Feeling overwhelmed

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I had been bleeding most days since beginning of January. Last Monday I had quite intense stomach pains I went to GP who said it was probably uti, Wednesday pain was still bad so went back to GP this time it was suggested a grumbling appendix. Thursday ended up in A and E who told me I was pregnant and because the hormone levels were fairly high they said it would probably be a normal pregnancy but to go back in 48 hours to redo the blood test. Sunday out of hours GP due to the pain they contacted the hospital and they said to wait for a phonecall on the Monday which I had to call them and was told I had missed my scan although no one had called me but to go for a scan on Tuesday. Roll on Tuesday and I was told the pregnancy was ectopic and I was being admitted immediately for surgery asap as I had a lot of free fluid show up on the scan. The Fallopian tube had ruptured and I did need a transfusion during the surgery. There was no room for me on the gynae ward afterwards so I was put on a makeshift ward that was meant to be a childrens recovery ward. I am now home but I have so many questions I didn’t feel I could ask as I wasn’t around staff that were experienced in what I was going through.

Can someone please let me know why I need to do a pregnancy test 3 weeks after my surgery - it was written on my discharge form.

Also when can I take the dressings off the wound sites or do I need to change them?

Thanks for reading and sorry for the long post.

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Hi Katie,

Firstly, I’m so sorry for your loss, plus the stressful experience of being on a makeshift ward.

I had surgery on Thursday- I also had an ectopic pregnancy and ruptured fallopian tube, which had to be removed. I wasn’t told what to do about the dressings either. The ward was so busy and there were lots of questions I didn’t get chance to ask. I called the gyne ward on Friday morning and they said I was fine to shower and remove the dressings (day after surgery). They just advised not to scrub the area, and to keep the wounds clean and dry. They said if I wanted to I could get more dressing from a pharmacy, but this is not necessary.

I was not told to take a pregnancy test at any point, so can’t comment there.

I hope that’s somewhat helpful. This is such a difficult experience to come to terms with, but I am finding it comforting to know I am not alone in this x

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Dear Katie,

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

If you had a salpingotomy (Fallopian tube left in place), or if there was any doubt that all of the pregnancy tissue was removed, your doctors will usually test your hCG levels to ensure that they are dropping. In this instance, it may be necessary to check your blood hCG levels again after a week, and possibly beyond.

If you had a salpingectomy (Fallopian tube removed), no follow-up is usually needed. I can only guess that they would go check a pregnancy test to check that the ectopic pregnancy has totally been removed and resolved. I would usually advise you call the ward to speak to the nurses to check as this maybe your hospitals policy and normal practice for them, however it seems you were not on a normal ward. You could try calling the normal gynaecology ward or on your discharge letter, there should be a name of your consultant, and you could call the secretary of your consultant who will also be able to check with your doctor or look at notes to confirm the reason for you.

We have lots of information on our website here about aftercare advice for wounds and I hope this helps-

https://ectopic.org.uk/physical-recovery/the-wound-site

Generally speaking, you should take it very easy 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 so please do be kind to yourself. Recovery can take time and some days will be better than others. One day you may be okay and the next you may be 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 signals. Pain and feeling tired are your body signals to tell you to rest. We suggest keeping a healthy diet drinking lots of water and resting.

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

We will be here for you for as long as you need,

Sending much love,

Karen x

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So sorry to hear you went through this. Though I don’t have an answer to your question, I did just want to say that my thoughts are with you and I hope you heal very quickly.