My symptoms were different this time, so I never considered it to be another ectopic.
If I’d have known about shoulder tip pain being a symptom of an ectopic pregnancy, then I would have sought medical help ten days earlier. It was a strange feeling, not like trapped wind, more like a dull ache and breathlessness.
The week that followed was full of emotion and overwhelm, however I put this down to taking our children and grandkids away during half term. I knew my period was late, but they’ve been sporadic recently, which I put down to assumed perimenopause, being 42 years old.
On my return to work I felt “off”, overly emotional and unable to do any kind of energy healing on anyone else. A week on from the first shoulder tip pain, my stomach expanded massively with bloating, and I could hardly stand. Sweating in pain I started using breathing exercises to calm myself down. This was far worse than period pains or trapped wind. But I had no bleeding. I thought it must be my appendix. After a few hours the severity subsided, and I carried on.
A few days later the pain returned out of nowhere, worse than before. The pressure down below was getting worse, and I struggled to walk. I was going to go home to lie down on the couch, but something intuitively told me to allow myself to be seen. I was rushed by a friend to the nearby doctor’s surgery. I could barely pass urine as the pressure was so intense. I still had no bleeding so assumed the GP (general practitioner) was testing to see if any blood was in my urine. “Please don’t panic, but you are pregnant, and I think it’s an ectopic pregnancy again – it may possibly have ruptured because of your symptoms.”.
As soon as he said, “You’re pregnant”, I knew he was right. It was the same but different. I never imagined that 14 years on I would experience another ectopic pregnancy. This time I had no bleeding, and the pain was worse. It was a ruptured ectopic pregnancy and classed as “life-threatening”, so I was rushed in for emergency surgery.
In 2010 I had been bleeding for two weeks before severe pain started. I was just over seven weeks pregnant, but didn’t know. Even though we had come off birth control after experiencing a chemical pregnancy 18 months earlier, I wasn’t actively tracking. After having to pull the car over in severe pain, I rang NHS 111 (a free-to-call non-emergency number medical helpline operating in England, Scotland and Wales) who told me to go to my GP. They confirmed I was pregnant, “but due to the bleeding it was unlikely it would be a positive outcome”. I was told to go to the EPAU (Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit) where they confirmed there was no sign of baby in my uterus, but blood tests confirmed I was very pregnant. I was given a tablet and told to go home, but if the pain increased then I should go back in. I returned that evening, where I was monitored with increasing hCG levels (a hormone produced during pregnancy). They advised that I required surgery, with possible Fallopian tube removal.
When I came around, I had a catheter in and what felt like a brick on my stomach in dressings. My husband told me surgery had taken longer than expected. An initial laparoscopy proved a challenge as they found both of my Fallopian tubes to be inflamed. A laparotomy resulted in a right sided salpingectomy removing my tube. My left tube was twisted, and so they “untwisted it and stitched it open”. The consultant explained that this was likely to have damaged the cilia (little hairs) that encourage the egg to float over from the ovary to the fallopian tube, so I would need IVF.
Due to the new c-section looking scar and the other three from initial key-hole surgery, I had a longer stay in hospital and physical recovery took much longer than my recent ectopic pregnancy.
We were blessed with our first cycle of IVF being successful. Our daughter is now 12 years old. Subsequent cycles of frozen embryo transfer were unsuccessful. However, seven years after having Amelia we fell pregnant naturally, and Freddy is now 4 years old. Two miracles, each in their own right.
Despite conceiving our son naturally, we thought this was a total fluke, 10 years of no birth control. We never expected to get pregnant again. I was in total shock to discover another ectopic pregnancy, on my stump of remaining Fallopian tube, which I was told is rare.
This time, to grieve for an unplanned and unintended pregnancy felt so confusing. It has been difficult to deal with, however I am extremely grateful for the love and support. I am determined to turn this pain into power by sharing my story and shouting about the symptoms to raise awareness. It could help to save someone’s fertility or life.
Thank you to Melanie for sharing her experience. If you would like to share your experience of ectopic pregnancy, please visit our guide for more information.
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