I figured I best move the thread about my ectopic over here as its not really fair to keep it close to the top in First Trimester.
For reference this is the story of my ectopic pregnancy so far
For reference this is the story of my ectopic pregnancy so far
Post subject: Five days of spotting...
PostPosted: Sun Dec 28, 2008 02:26 am
Online
In August I had a m.c. At 10 weeks I had some spotting which gradually worsened. I went to A&E, and an ultrasound revealed that the sac was rough and irregular, and the fetus was approximately 5 wks with no heartbeat. They would not confirm a m.c at this point, although this was the outcome a few days later.
Since the m.c I have had two normal periods in the months of September and October, and a light period in November. When my period did not start in the third week of Dec I took a HPT, which lit up positive in about 30 seconds! (The "pregnant" line developed before the control line). I was a bit surprised by this as due to having house guests for most of November TTC (especially around the time I thought I was ovulating) was limited to say the least. I've not had chance to confirm the pregnancy with my GP due to the Christmas holidays. I'm thinking as my period in November was so light (not to mention a couple of days early) its possible that I may be 9 weeks and what I thought was a period was implementation bleeding, or its possible I may only be 5 weeks along.
Ok all the background and the waffling is leading to this. I have had brown to reddish brown spotting for five days.I have a nagging ache on my left hand side, which is similar to what I experienced with the m.c, however as the pain is not getting worse, and the spotting has not turned to bleeding I am trying to remain calm. Quite frankly I am too scared to go to A&E and get a sonogram. If they don't find a heartbeat I will freak out - although it may simply be that I *am* five weeks after all.
I don't know what to do for the best. Last time I went to the A&E they sent me home and said there was nothing that could be done other than wait. I requested at the time that they did a blood test for HCG levels but the doctor said he was unwilling to do this test as it would be "inconclusive". I feel like I am sitting in limbo right now, I'm doing my best to remain calm, but your thoughts and experiences would be a great help to me
Post subject: Re: Five days of spotting...
PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 12:34 pm
The spotting has turned red.
I've looked online but the closest Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit is 40 miles away - and I don't drive.
ETA I called my GP surgery to ask for advice and quite a few questions got answered. My local hospital does have an EPAU nurse/doctor BUT at the time I had my miscarriage in the summer she had chickenpox and was not able to see pregnant women. Hence any threatened miscarriages just got sent out to other wards. Explains why the young doctor I saw was uneasy with the situation. Also explains why I thought the local hospital didn't have an EPAU.
I wish I could get a better handle on how far along I may be. My last proper period was late October, but I had 3 days of spotting in November that I thought was my period. Now I am not so sure at all. I know I am in a right tizz, but I am so flipping confused. Rambling helps.
Post subject: EPAU today....
PostPosted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 09:58 am
Online
I've got my appointment EPAU in about 90 mins. I woke up desperate for the loo, rushed to the bathroom and was just about to go when I realised I needed a sample ! Cue half naked nauseous woman stumbling downstairs looking for a flipping jar. I've managed one cup of tea and I feel like I am about to burst already.
The spotting has turned really dark brown now and eased off - I've never seen anything like it before. After almost 2 weeks of worrying I finally take the advice to go see a specialist and the symptoms pretty much grind to a halt.
Part of me feels really silly for going to see a doctor. Like I am worrying over nothing, or worse still I've completely misinterpreted the symptoms.
I had quite irregular periods in my late teens/ early 20's, so I got in to the habit of marking down my cycle years ago. I've never really stopped since then. For the last 5 years I have had a regular as clockwork 26 day cycle. I've gone back through my online calendar , and my memory was slightly off. My AF was the 12th Oct, then the 7th Nov and then on the 21st Nov I had what I thought was a light period. Looking at the calendar I had spotting 14 days after my "proper" period, yet I didn't think the slightest of it until a month later.
I just don't know how I could have missed that - and I feel so silly for not thinking to do a test earlier. I'm a supposedly educated woman, and yet I miss a glaring sign like that. At the time I completely dismissed it thinking my body was slightly off kilter due to the m.c in August.
I guess the not being certain of how far along I am is what is really scaring me. When I had the m.c I was 100% absolutely certain on my dates. When the scan showed a sac about 5 weeks smaller than I expected I knew for a fact there and then what had happened . I honestly don't know what they are going to find today, and I really hate being unprepared. Also the last experience I had in the hospital was so horrid. As daft as it may sound, I am worried that they may be angry with me for being a time waster as there is a possibility that the flow I had in late November was a period, which would date me at 5 weeks - in which case the EPAU would not see me.
So Yeah. I'd better get ready to leave.
Gulp.
Post subject: Re: EPU today.... sadly not good news.
PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 19:31 pm
What a long week. Long story short, I was discharged from hospital about 4 hours ago.
I was admitted from EPAU when blood test showed my hCG Levels were above 3000 but despite an enlarged and "pregnant looking" uterus no gestational sac was visible.
The consultant was pressuring me in to having surgery to locate the "pregnancy of unknown location" and whilst I was under general anaesthetic remove the pregnancy and any other necessary tissue. This may have meant losing a tube - it could have meant losing who knows what else as they simply could not locate the site of the pregnancy.
3 Blood tests, 3 ultrasounds ( each 48 hours apart) and 3 significant hCG rises later, I finally was given the treatment I had requested almost a week earlier on my first admission to the hospital. I have been now been given an injection to dissolve the pregnancy.
I'm oh so tired now, and quite simply shocked at the amount of pressure I was placed under to take the surgical treatment - which can never be reversed. I've not really had time to take in the news that the pregnancy was not viable. I've spent the best part of a week trying to fend off a consultant who seemed insistent that removing an unknown quantity of my reproductive system was the best course of action. Is it wrong to feel sort of proud that I managed to escape the hospital with all my original parts still intact?
Sex is completely banned for at least 6 weeks, and contraception is essential for the next 6 months as the drug administered to dissolve this pregnancy causes birth defects. I'm still keen to try again as soon as possible, but for now its just a waiting game.
Thanks to all that have left messages, and most importantly thanks to those who encouraged me to go the EPAU in the first place. I honestly think without that encouragement I would have sat at home thinking I was "over reacting" to some normal pregnancy bleeding until things had progressed to a much severer situation.
My intention in posting this is truly not to scare anyone experiencing early spotting and bleeding. But to encourage anyone who has the slightest concern about bleeding and spotting to get it checked out. It is true that in almost all cases the spotting is nothing sinister - but all the same please get it checked so you can know what is going on with your pregnancy. To anyone out there now who is worried about their early pregnancy, I can say from personal experience, each day I sat in that hospital ward lots of woman came in with concerns without their early pregnancy and each of them was sent home with an early glimpse of their baby's heartbeat. There was only one lady who received a result that was inconclusive (possibly to early to tell ?) As I never saw that lady again hope that there was good news for her too.
Post subject: Re: Ongoing Ectopic. So tired of this now.
PostPosted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 22:42 pm
Ok. My hCG is still going up. Just shy of 5000 now.
My case seems to have been passed to another consultant - and this one is much more in favour of medical management. I've been given a second dose of Methotrexate which I really hope works this time and starts bringing the hCG down.
If a second injection does not work then I probably will have to have surgery. Although - after another scan today we are still no wiser as to where the pregnancy is located. Although someone did mutter "interabdominal pregnancy" at one point.
The doctor I spoke with today was rather more reassuring than the one who has handled my case so far. I've been allowed home, but I have to have someone with me at all times. We've had to sort of a sitting service for me !
DB can't take any time off work as his company only offer compassionate leave for bereavement. Which this isn't apparently. This is probably not the time to get in to that philosophical debate. It is enough to say I am distinctly unamused.
Post subject: Re: Ongoing Ectopic. So tired of this now.
PostPosted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 20:27 pm
I've been back in hospital.
I had my second dose of Mtx late on Monday. Tuesday I started to bleed like a light period. which I took as a positive sign that the Mtx was starting to take effect.
Late on Tuesday evening I had incredibly intense stomach pain. As I wasn't feeling faint I lay very still, trying to figure out what was going on. Could this be the separation pain I was warned about ? The pain was so strong I could not breath deeply or even move my lower half. All I could do was lie on the floor and try and remain calm. It stayed like this for about 5 minutes, and then it started to get slightly better. Only slightly better, but there was definitely an improvement. Over the next hour the pain eased, although a strong period type cramp remained. I decided to try and get some sleep.
Wednesday morning I woke up with a very bloated swollen stomach. I *looked* really pregnant. The period type cramp was still there. A couple of times in the morning I had sharp pains if I moved suddenly, then about 4 in the afternoon I had one really strong cramp and passed a big piece of tissue. The moment this happened the nagging throbbing ache from my left hand side completely eased. In fact I was almost completely pain free
I called the hospital and they asked me to come in and bring the tissue if possible. By the time I arrived at the ward 40 minutes later my stomach had gone completely floppy. The first time it has looked like that in weeks. I never ever thought I would be happy to have a poochy stomach !
From visual examination, the doctor has said that the tissue was a decidual cast (wiki reliably tells me that this is the part of the womb lining that forms the maternal part of a placenta) although it may be six weeks before we get the detailed results from the Path Lab. I still have some odd twinges, and I am absolutely *shattered*, the good news is that the last beta hCG test showed that my hGC dropped all the way from 4885 to 2300 - no one expected to see such a big drop all at once. I did have a big drop after a bleed about a week ago but then I shot back up again. I really really hope this downward trend continues.
Post subject: Re: Ongoing Ectopic. Update - Emergency Surgery.
PostPosted: Tue Jan 27, 2009 19:41 pm
I'm finally home after another 5 days in hospital. The Ectopic has been surgically removed from my right tube on Thursday 22nd.
I woke up on Thursday morning with extreme pain, this was a complete shock as all the tests up to this point had indicated that medical treatment was working. An ambulance was called and as soon as I was stabilized at home (which took about 90 minutes and a lot of morphine) I was taken in for emergency surgery at around 12.30 in the afternoon. Due to the severe bleeding the surgeon could not operate laparscopically, immediate open surgery was the only option remaining at this point.
In the course of the operation it was discovered that I had been experiencing chronic internal bleeding. I had lost 1950 ml of blood which had to be removed from my abdominal cavity along with the remaining pregnancy tissue. The tissue and bleeding had been situated in an area of my abdomen obscured by the bowel, which is why it had not previously been picked up on during ultra sound examination. The pregnancy itself *was* resolving (getting smaller) and was un-ruptured, however I was in a critical situation as cells that form the placenta were burrowing in to blood vessels in my abdomen that are frankly not equipped to withstand that job. As such the invaded blood vessels had been slowly leaking and seeping blood in to my abdomen for a long period of time (probably as long as 10 weeks).
Frighteningly enough I have since learned that the bleeding had progressed to such a point that it would have been fatal if left untreated for another 24 hours.
The pregnancy itself was approximately 6cm in size ( and this is after two shots of Methotrexate - how bloody big must it have been before the treatment ?) and there was evidence of an embryo present although I have not asked for too much detail around this. On the actual day of surgery I was around about 11 weeks pregnant.
Crazy as it may sound, I still don't regret my decision to try and manage the pregnancy medically. As it turns out there has been some damage to my right tube, but it is still intact. As far as anyone could tell during the operation everything else appeared to be in good working order. Once my head has cleared I may start to see if there is any way to check exactly how well everything is functioning but for now I need to focus on my recovery. Early indications would suggest that my chances of conceiving again are moderate to good, although due to the surgery I am at an increased risk of another ectopic. I'm taking a six month breather as originally planned and then I want to try again. I do have a certain amount of fear, but at the same time, you never know until you try. I refuse to live my life in fear and wonder forevermore "what - if"
I'm going to be a serial thread starter in this here forum as during the last few days there have been a number of things that have happened that I need to vent about.
Post subject: Re: This is too much, Please help.
PostPosted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 13:27 pm
I work through an employment agency.
As I have had time off they "have to let me go"
I feel so useless.
I have nothing left at all.
First no Baby (twice), Then my Gran died and was cremated on Monday. On top of this there is now No Job
I'm going up the wall here !
