Hi ladies
I’m new to this so thought I would start a new post as I’m so confused any help would be amazing.
I found out I was preg 17th December 2015 … bleeding which I thought was spotting then it got heavier … 24th December took into hospital and found out it was ep. They scanned me and said it was a classic case (whatever that means) I ovulated from my right side and it was in my right tube. … as I was only 5 weeks they could treat me with methotrexate. … which they did. Levels were checked on Friday last week and we’re down to 250… so hoping this week for 0.
But when can I start trying again and what do I do to try and prevent this happening again? I feel no one else has told me anything at all.
Hi Sarra
I am so sorry you had to go through this, your experience sounds a lot like mine - I was diagniosed with ectopic 17 Ocotber 2015. They told me that i had to wait 3 months to try again, and upon some investigation (which I did myself, the doctors didnt really bother explaining why) you have to wait 3 months after MTX as it works by depleting your body of folic acid to stop the pregnancy cells from dividing. So you need to build up your folic acid again so that your future baby wont be at risk of neural tube defects.
At the time I was so bummed about having to wait 3 months but I spent that time learning about BBT charts and using OPKs and tracking my cycle so I really got to know myself as well as giving myself time to grieve and body time to heal. It is very hard to wait and for me it dragged along while it felt like everyone was able to get pregnant but me. All the best to you honey,
I am happy to help in anyway if you need, just to chat or share your story. I have spent a LOT of time researching everything ectopic related (almost to a point of obsession) so hopefully I, or any of the amazing ladies on this site, can help.
Take care of yourself, that’s the most important thing for you right now.
xx
Oh I forgot to mention that for most ectopic pregnancies the reason is unknown so try not to beat yourself up for this, there is absolutely nothing you did to cause it and (though this was hard for me to comprehend cos I am a control freak) you cant do anything to prevent it if it does happen again, I was just told that after the 3 months when I conceive again (and all the doctors were overly sure I would just be able to snap my fingers and conceive, that is yet to be seen) then I will have an early ultrasound scan to determine whether the pregnancy is in the right place this time. The chances of having another ectopic are higher once you have had one I am afraid, somewhere between 8-10% chance, but the advice that was given to me was that I should look at it as 90% chance of having a normal healthy pregnancy.
Hi, thanks for the reply so glad I’m not the junky one left unsure. Feel as though I got the jag and bloods done every week but nothing else said. Had my last bloods done today came back at 9 so I’m now discharged that’s all they said on the phone. No what to do next or what not to do. How will I know how much folic acid to take and how will I know I have took enough to try again? Xx
Also I have no clue what bbt charts are or opks lol xx
Hi Sarra
I’m glad to hear your levels have dropped quickly and you no longer have to get bloods. When I had my MTX shot the doctors told me no getting pregnant for 3 months from the shot, so that’s what I did. I went on to read up on it on the internet and it basically confirmed this. The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust says to wait 3 months or 2 full normal cycles, so I guess whichever is quickest for you.
I take 500mcg folic acid a day, I think that’s a standard recommended amount. You need to re-build your folic acid up from scratch which I think is the main reason behind the required 3 month wait. if you are concerned with not having enough built up after the 3 months you can request bloods to test this and you can always take a stronger dose once you have conceived if your doctor is concerned.
OPKs are ovulation predictor kits - you use them around the time of your fertile period to check for your luteinizing hormone that spikes just before ovulation so you can get an idea of when you are about to ovulate. BBT charts refer to your Basal Body Temperature which rises and falls at different times in your cycle, I take my temp every morning and enter it into a fertility app and it lets you know when you have just ovulated. For me, doing these 2 things in the 3 month wait helped me to figure out that I actually ovulate day 17 or 18 of a 28 day cycle, so in the past I was timing sex all wrong and the pregnancy that happened and was ectopic was a fluke. I feel much readier now to try again.
I am so sorry you feel so lost. Happy to help if you have any more questions 
xx
Enjoyed reading the exchange between the two of you. Hope you’ve both moved on with great strength and on your way to your BFPs.
While I’m yet to reach the stage of “all clear” and peaceful resolution of my EP (diagnosed 27/06/16), I’m hoping things will move fast towards that end naturally. On day 8 after methotrexate and hcg showed an 11% decrease on day 7 to 1126. My pregnancy mass on right tube was about 3cm and very particular about this shrinking quickly.
I was wondering if either of you has come across a supplement called serrapeptase… Supposed to be good for clearing blocked tubes. Because of the one EP I’ve had very keen to try it straight away…especially to help shrink the mass quickly
Your about this would be much appreciated
Thanks
Abi