Reader and friend Amanda shares her story about the shock of discovering she had an ectopic pregnancy even after thinking she had suffered a miscarriage. For those who don’t know, an ectopic pregnancy is a pregnancy in the fallopian tube1. In a normal pregnancy, the baby implants in the uterus, but in an ectopic pregnancy, the baby implants in the tube and may require removal due to infection. Pay close attention to her account, ladies—being able to recognize the symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy is crucial and can help save the affected tube.

Dealing with this situation can be stressful and traumatic. If you’ve been through this and need emotional support, I recommend seeing a psychologist with experience in supporting women trying to conceive and pregnant women2. Get to know the Famivita psychology service and receive a free first evaluation session. Click here to learn more!

Start of the Story

“I’ve been trying to conceive since last July. Last month, I found out I was pregnant, but I already felt that something was wrong. I had some light, brown spotting, and when I did my second beta test, the numbers had dropped.

My gynecologist did a transvaginal and saw that there was no gestational sac and that I had lost the baby. During the scan, I felt pain when he examined my left ovary, but the doctor said my tube was clear and that I already had an 11mm follicle in that same ovary.

Since then, I kept having severe pain that I thought were just gas, and I always took Buscopan and the pain would go away, but the pain started to get worse; it would come on suddenly and very strongly. I started vomiting, my blood pressure would drop, it was terrifying…

Last Tuesday (05/20) was my mother’s birthday, and I ate a plate of seafood. On Wednesday, I felt really bad with pain, and Buscopan didn’t help. I went to the ER and had an ultrasound that detected nothing but gas, and then a CT scan that diagnosed appendicitis. I was admitted and taken to the operating room to have my appendix removed.

Moment of Discovery

My surgery was laparoscopic, and as soon as he began, the doctor saw that my appendix was fine, so he switched to an exploratory procedure, searching to find out what was causing my severe pain.

That’s when he found an embryo in my left tube! Unfortunately, there was no way to save my tube, and it was removed. I’m still processing all of this—it’s a huge shock, especially for someone who’s been trying to get pregnant, and it’s a situation I never imagined I’d go through.

I never suspected it could be an ectopic pregnancy and I never actually researched the subject. Today I see that if I had understood it, I would have figured it out right away, because everything I was feeling were clear symptoms of ectopic pregnancy.

Explainer Video

I haven’t been back to the gynecologist yet; I don’t plan to go back to mine, because I think he was negligent for letting this go and not investigating my complaints. I’ve scheduled an appointment with a reproductive specialist for 06/05. I’m still really lost, not sure about my chances, or when I can try again.

All I know is that it will be necessary to examine my other tube, and I also know that if this happened in my left tube, it’s because there was already some kind of obstruction, as the doctor explained. He also said he will check my other tube to see if everything is OK.

Alert for Women

Here is my warning to all of you to always be attentive to your bodies and don’t ignore the signs that our bodies give us. If a doctor (whoever they are) says everything’s fine, but you feel it’s not, look for another doctor, and another, and another, until you find out what’s really causing the symptoms.

Symptoms of Ectopic Pregnancy3

My symptoms of ectopic pregnancy:

    • Very light, watery brown spotting, almost like water in texture.
    • VERY severe abdominal pain—I couldn’t tell if it was gas or cramps; it was a mix of both. Many women report pain localized to one side, but mine affected my whole abdomen, and after taking medication, it settled at the bottom of my belly. It hurt to sit, to stand up, to pee (I even thought it was a bladder infection), and to step on the ground! For reference, the pain didn’t even start until I was supposedly 5 weeks.
    • I also felt sharp stabs in my anus, like being stuck with a knife—an intense, thin pain from behind.
    • The pain would come on suddenly and was overwhelming, making me feel very sick, with vomiting, and my belly would swell, which made me think it was gas and self-medicate with Buscopan.

After finding out what was really happening, the doctor explained that because there was an infection in my abdomen, my intestinal loops detached, causing my bowels to stop functioning and producing lots of gas—I had abdominal distention.

So, we women must always be alert to ANYTHING, ANY PAIN, ANY SIGN THAT SOMETHING IS DIFFERENT.

Never do what I did—stay at home thinking it’s nothing and it will pass. Our bodies give us signals (plural). Sometimes we just aren’t paying attention and don’t piece things together. If my doctor had done his job properly and if I had also sought more help, maybe they could have saved my tube.”

See also: Fetal Distress – Indication for Delivery?

Photo: Helga Weber