Ectopic Journeys

[quijibo]

TL;DR Ectopic pregnancies are confusing AF.


Greetings! I was on TB and then TCF and then FB Messenger with my BMB and now kinda here.

I was expecting a July 2018 baby, but was diagnosed with ectopic six days ago.

I’m really very confused. My hcg was 1,200. They gave me the methotrexate shot Tuesday night at 5 weeks, 6 days. On Saturday hcg was 1,000. We’ll retest again on Wednesday.

I met with an OB in the group and he said there was a mass on my ovary. He said it could be the ectopic, it could be bleeding and/or a blood clot from the ectopic, a cyst, or something else entirely.

Because I’m not bleeding or spotting - before or after all of this - he says, “We can’t even rule out a viable pregnancy at this point.”

Say what now?

That statement didn’t give me hope. It made me mad that there wasn’t 100% certainty that it was ectopic.

Granted, my pain has decreased since Tuesday. I had felt like someone kicked me in the left kidney, and the pain radiated around front. And holy hell to gastrointestinal issues. But there was no bleeding, spotting, or doubling over in pain.

Doc wouldn’t do another ultrasound because they aren’t radiology and it’s so early that not much, if anything, would be seen. I’m literally just stuck watching hcg numbers.

So, naturally, I’m feeling totally mindfucked and wish I had requested someone show me the ER ultrasound and explain in detail why they came to the ectopic conclusion.

I do have a DD. She’s 2.5. She was a pretty boring 40-week pregnancy. So, this new world is big and scary and confusing.

What am I looking for here? I don’t know. Maybe just a place to word vomit and try to understand the last week of my life. Maybe similar ectopic journeys or anecdotes would be helpful.

[Rama]

I'm so sorry to hear you're in this boat. My first loss was an ectopic.

I had no bleeding, spotting, pain, basically anything. We first had an indication of an abnormal pregnancy when my beta halved, then started doubling again. My OB ended up doing a endometrial biopsy (basically sucked out tissue from my uterus, which essentially would have caused a miscarriage if I wasn't already experiencing one) to check for fetal cells in the uterus. Results came back the next day (Christmas Day) and she called to say that no fetal cells were found, confirming the ectopic.

After my first MTX dosage, my betas actually rose for a bit. It wasn't until the third dose that it started going back down again. It also wasn't until after I started taking the MTX that I started having the bleeding and pain symptoms.

I'm angry at your OB for not walking you through this process because it is very, very confusing. He should have been telling you exactly what he was doing and why he was coming to the conclusions he was before leading you in any particular direction, so you could make your decisions based on all the information available.

All of my hugs because I know how shit that place is. You don't need to know what you need now or soon. We're here. Let us hold you and be gentle with yourself.

[yianna]

First, I'm so sorry. Mainly because you in this weird in between place, and also because it sounds like your OB isn't really on top of things.

Any chance you can get a second opinion? See a different OB? Insist on a radiology sonogram outside the doctor office to follow up? Maybe that's overkill, but I just feel like any type of miscarriage, but particularly and unconfirmed ectopic needs to have more monitoring.

[flyliceandcoffee]

First off, I'm sorry you're going through this. I don't have any experience with an ectopic pregnancy so I can't help much in that arena. I'm rather confused as well by your OB's response. if it's not for sure an ectopic, why did they give you the methotrexate shot? I would definitely ask for a second opinion and try to get more answers. If it does indeed end up being an ectopic, having an OB who will walk you through the process will definitely help in understanding what is going and what you can expect.

[DrHooch]

I am so sorry you're going through this. I have no knowledge of ectopic pregnancy but I can't believe they would have given you the methotrexate unless they were abso-freakin-lutely sure it was ectopic - otherwise, it would be malpractice. I hope you get answers soon.

[sunshiney]

I'm so sorry. An ectopic is already such a difficult thing to go through, to add such confusion is just so stressful.

When I had an ultra sound post methotrexate, the pregnancy showed up as a glowing or whiter area. The doctor said that is because the u/s highlights the fluid and activity from the methotrexate working on the fastest growing cells, which is the pregnancy. It sounds like the mass on your ovary would be exactly what they're looking for to confirm both the location of the pregnancy and that the methotrexate is starting to work.

I had zero pain (other than SE from methotrexate) for the twelve weeks it took to resolve HCG back to normal. It look at least a couple months to bleed at all because my numbers were so high, although I had some spotting from my tube (where the pg was). My betas also were all over the place and required one repeat shot.

I just wanted to share my experience because what you are experiencing seems normal to me, and I hope that can help encourage you a bit. I hope the doctor gives you a clearer explanation of what is happening and what to expect!