Hi every one I am new to this so please bear with me… I had a ovarian eptopic a week ago and was rushed in to emergency thearte and I was 9 weeks and after a scan on EPAU showed a mass on my left ovary I had part of my ovary removed,both tubes still in tact, a week later I’m ovulating (postive ovulation test) and I’m in terrible pain… is this normal? Me and my husband are terrified to try and concieve again so we are gonna wait for three months and let nature take its course, just don’t want to go through what we have in the last few weeks as it’s been an ordeal! X
Dear alexgirl90,
I am so sorry to hear of your ectopic pregnancy and loss.
Experiencing some pain after an ectopic pregnancy is normal as your body has been through a great deal over the last few months. The pain may be due to adhesions (scar tissue that binds two parts of the body together) which form and take some time to settle. Your body may be preparing to ovulate and many women experience ovulation pain when they did not before their ectopic pregnancy - including myself. You also may have a heightened perception because of the sad loss that you have had to go through.
If the pain persists, I suggest keeping a pain diary noting when the pain appears, the intensity on a scale of 0-10 and anything that helps the pain eg resting, hot water bottle, paracetamol etc. Visiting your doctors with this information helps them to assess how best to manage your symptoms. As I am not medically trained however, if the pain worsens or you remain concerned, please seek medical advice.
As a gentle reminder regarding conceiving again, we and many medical professionals advise waiting for two menstrual cycles. It is important to allow time for your body to recover and emotions to surface and be worked through. This is so that you have some comfort that your body is returning to its natural rhythm and you have a last menstrual period date from which to date a new pregnancy - key information in checking you are not suffering from an ectopic pregnancy in the future. The first bleed soon after surgery for ectopic pregnancy is not classed as a period as it is the body’s response to falling hormone levels.
It may be comforting to know that 65% of women are successfully pregnant within 18 months of experiencing an ectopic pregnancy and some studies suggest this rises to around 85% after two years. The chances of a further ectopic after a first in UK is 10%. So that’s 90% chance of the embryo being in right place next time. Importantly early scans avail. As soon as you know you are pregnant, contact your local EPU to inform them and book in for an early scan at around six weeks. Remind them of your previous ectopic pregnancy. This self refer route is the best route in our view. Hopefully you will have some comfort to know you are under the radar of medical professionals right away.
Sending much love,
Karen x
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