I found out I was pregnant in August 2020. I took a test a week before my period as I just knew I was pregnant. To my surprise, the line was so dark so I was confused about how far along I was. I took tests with the weeks calculator and it said I was further along than I thought I was which I found really confusing.
I booked for a private scan at a clinic, when we got there they could not find anything. I was devastated. They said that I most likely was not as far along as expected which confused me even more. They confirmed they had checked the Fallopian tubes and there was no baby in there. I was advised to come back in a couple of weeks. I kept taking pregnancy tests and they were still positive.
A few days later, the pain started. It started with a sharp shooting pain down below then from then just felt like severe trapped wind. I felt like I needed the toilet but couldn’t go. Over the days, my stomach got swollen and the pain was becoming unbearable. Because the scan hadn’t shown anything in my Fallopian tubes and I had little knowledge of non-tubal ectopic pregnancy, I still did not think it was an ectopic pregnancy.
One evening, the pain was so bad my husband called NHS 111 and they sent an ambulance. I lost consciousness a couple of times and was rushed to hospital. After spending a few hours there, I was advised by a consultant that I was going to be operated on as they suspected ectopic pregnancy. They hadn’t done any scans but said time was of the essence.
I remember being alone and terrified, Covid restrictions were still in place. I remember calling my husband and hearing the sound in his voice on the phone and it broke my heart.
I was informed the surgery would be key hole and they need to take a tube away. I informed my husband I should be done within two hours and would speak to him later. I woke up around seven hours later, having been in theatre for six hours. I remember the first thing I did checking the clock and thinking it had taken a lot longer than they had said. I could feel pain down below and it felt like when I had my c section. The lady who worked at the hospital informed me things had been more complicated than anticipated and that the doctor would tell me more.
I was informed that, the doctors tried to do keyhole surgery and immediately realised there was a lot of internal bleeding. I received five blood transfusions and a platelet transfusion. During the surgery, doctors could not find where all the bleeding was coming from.
It turns out the ectopic pregnancy had latched on to the back of my womb on the outside and had ruptured causing the womb to rupture too and cause bleeding. Luckily, my womb was repaired and because it has ruptured from the outside it had not caused too much damage and I should be able to carry again.
I stayed in hospital for around four nights, one of which I was on the intensive care unit due to the sheer amount of blood loss and complications and I received another transfusion. I had to take medication in hospital to make sure all the pregnancy had been removed which was heart-breaking as I felt like I was going through the loss over again alone.
I really think more needs to be shared about non-tubal ectopic pregnancies as because I had received a scan at the clinic and told it was not in the Fallopian tube I assumed it could not be ectopic pregnancy.
It’s an experience I will never forget and my little one will always be in my heart and mind. I am however grateful I’m here to see the son I do have grow up and be a “medical miracle” as the doctors said!
Thank you to Jordanne for sharing her experience with us. If you would like to share your experience of ectopic pregnancy, please visit our guide for more information.
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