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Pain After Expectant Management

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BethStar
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed May 13, 2020 1:14 pm

Pain After Expectant Management

Post by BethStar »

My post here will resonate with a number of other posts made on this forum and I don't want to be repetitive but I also want to offer my experience for anyone it might provide reassurance to, whilst seeking some myself from anyone else who has had a similar experience.

I had my first early pregnancy loss in Jan/Feb this year and then became pregnant very quickly again after (sooner than I thought I could have ovulated on a 'typical' cycle). I have a daughter, with whom I had a straight forward pregnancy. I soon had pain and bleeding in late Feb/early March and approached my GP. After serial HCG tests it was decided I had a PUL. I had blood tests and scans for some time as the HCG went up and then started to go down again. Nothing was every visualised on a scan and eventually the HCG dropped below 25 and I was discharged. That whole process took around six or seven weeks I think. Most of the time, it was only uncomfortable, but by the end of the HCG dropping it did become increasingly painful, always on the lower right. I did home pregnancy tests every week until they were finally negative, and about a week after a negative one I got a period. I should note my HCG never got very high, never about 600 if I recall correctly. I was of course relieved it had resolved and despite feeling very sad I felt guilty for this, as it had resolved itself and never got 'that bad' (my mother had a ruptured one in her early 20s before intrauterine scans were possible and had a horrible ordeal). My period was OK, but after it the pain came back along with thick, bloody egg white like cervical mucus. This eventually went, replaced by more typical egg white cervical mucus and then none but the pain continued, which has lasted about 12 days so far. As many of the posts on this forum say, it does seem to be linked to ovulation. I had a scan today to check it was nothing untoward and everything looked fine, with a corpus luteum showing I had ovulated on the right side where the presumed ectopic/pain was when my HCG was up and where the pain has now returned. So, this is my experience so far.

What I have found surprising is how painful this has been when nothing showed on the scans, when my HCG was relatively low and when I had no surgery. I have felt rather embarrassed about it all as if I am making a big deal of something I shouldn't be, but I am typically a fairly tough cookie and I know this pain and discomfort is not in my imagination and is not easily resolved with paracetamol. So I wanted to share this so that anyone else with a similar experience might find some reassurance that they are not alone. I would welcome any responses from anyone with a similar experience.

Like many of you probably are I am now apprehensive about why this happened, whether the pain will continue monthly, whether I will want to try again etc. The experience has been overwhelming and so worry inducing from the start, which I suppose is to be expected, and has left me with a general feeling of anxiety and unease (which I realise probably isn't too unusual in the climate we all find ourselves in now during the pandemic). I have been very lucky to have a supportive GP surgery and kind health professionals throughout. I notice when I google stuff that some of the questions in the US center around the cost of surgery for an ectopic and I can't imagine the level of added stress of having to get into debt to pay for treatment. Anyway I'm definitely rambling now! Sorry!

I want to thank you all for sharing your stories and thank the ectopic pregnancy trust, who have been an invaluable source of information. I will definitely be donating and seeking to support your invaluable work from now on.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

Cheers,

Beth

BethStar
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed May 13, 2020 1:14 pm

Re: Pain After Expectant Management

Post by BethStar »

Sorry – can't find the edit button for the above post to fix typos or add this. Wanted to add I am still waiting for some swab results just to check there isn't anything up the scan can't see but also wanted t say to anyone worried about pain AFTER an ectopic, I went with the approach of chat to my GP because it could be 'normal' but it might not and no one told me to expect pain after, so I was/am worried. So essentially I'm saying if you're worried, please do talk to your GP even if you're nervous about it like I was. xx

EPT Host 20
Posts: 3155
Joined: Thu May 31, 2012 10:58 pm

Re: Pain After Expectant Management

Post by EPT Host 20 »

Dear Beth,
I am so sorry to hear of your ectopic pregnancy and loss,
I had methotrexate for my ectopic pregnancy and was also surprised by how painful it was. I experienced pain for many months after and too went to my doctor who referred me for further investigations.
Pain is subjective so it is difficult to give advice but I would take over the counter pain relief per packet instructions and If the pain persists, I suggest keeping a pain diary noting when the pain appears, the intensity on a scale of 0-10 and anything that helps the pain eg resting, hot water bottle, paracetamol etc. Visiting your doctors with this information helps them to assess how best to manage your symptoms.

It is normal to try and find answers as to why we have had an ectopic pregnancy but often, most of us won't find the answers. I know that when I had my ectopic pregnancy I also looked for a reason and almost automatically we tend to blame ourselves. From the bottom of my heart, there is nothing you could have done to prevent the ectopic pregnancy from happening. I cannot emphasise enough - you are not to blame. Please be kind to yourself and I send you gentle hugs.

Karen x

The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust
Registered Charity Number: 1071811

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