Hey Ladies,

My name is Jennifer and I had a ruptured ectopic on January 18, 2006. The doctor was unable to save my right tube. I am still in shock. With my first pregnancy everything seemed so easy and natural. I never dreamed that anything could go wrong. I was hoping to hear some great stories of conceiving with only one tube and maybe any advice you were given. I also have a few questions:

I had a followup HCG done 1 week later and it came back at 2. Is there reason to do another one or does this indicate that the tissue is gone?

How long were you told to wait to ttc afterward? I know it will vary depending on whether they saved the tube or not.

Is there any reason to push for tests on the other tube like an HSG if the tube looked fine during surgery?

Is there any way that something I was doing caused this? My son is only 8 mos old and he was still breastfeeding at the time and I am still carrying around most of my baby weight.

I am kinda lost. I don't really think my husband understands how scary all of this is. One day you are pregnant and on top of the world, then two days later you get an ultrasound for cramping and less than six hours later you are in surgery b/c of a ruptured tube and bleeding in your abdomen. When you wake up you have no baby and no right tube. It all seems to have happened so fast. I know that you ladies have been through all of this so hopefully you understand these feelings. Thanks for any thoughts and encouragement you might have.

Jennifer

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Jennifer,

I am so sorry this happened to you. Your scenario sounds similar to mine. My pregnancy with my daughter was so normal and fine. Then I got pregnant again and had an ectopic pregnancy, my right tube ruptured and they removed it. You're right it all happened so fast. I was so devastated and hurt and thought I would never get pregnant again. We were told to wait 3 months to heal to try again. On the second month of trying I did get pregnant and I am now about 20 weeks along. There have been quite a few success stories on this board lately. I think about 3 others have recently conceived again after having an ectopic.

To answer your other questions, I didn't have an hsg done. The doctor that did my surgery didn't think any additional tests were necessary. The fact that this happened was just bad luck, there was nothing else wrong. The only thing that I can think of is maybe there was always something wrong with my right tube and I never knew it and my daughter was conceived from the other side. My doctor was very encouraging that we would do fine getting pregnant again. I would go for a follow-up with your doctor and see what he says.

I understand how you are feeling right now. It's such a shock. You really will feel better as time passes. And I am sure you will get pregnant again when you are ready to try. Hang in there and we are all here for you.

Lynn

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DD Gianna 6-17-2003
DS Vincenzo 6-14-2006
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Ectopic Angel in Heaven 5/7/05

Hi Jennifer,

I'm so sorry for your loss. I felt the way you do now. I was on top of the world, then I started bleeding. I had an ultrasound which was devistating. They really need to give those techs some sensitivity training. Then I had surgury where my left tube was removed. In the aftermath, I just felt so robbed and so empty.

I did have an HSG. I just felt like I needed to know that my other tube was clear. I had not had any children at that point, and didn't want to waste 6 months TTC if my other tube was blocked. I was able to conceive my DD right away after taking 3 months off. It doesn't happen so easily for everyone, but there have been quite a few sucess stories around here.

Backing up to your first question about follow up HCG. It's probably best to discuss it with your doctor. I believe that my doctor considers anything over 5 to be PG. Under 5 is not, but I would talk with your doctor about it.

Chances are, there is nothing that you did to cause your EP. I went through the same thing. Did I work too hard in the garden? Should I have quit Yoga? I don't think we can do anything to cause it. It is a fluke for most women, and chances are it won't happen again. Since you already have a DS, you don't likely have a tubal defect.

I'm sorry your DH doesn't understand. He needs to know that your baby was real and you could have died. That is very traumatic. He may just be in denial. But for your sake, he needs to be there for you. We're here for you as much as you need us. Please feel free to post as much as you need to.

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I am so sorry for your loss. My story is slightly different in that the pregnancy blew out the end of my tube so the doc was able to save it. I did have any HSG mostly to check to see if I had scar tissue in that tube and because I was spending so much on fertility treatments I wanted to be totaly sure I still had a chance of a normal pregnancy. I had to wait almost 3 months to ttc again and did get pregnant on the first try. To the best of my knowledge any Hcg below 5 is considered not pregnant. Also, I echo what the other ladies said that most of the time it's a fluke of nature when a woman gets an ectopic pregnancy. Their is nothing you can do to cause it. Try not to beat yourself up.

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Hi Jennifer

I have a similar story... I had a young child at home and I was pg w/ him... That pg was very ueventful. So we had been TTC about 7 month and got a BFP.. After the lines showed up we just thought everything was fine and it never dawned on me that it couldn't. Yet, I ended up in the ER w/ bleeding and pain, I was admitted, monitored to see if the pg would terminate on it's own but had surgery to have my pg and right tube removed 2 days later when internal bleeding set in.

There is a huge range of emotion that goes w/ this, you lost a much wanted pg and you lost all the dreams you had for this baby as soon as you knew you were pg. Then... You have to deal w/ loosing a tube.. . And then you have to deal w/ the traumma of the reality of it all, surgery and the fact that yes.. You could have died, it's really scarry

There is nothing you did that caused this. I think that some past surgery "may" have contributed to my ectopic. I had a large cyst removed from my right ovary when I was younger.. and then I also had a crash c-section.. Either could have caused scarring in or around that tube. But normally, this is just something that happens and it's not your fault at all.

After my ectopic.. I did ask about an HSG but my Dr. told me that while he did the surgery he looked at my other tube and said it looked fine but.... I think my body chicked out on the baby front and I stopped ovulating... I waited and TTC for about another year and decided to go to my Dr. for help.. After a couple months of tests I was put on low a low dose of clomid and poof.... 4 clomid cy's later.... Twins.... All w/ 1 tube I might add And now... Well, even while I was practicing "safe sex" we got a little surprise a couple days before Christmas which came in the form of 2 lines on a pg test.

So trust me... 2 tubes... 1 tube... It does NOT matter. I know it's hard to believe now, I really do know that. I've been there, thinking pg would never happen for us again. But it does for just about everyone who's had an ectopic or lost a tube. It's obvious to me that you have no other underlaying fertility issues.. This is just a fluke for you.

Please feel better soon, and post here when ever you need too.. All the girls here are great.

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Well ladies you have all been incredibly helpful and reassuring. I appreciate your stories and advice. It appears from this board and what I have read that ectopic pregnancies are much more common than I thought. Thanks so much for the support.

Jennifer

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