First Ectopic
My first ectopic occurred in 2003, shortly after I found out that the father of the baby whom I was supposed to be engaged to was already married some where with 5 kids! For that reason I didn’t want to keep the pregnancy and opted for a D and C besides, I just got a new job and was taken to another city for training. Before then I had noticed a lump at the left side of my lower abdomen but no initial pain. I felt it was some complication from the D and C, I immediately went to a scan and the doctors could not figure what it was, they could see an empty sac but no feral pole and they felt the baby was in uterus but the D and C was incomplete , I went through another D and C, the same result and I was given a 3rd D and C! , please don’t ask me about the pain because it was hell.
I had numerous tests done in me which turned out to be inconclusive. Fustrated, I had to leave for my training, a week into my training I was in the bathroom and I had the worst abdominal pain ever! It was doubling and I though I would die, I managed to get a hot towel to compress my abdomen, each time I apply the compress I would get a gush of brownish blood and some pain relief, I was experiencing a terrible fever then took ibuprofen and a mixed cocktail of non prescribed drug given to me by my cousin (I reside in West Africa). My stool was black as tar (pardon me).
These excruciating pain continued for like 3-4 days, I was able to bear the pain with hot compress and ibuprofen while I attended my classes and wrote my exams. After 2 weeks I returned to my city feeling completely okay aside from the lump at the left side of my abdomen which very hard and obvious at this time. I was still feeling traumatised from the previous hospital check ups due to the several D and C procedures, Tvs scans and v checks, therefore I was reluctant to go for another check.
Still worried about the lump, I decided to go and find out if the hospital has finally had a conclusive result from my previous test. As soon as my file was viewed by a doctor, I was immediately placed on a stretcher and wheeled to the emergency section, I was told that the hospital has been looking for me for the past 2 weeks , that though the results were inconclusive my life was at risk and I had to go for a laparoscopy immediately which might lead to a laprotomy . I remember being in the theatre while the doctors panicked around me, poking my stomach with large needles while I screamed in agony, it is only of recent I realised they were checking for abdominal bleeding.
The cut the long story short, I had a left tubal ectopic pregnancy which has ruptured for like 2 weeks. The miraculous thing was that when the doctors opened me up they found a mass of my large intestine glued to the site of the rupture and that had stopped any abdominal bleeding and kept me alive!
I was told my tube wasn’t removed by the ruptured area was cut off or tied ( I wish I had listened better). At that time I had never heard of EP, I had little interest of what is going on and just wanted to go home.
I have had 2 miscarriages since and had a huge fibroid removed (almost 20cm) . My Tommy was ripped from by belly button to the site of the first ectopic…talk about the pain! (story for another day).
2nd Ectopic
I found out I was pregnant in November 2015, had a scan twice but uterus was empty. Was having light brownish spotting with little or no pregnancy symptoms, I sense something was wrong after my 2nd scan. I went to a private hospital to get a TVS done, still empty uterus but a doc noticed a cyst at my right adexna and sent me to a specialist radiologist, the radiologist scan me and called in a consultant who confirmed that I had a right tubal ectopic. They wanted to cut me open again but I bluntly refused, thank God I have been doing a lot of reading after my 2nd scan ( I already suspected an ectopic). I insisted on MTX.
At the day on the shot my bhcg was 4200 and my sac measured 2.2…cm by 1.45cm. I was given 160mg of MTX as 2 shots on one bum cheek, it stung like a bee. 4 days later my bhcg has risen to 9800 and my sac was 2.4cm by 2.9cm , my doctor was terrified and insisted on surgery, once again I refused, I wasn’t ready to give up my only tube. I was given a 2nd shot. A week later my bhcg has fallen to 3000+ and the sac measured 2.2cm by 1.98cm . All I can say is glory to God. I have not gone for test for this week because I am currently our of funds and have no insure but I believe am going to be completely okay. Though I have grieving inside because of going through this again, losing my baby and the father of the ectopic abandoned me at the heat of the issue due to his lack of understanding of the matter . But I know am a strong woman, my ectopic site still aches a but I shall be back on my feet again. I still have plans of trying for another baby once my tube is healed. I am anticipating my miracle (babies)
Please I encourage you all not to give up, there is still hope. We can still have our babies , surely my bean will grow in the right place next time. xxx