I haven’t posted before, but I have logging in frequently since my ectopic on September 3.
I want to let everyone on this site know that I am so terribly sorry for all of your losses. This has been absolutely devestating to me and I have taken much comfort in reading all of your posts.
I had an appointment yesterday with my doctor and he talked almost exclusively about a link between low progesterone levels and ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage. He gave me a diet to follow and prescribed vitamin b6 and vitamin c. Since I just had the surgery for the ectopic on the 3rd of September, I will have to wait a little while to ttc.
Welcome, it’s a very supportive environment but I’m sorry you’ve had to find us. I’m really interested to hear what your doctor said it seems like the midwives and doctors I’ve seen have actively avoided the topic of progesterone. Did they say b6 boosts progesterone? I’ve been waiting for the outcome of the promise trial (progesterone and miscarriage study) but as yet nothing has been published.
Yes, my doctor said B6 and C boosts progesterone. He listed a bunch of foods that naturally raise those levels as well. I had never heard this, so I was interested to hear if this was something other women were trying. He told me he doesn’t prescribe the cream, but prefers his patients raise their levels naturally through diet and supplement. I live in Seattle, USA, so maybe they have different approaches?
Good to know aboutthe b6 and vit c. Yeah, I’m in the UK where they seem more reluctant to look at progesterone and supplement it during early pregnancy. There seem to be so many different approaches.
My best friend is 30 weeks pregnant now after having three miscarriages (no ectopics). Here in my part of Canada, they look into fertility issues after three miscarriages, and she was prescribed progesterone when she started TTC and kept on it until the end of her first trimester. So I would guess that they are looking at the link here, though all I know is through her and her experience. Good to know about the B6 and C.
That is is very interesting about your friend. Thank you for sharing. I think I will follow my doctor’s advice (I’m already taking the supplements) and start eating the foods he suggested. This was my first ectopic, but like all of us, I desperately want it to have been my last.
This is a very interesting post as this has been in the back of my mind after suffering an ectopic pregnancy exactly a week ago today when I was rushed into theatre for emergency surgery due to severe internal bleeding and removal of the ruptured right tube.
I am in the U.K. and had just had my first appointment with a fertility consultant on 15th September due to TTC for over a year. She advised me to get a few day 21 blood tests done and return in 3 months. My period was on 6th September so went to get my bloods done on 28th September as she advised. The results were borderline the number given was 20 (which I believe should be around 30 so is low) I waited for my next period but this did not come so I took a test on 19th October which confirmed I was pregnant. Unfortunately the excitement was short lived and just a week later I was very poorly and experienced severe pain when I found out I had an ectopic pregnancy which had ruptured my right tube.
In the back of my mind I have been thinking that at the time of me going for my bloods done on 28th September I was in fact already pregnant (unbeknown to me) so how could my progesterone level be only 20 and classed as low/boarderline?
After surgery I was told the reason for the ectopic pregnancy was unknown and could not be explained (although they were unable to confirm the state of my tube prior to is rupturing) but everything else looked great/normal including my 1 remaining tube.
I really do think now that my low progesterone level may have been at least a contributing factor in my recent ectopic pregnancy.
I am going to mention this to my gp and also the fertility consultant at my next appointment.
In the meantime I am going to attempt to eat some of them foods mentioned above. Worth a try!
I’m so sorry about your ectopic. I hope you are coping ok. I know I suffered from such sadness for the first month, but it is gradually getting easier to accept.
I also hope you are feeling ok physically, it does tend to take a toll on the body.
I have been spent a great deal of time researching the link between low progesterone and miscarriage and ectopic. All of my research has been online, reading articles and studies, but it does seem that low progesterone can cause the little hair like follicles that move the egg down the Fallopian tube into the uterus to not move or sway properly and the egg in turn, embeds in the tube.
Of course, I’m not a doctor, nor do I know the proper terms of all of these things, but this is my understanding from what I’ve read.
I haven’t gone into too much depth reading about what happens with low progesterone causing miscarriage, but I have heard from quite a few women who were prescribed progesterone once pregnant to help prevent miscarriage.
I hope you have a speedy recovery and wish you much baby dust in the very near future.
