Hello everyone - Does anyone have experience with the private testing companies that do HCG tests in London? For example: (Individual company names removed per Trust policy). Thank you in advance!
Dear Clare,
As we are a charity, we are not able to recommend any private healthcare facilities. I know you were asking about London based clinics but I have had to remove the names as it does go against the Trust policy and these forum rules to discuss individual healthcare providers and private companies as I have mentioned.
Testing following ectopic pregnancy is currently not recommend in th UK as sadly, there are no tests or investigations that can be done to assure you that you will not experience an ectopic pregnancy again. Ectopic pregnancy occurs because of some underlying damage to a Fallopian tube and the cause of this damage may never be established. Assisted reproductive techniques, like IVF treatment where the embryo is placed in the uterus, can also result in an ectopic pregnancy and unfortunately so is not a guaranteed way of ensuring it will never happen again. Doctors would usually want you to wait to try again for three months, after which, your doctor will probably encourage you to try again for 12 months if you are less than 35 or 6 months if you are over 35. Only if you do not conceive within those times would they then consider further tests and investigations. The exception to this might be if the surgeon saw something during the surgical procedure to resolve your ectopic pregnancy that they felt warranted further investigation more quickly.
If you feel that you may have ongoing problems of pelvic infection, you can take a chlamydia test. Chlamydia is usually symptomless and if left untreated, the infection can spread to other parts of your body and lead to long-term health problems, such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and infertility. Testing for and taking antibiotic treatment if required might help to reduce the risk of these problems.
Also Unfortunately, tubal patency tests such as HSG tests, cannot provide complete peace of mind. Even if a tubal patency test shows an open Fallopian tube, it does not show whether it will work – only a normally located pregnancy can show that at least one Fallopian tube worked.
The test is not 100% accurate as the Fallopian tubes can go into spasm during the test and can appear blocked even though this is not the case. This can cause unnecessary anxiety if the Fallopian tube is affected by spasm but in fact is actually working normally.
The test cannot determine what the internal villi of the Fallopian tube look like.
The tubal patency test can be painful, so analgesics (pain relief) may be administered before and/or after the procedure to reduce pain. Many doctors will also prescribe an antibiotic prior to the procedure to reduce the small risk of an infection. Medical professionals prescribe the antibiotics taking the viewpoint that prevention is better than cure and it is better to prevent an infection in your Fallopian tubes rather than cure it.
There is a 1% chance of getting an infection from a tubal patency test and, of that 1% chance of infection, only 20% of the 1% who get an infection would need hospitalisation. This means that there is a 99.8% chance of not causing damage to a Fallopian tube and a 0.2% chance of damage.
It would be likely that you would know if you got an infection through symptoms like: abnormal vaginal discharge, painful menstrual periods, painful or uncomfortable sexual intercourse, abdominal pain affecting both sides, frequent urination, spotting between periods, pain during ovulation, fever, and/or lower back pain.
Sending much love,
Karen x
The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust
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