8 Years After…
My life still isn’t the same.
On 1st December 2016, I woke up in the middle of the night with the worst back pain I’ve ever had, along with bleeding and shoulder pain. I went to the hospital, and they said it was due to me being on the contraceptive injection. I was sent home.
Throughout December, I had fourteen medical visits between the hospital and my doctor, each saying the symptoms would calm down – until my last visit. My last visit was when my blood results from my first visit showed that I was pregnant and could have been having a miscarriage.
I wasn’t.
Due to it being Christmas time and a shortage of staff, I had to wait a few days for a scan. I waited, had the scan, and they noticed I was having an ectopic pregnancy. I would have had either the injection (medical management) or an operation to remove it.
That following evening, I came home heartbroken and didn’t know what to think. One minute I was pregnant, then it was a miscarriage, then an ectopic pregnancy.
That evening, I fainted after returning home. I was taken to the hospital, ended up in resus (a key area in the emergency department for the most seriously ill or injured), and they gave me an emergency operation the following morning.
It began as keyhole surgery but was turned to open surgery due to the extent of my bleeding. I could have lost my life. I was very close.
This was so scary, and it has given me so much PTS (Post traumatic Stress). I still suffer.
My Fallopian tube was removed in this operation. I am still heartbroken from this.
This operation happened on 24th December 2016. I was bled from the 1st December until my operation, with so many hospital and doctor visits. It is not lost on me that at any time during that period of time I could have died, and no one in that hospital looked further into my bleeding and pains.
I’m not telling my story now for sympathy – it’s to spread awareness of ectopic pregnancy and its symptoms.
It’s scary. It’s ruined my life. Please don’t let it ruin yours.
If I could say one thing...
Please listen to your gut feeling if you know something isn’t right. I didn’t know at first that I was having an ectopic pregnancy, and I was left for 24 long days before suddenly ending up in resus, having an emergency operation, and losing my Fallopian tube. It has scared me, and it haunts me – even now, just seeing the blood from my period.
Thank you to our writer for sharing her experience. If you would like to share your experience of ectopic pregnancy, please visit our guide for more information.
Please remember our support services are available at any time.