Fearing Ectopic and Have Questions

SheriKCMO · 03-19-2004, 09:58 PM

Ladies,
I don't know how many of you have had ectopic pregnancies, but I might be going through that right now. Monday I'll have an ultrasound to see what's going on in there.

Did the medication work to end it? How long did it take? How long after that could you get back to ttc?

Did you need surgery? Did you lose a tube? Did you need another HSG? How long after all of this could you ttc again?

Thanks in advance. I hope it won't be the case, but I'd like some real world information before finding out.

Sheri

kwannabee · 03-20-2004, 12:37 AM

just sending hugs your way...dont have any of the answers youre looking for but am confident someone will...

take care Sheri

lots_of_dots · 03-20-2004, 02:59 AM

((((hugs Sheri))))

I'm sorry this is happening to you. I've never had an ectopic but I've read up on it a little bit. The success rate of methotrexate is about 90%. You will need to wait 3 months before ttc again unless more than one dose is needed then you will need to wait longer (only happens about 25% of the time). If it is caught in time, there is a good chance you will not lose a tube. Your dr may or may not do another HSG but it would probably be a good idea just to be on the safe side. It normally takes between 2-4 weeks to get a negative beta. HTH.

((((more hugs))))

airforcewifeynva · 03-20-2004, 11:31 PM

I had the methotrexate shot. Actually 2 of them. They weren't sure if I had an ectopic or not because I was not far enough along to see anything but I had excruciating pain on my right side so they gave me the shot to be on the safe side.

It did take about 2 weeks to get a negative beta. I had it done in October of '02 and we were not to TTC until Jan. of '03. The shot made me feel icky for a couple days but other than that, I didn't have any side effects.

I am sorry you are dealing with this. Its just not fair. I will definitely keep you in my prayers.

Ber22 · 03-22-2004, 12:36 PM

Sheri--I had an ectopic in November. My beta only doubled once in a week, so I had a follow up another week later and it went up only a little bit. By this time I was having weird, thin, brown spotting. (One article I read described it as looking like prune juice and this was true for me.) I had also started to have sharp pain when I needed to have a bowel movement, but went away as soon as I used the toilet. The nurse had me come in for an ultrasound the next morning. Of course, I was not concerned about it, I thought they'd just rule out the possibility of an ectopic. At the ultrasound, they found a mass a little smaller than 2 cm by my left ovary.
I got the methotrexate shot later that afternoon. It was tolerable, although my hips burned where it was injected. I was very tired for the next couple of weeks, and to top it off I got the flu.
However, the good news is that on my HSG in the beginning of January, everything was all clear. The methotrexate was a long process, and I was sick of blood draws and ultrasounds. It took a little over a month for my beta to get to 0, and two months for the mass to go away. It also hurt quite a bit when the tissue was dying. I was a mess because I was worried the pain indicated a rupture.
Because the methotrexate affects the ways cells use folic acid in order to stop their growth, you have to actively prevent pregnancy for three months. I took that time off to give me a break. This is my first cycle off bcps and I only started my gluc xr at the end of Feb.
I was really freaked out by the whole thing and am just now barely ready to begin ttc. The pregnancy that turned out to be an ectopic was a big surprise two months after a m/c.
Some other info is that even if you lose a tube, eggs can travel down the other tube. I posted a thread in November asking for stories to give me hope and there was at least one of those on there. The nurse I work with at my gyn's office has also seen it happen.
Well, I'm hoping you don't need all this, but you're in my thoughts.
Feel free to pm if you need anything.
Amber

SheriKCMO · 03-22-2004, 02:01 PM

Thanks Amber, and everybody,
I went in for an u/s this morning, and they didn't see a bubble at all. Since my bleeding has picked up quite a bit, I think it's just Mother Nature taking her time.

I'm relieved to be moving on and not in danger of a rupture. I miss my baby a lot right now, but I do look forward to trying again soon.

*DannysMom* · 03-22-2004, 10:49 PM

I am sorry you've had to deal with this~

I just wanted to let you know that I did have an ectopic... one that ruptured... and that I did lose my left tube (2/13). I had pain over the course of one night and one morning and by afternoon an indepth ultrasound diagnosed a mass...except it was pooling blood throughout my stomach/pelvic cavity. I was rushed into surgery where after testing ruled out a pregnancy in my uterus... the dr scrapped away puddles of clotting blood everywhere... and found the pregnancy in my tube. If the pregnancy had been on the end of the tube opening he could have scrapped that also... but unfortunately for me the pregnancy was smack dab in the center of that tube... the only way to "fix" the problem and save me from hemoraging was to remove the tube. I suppose I can consider myself *lucky*... If my dr wasn't on top of things... it's likely that I would have thought I was experiencing the aches and pains of corpus leuteum cyst... and tried to deal with the pain.

I am SO glad this hasn't been your experience. Hugs to you.

Karen

AmyKathleen · 03-22-2004, 11:55 PM

Sheri
I'm so glad you aren't dealing with an ectopic. I was really hoping that it would just be AF for you and I'm glad it is. Hang in there, you have been through so much. Be kind to yourself!