I just wanted to ask a question reference the chances of an ectopic pregnancy bring repeated and happening again. Statistics say that once you have had one, your chances of a second are increased, but why is this and does this differ based on whether you had a tube removed or the injection?
Also I had the injection, followed by a tube removal… How long should I wait until ttc again? Is it also advisable to take prenatals or supplements?
Any help would be gratefully received.
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Hi Blonde,
Apologies if I waffle but this is really hard to explain. If I make no sense just tell me and I’ll try again…
The risk of a second ectopic increases after you have had a first ectopic because it is a generalised statistic across a general population of people as a whole and really an individual may, or may not be at increased risk on an individual level.
Because ectopic pregnancies are where an egg got ‘stuck’ in a Fallopian tube there is a chance that the other tube, or the same tube if the tube was preserved, has opportunities in it for an egg to get stuck again. Even when we do surgery we only look at the outside of the tube to see if it looks healthy we can’t look inside the length of it at the individual villi so we don’t know for definite if there is damage in there or not.
This means for an individual there may be damage or there may not so they may or may not be at increased risk of another ectopic pregnancy. All we can do instead is group together statistics of how many people on average go on to have a second ectopic pregnancy and see there is a slight increase in risk across the general population of a second after a first but we just cannot know who these individuals will be who are at increased risk so we give a general stat… I hope this makes sense, sorry 
There is no evidence from research to suggest there is any difference in risk levels depending on what treatment you received.
Regarding trying to conceive again, you need to wait three months to allow the methotrexate to have been fully metabolised by your body and to make sure you have been taking folic acid for 12 weeks before you try. Please don’t take folic acid until your HCG levels are below 5. The fact that you had a tube removed does not lengthen this wait time in any way. If it helps to know, I had my right Fallopian tube removed and went on to have two children. If you have any questions about only having one Fallopian tube there is information on the site and you can ask any questions here.
It is advisable to take a folic acid supplement as per above and many women also choose to take a prenatal vitamin supplement that contains it. The vitamins are personal choice but folic acid is a strong recommendation by the EPT and medical professionals.
Hope this helps. If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to ask.
Much love,
Alex
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