Looking for some advice from anyone who still experiences acute anxiety when their period is late, years after their ectopic pregnancy. Concerned this will just get worse as I approach perimenopause.
I’ve had two ectopics: the first, nearly six years ago was a rupture when I ended up in an ambulance and had emergency surgery, the second was picked up early and treated with methotrexate but took nearly half a year to resolve (which was almost worse).
After that I had couple of miscarriages, years of trying with no pregnancies and no longer eligible for ‘viable’ IVF. We’re now looking at a life without children. Although I am still grieving, things are better in this respect and I am beginning to accept my new future and build around the grief.
What is not getting better is the anxiety and depression I experience whenever my regular periods are late. Despite the chances of me being pregnant is almost nil I find myself spending a fortune on pregnancy tests and bracing myself for disaster (my first ectopic destroyed any hope or joy at the prospect of a positive result). The problem is that now I am older, peri menopause is on its way, and this is going to become more of a frequent phenomenon.
The first ectopic was a very early rupture and I had only discovered I was pregnant four days before the ambulance had to be called. I’ve been lucky enough to get some mental health support over the years, which has been hit and miss and not very specialist.When it comes to this aspect they can’t seem to help and seem to think it will settle down as the raw grief has done.
Only, it hasn’t.
I’m not a full week late and a bit of a mess again. Has anyone else experienced this and what helped you to cope when your periods became less predictable as you got older? Thank you.