby was. We thought we were gonna be parents. The doctors said it would take 18 months to get pregnant again, a successful pregnancy) but 6 months later I was pregnant again. Saw my second baby on the screen and cried tears of joy. Now I'm 36 weeks waiting on my baby girls arrival and I couldn't be happier.

SharonB222 · June 2015

Classic symptoms I had: bleeding and low initial hCG. Misleading symptoms: hCG doubled normally and no pain (the most dangerous ectopics -close to the uterus- often aren't painful until it's too late). What I would have done differently: asked if my OB reviewed the 6w results (uterus empty, hCG >1500) and/or insisted I be seen within two days. Since my treatment occurred (finally) but hCG > 5,000 (7w) I knew enough to choose a hospital but I only took it half seriously and didn't think it through - I would have considered which surgeon (or practice). Most ectopics resolve by themselves, most ectopics respond to MTX treatment - some don't - know which risk group you are in and re-evaluate often. My "gunshot" rupture was devastating physically and emotionally. Thankfully, time does heal.

katlee6 · June 2015

I found out I was pregnant on a Wednesday. My first pregnancy. The following Tuesday, I had slight cramping and brown spotting which by the end of the day turned bright red. I went to the ER. They took my blood and did a vaginal ultrasound. The technician said that I may have just been too early to see anything. Found out my hcg was at 298. I got my blood drawn 2 days later and it was at 250. Doctor told me I had miscarried. The number should have doubled.
I read so much online and really everyone is different, but I thought it was weird that I didn't bleed a whole lot. I was at 6 weeks and other people mentioned the big clots they had and I didn't see any of that. The doc basically told me he thought I was pretty much through it already and he had me schedule an appt 3 months out to follow up. The following week I had some abdominal pain. Honestly it felt like I was backed up really bad. It was tender when I pressed on my lower abdomen. I also had some bleeding.
3 days passed with no bleeding after that, but the pain came back and was much worse. I thought, surely I shouldn't still be having pain like this. It had been over 2 weeks since my supposed miscarriage. I went to the doc that morning. Found out there was something in my tube and I had internal bleeding. Blood test showed my hcg was at 660. So that confirmed I had an ectopic pregnancy! I had emergency surgery the next morning. They found that a cyst had ruptured and caused a blood clot in my fallopian tube. I lost the tube but luckily was able to keep my ovary.
They also found out that I have endometriosis. My husband and I have been together for 8 years and never really used contraception. We were at the point of talking about other means of conceiving since it wasn't happening for us. Now we know. Talk about an emotional roller-coaster! My advice that I can give after all this...if you believe that you are having a miscarriage, please make sure to follow your numbers to zero! If I would have ignored what my body was telling me, I could have been in a much worse position!
Has anyone else found out they had endometriosis? After my surgery, the doc told my husband that I will need shots for 6 months. Is this just to make it easier for us to conceive?

abobbitt2009 · December 2015

My previous pregnancy was just like this. The methotrexate dissolved the pregnancy, and we were finally able to start trying again two months later.
I found out I was pregnant last Monday, then started the brown discharge/spotting again. I tried to be hopeful. My hCG levels were rising and I had no cramping. But nothing was showing up on my ultrasounds. I had an emergency ultrasound yesterday, then was rushed straight to surgery- we say the yolk sac beside my ovary and a heartbeat was also visible. It was the hardest thing I had to see and I can't quit thinking about it.
My tube was removed and they checked my right tube and ovary to make sure that they were functioning properly. I'm very sore and emotional, but hopeful that the next time we try I will have a successful pregnancy.

thisisallyson · December 2015

I started spotting right at 6 weeks - brown with occasionally a spot of bright red. Nurse at the doctor's office told me to just rest and drink plenty of water and that it was implantation bleeding. By the time I hit 7 weeks, it was always red, no longer brown. Then I went from what I consider spotting to full on bleeding. I wasn't filling a pad but it was starting to show on the pad and much more when I would wipe. Freaked out but decided to lay low over the weekend and call the doctor on Monday. (I'm now at 8 weeks.) The next afternoon (a Saturday), I started having light cramps. I wasn't sure if they were real or not, figuring I was just being hyper-sensitive to the situation. It honestly felt like I was starting to get my period - not intense pain or heavy bleeding but enough of a warning. After a few hours, we decided to head to the ER anyway just to make sure. Bloodwork showed that I was pregnant, pelvic exam showed no signs of miscarriage. The defining moment was the ultrasound - the first one I have ever had. When the tech said "There's the uterus" and I couldn't see anything on the screen, I immediately knew it wasn't good. Two hours later, it was confirmed. Since I wasn't in too much pain, my HCG levels were within the range, the tube hadn't ruptured, and there was no heartbeat, we decided on Methotrexate. Since then, I have had two follow up blood tests which thankfully, they both show declining beta levels.

The hardest part is dealing with it emotionally. Everyday is a rollercoaster of emotions. Right now, I feel fine but I know that eventually the grief will hit me again.

Biggest piece of advice when you are in the early stages: lean on your partner, if you can. Gain a support system. I live about 1500 miles away from my family but their frequent phone calls have helped so much. My husband and I are trying to be there for each other, but it can be really hard when you are both going through the loss of a child. Don't bottle it up. Don't act like nothing happened. Give yourself permission to grieve.

My next step is to meet with my OB next week. Not sure what it will entail, but I have loads of questions. As for when my husband and I think we might try again - it is up in the air. We want to but at this point, it is all still so fresh and raw. Maybe spring or summer.

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