Ectopic pregnancy & ruptured tube

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Monday 15th November 2021 my partner and I found out we were expecting our own beautiful baby.

We was so excited and couldn’t wait to tell our family and close friends and within a week they all knew. We had bought a few people cards to tell them the exciting news and we was just so excited to be completing our family.

On Friday 10th December (about 8 weeks pregnant) I decide the take my partners son and my daughter to a wildlife reserve for a walk whilst my partner finished up at work. I got halfway there when I start feeling tummy pains. At first it just felt like discomfort, but it soon turned into sharp stabbing pains and it forced me to pull over. After pulling over I quickly realise something isn’t right and I begin to feel dizzy. I ring my partner and tell him somethings wrong. He’s almost half an hour away so I try and stay calm and find a comfy position to sit in until he arrives. I soon realise something was seriously wrong and I was loosing consciousness, both kids were in the car and I was terrified. I ring my dad who luckily was 5 minutes away. I then manage to climb into the passenger seat and have my dad drive me to hospital. For the majority of the journey I was in and out of consciousness.

Finally at the hospital, my partner arrives at the same time, and paramedics met us outside and took me in. It took doctors almost half an hour for me to be properly seen. I was unconscious and fitting for the majority of this time and don’t remember alot luckily I had my partner with me. Finally I had a team of surgeons and doctors trying to stabilise me but they were running out of time. They then tell my partner that I need emergency surgery and I am taken into theatre.

3 hours later I wake up. I’m told I had an ectopic pregnancy and the Fallopian tube had ruptured causing me to bleed 2L of blood into my abdomen. I had to have my Fallopian tube removed and a blood transfusion in order order to save my life. The surgeon told us if we had been 30 minutes later I wouldn’t be alive, along with the surgery having many complications and almost losing me in theatre. I’m so grateful to be here.

Luckily I was able to recover with my partner by my side although my recovery has also come across many complications, one of them being tested positive for covid. Today I am home and healing with my family although the grieving process for me and Adam has already shown no mercy, I pray that everything with get better one day at a time :heart:

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Dear Teiganuschakow,

I am so sorry to hear of your ectopic pregnancy and loss. From your own words, I can imagine what a frightening experience this must have been and I am sorry you have had to go through this.

When we experience ectopic pregnancy, we are suddenly faced with a life threatening emergency and it’s treatment, reduction in fertility, concerns about the future and the loss of our babies. Experiencing any one of these is an ordeal, putting them together is immense and your feelings are completely normal. You are in the early stages of recovery. Your body needs time to heal from your surgery which is in itself a gruelling task. You also have recovery from Covid, which will impact you too.

You should take it very easily for about six weeks after surgery. Your body will be using its energies to heal internally. It is normal to feel physically and emotionally exhausted during this time and please do be kind to yourself. Recovery can take time and some days will be better than others, one day you maybe ok and the next you maybe in discomfort or more emotional. This is perfectly usual and the healing process will go back and forth in this way for however long you need. It is important to listen to your body’s signals and pain and feeling tired are your body’s signs to tell you to rest. We suggest keeping a healthy balanced diet, drinking lots of water and resting. Once your wounds have healed, very gentle exercise such as a short walk can help, but please do take this slowly.

Above all be kind to yourself and allow time to grieve, to heal both physically and emotionally. 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

Ectopic pregnancy patient information suite: Highly Commended in the 2019 BMA Patient Information Awards

During the coronavirus outbreak, The EPT team is still working hard to provide crucial information and support to women and families experiencing ectopic pregnancy as quickly and efficiently as we can.

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Further information is available at ectopic.org.uk

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Hi,

I just wanted to say that I was so sorry to read about your experience. It sounds terrifying and such a lot to cope with. I had near enough the same sequence of events almost exactly a year before in Nov 2020. Except that I was in work when I fell ill, then drove myself home. I was taken by ambulance and by the time my eptopic was diagnosed I was seriously unwell and had the similar experience of a number of different teams descending on me, being rushed to theatre, 2.5-3l blood loss and tube removal. I went to sleep thinking I wasn’t going to wake up; so I can imagine the terror that you experienced. I can’t even contemplate what you must have felt like managing everything with two children in the car though.

A lot of time has passed since my eptopic. I have to say though that I’m still coming to terms with it. I don’t want to come across as negative, I just want to highlight the importance of giving yourself space and time to recover both physically and emotionally. You mention the complications and the merciless grieving process, so I just hope that you’re taking care of yourself. I don’t think I gave myself that space and pushed myself to get back to work and ‘get on with it’ for the sake of my 2yr old daughter. Just recovering from the blood loss and anemia alone took such a long time (way longer than after my bloods returned to normal) and emotionally I was numb for months.

I requested a referral for therapy back in June of last year. I’ve had a number of sessions now and I’m only just coming to terms with the fact that I’m still suffering with post traumatic difficulties. Accepting that is helping me to manage a little better. You’ve been through such an awful experience so please just keep an eye on how you’re coping and if you’re struggling at all get some support. I’m not saying that you will experience similar long term difficulties, but it’s always good to keep an eye out. For me it’s mainly feeling hypervigilant, struggling to relax, some sleep issues and feeling triggered by reminders. I work in a hospital though, so that doesn’t help!

I’m happy to chat too if you want to. I’ve found it is such a lonely thing to go through- people tend to focus on the loss of the baby (some don’t really even get that bit though!), but not as many people understand (or want to understand) the medical trauma/nearly dying side of the time experience. It has changed me in many ways. It’s not all terrible and mostly I can live my life, but it’s just given everything a bit of a different spin.

Anyway just take care of yourself x