Dear Maisy,
I am so sorry to hear of the worrying time you are going through.
Unfortunately there are no set symptoms for ectopic pregnancy which can make it difficult to diagnose. Ectopic pregnancy can be life-threatening and thankfully it is rare to cause maternal death, but there is a risk and as I am not medically trained, I would suggest If you are feeling unwell or start to feel worse than you do now, to seek urgent medical advice.
It sounds as though you are being closely monitored at the moment, which is good to hear.
When diagnosing an ectopic pregnancy, doctors use a combination of transvaginal ultrasound scanning and blood tests to check HCG levels. Usually scans take place at around six weeks gestation as there is a reasonable chance of seeing an embryo at around this time. If scans are inconclusive, doctors would carry out a series of blood tests to check hCG levels to see if the numbers are rising as expected. However, in isolation, hCG tests only provide a part of the picture - declining levels indicate that a pregnancy has ended and will be miscarried. It can also possibly indicate an ectopic pregnancy that is “self-resolving”. Also hCG levels rising by less than 66% over 48 hours means it is likely (but not certain) that it is ectopic. If levels rise normally, they suggest the pregnancy is implanted in the uterus. You may see from this that hCG levels only indicate certain possibilities and are not in themselves a definitive guide. A positive identification of an implanted embryo on a scan is usually needed before a final diagnosis/certainty that the pregnancy has implanted in the uterus.
I am sorry that I cannot be more precise but you will get more information with your next blood tests.
We will be here for you for as long as you need,
Sending much love,
Karen x
The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust
Registered Charity Number: 1071811
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