Hi all, I had a salpingectomy in September 2015. In January we decided to ‘try’ for a baby, having got caught by accident with the ectopic. But every month since January I’ve almost convinced myself I’m pregnant, with another ectopic, having the same symptoms and pains but on the other side…only to have a normal period and not be pregnant! I assume I’m making the pains up in my mind. Has anyone else experienced the same?! I really know I need to relax and chill out but finding it hard, especially as it happened by accident last time, and now with trying it’s not happened for 4 months, which I know isn’t long but my worry levels are now 100x worse post op. Thank you in advance for any help or advice 
Dear Mrsh123,
I am so sorry to hear of your ectopic pregnancy and loss. I too can relate to experiencing pains following my ectopic pregnancy.
I used to have them very regularly and occasionally they would be quite sharp and take my breath away. I kept a diary and went to the Dr who referred me for further investigations.
Many women experience pain following ectopic pregnancy and surgery and there are many reasons for it.
It could be that your normal cycle is trying to resume and the pain you are experiencing may be due to your body preparing to ovulate, or your period might be about to arrive.
It could be that your awareness of your menstrual cycle and your ovulation have been heightened. Many women report that they are aware of ovulation pain after an ectopic, when they have never experienced it before.
It might simply be down to heightened perception and awareness because of the experience you have been through.
If, after two or three months, you have continuing abdominal pain, this could be being caused by scarring known as adhesions (scar tissue that connects two or more body structures together) and may settle over time.
An adhesion is scar tissue that binds two parts of your tissue together that should ordinarily remain separate. It may appear inside the body as a thin sheet of tissue similar to plastic wrap or as thick fibrous bands. The tissue develops when the body’s repair mechanisms respond to any tissue disturbance, such as surgery, infection, trauma, or radiation.
Abdominal adhesions are a common complication of surgery, occurring in up to 93% of people who undergo abdominal or pelvic surgery and even in 10.4% of people who have never had surgery. Most adhesions are painless and do not cause complications, but they can contribute to the development of chronic pelvic pain or even restrict the motion of the small intestines.
Adhesions typically begin to form within the first few days after surgery, but they may not produce symptoms for months or even years. Often they produce no symptoms at all. In some cases they produce no symptoms until someone is pregnant again and then they are felt as the body changes during the early stages of pregnancy so the woman, naturally, worries they are pains from another ectopic pregnancy.
Pain is unique to the individual and if it is persistent and is becoming worrying, I would suggest that you keep a pain diary. Record in your diary when your period starts, when the pain is experienced and how the pain would be scored on a scale of 0 to 10 (0 being no pain, 10 being pain requiring a trip to hospital). Keep a record of what helps the pain, for example, heat (hot water bottle), exercise, rest, pain relievers (make a note of what kind e.g. paracetamol). After about eight weeks, make an appointment to go see your doctor to discuss the diary records you have been keeping.
Keeping this diary enables you to go to your doctor with dates, times and evidence of how it is affecting you. This can be very helpful to medical practitioners when deciding upon how to manage the symptoms. This helped my Dr manage my care more effectively.
Although I do not wish to alarm you, if you miss a period and/or experience abdominal pain, bleeding or shoulder tip pain, seek medical help urgently.
Please continue to use the forums for as long as you need to gain information and support from those of us who understand how you feel.
Sending much love,
Karen x
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