Hi, I had an ectopic pregnancy with my right tube removed in June. I’ve noticed every month after my period finishes I get shoulder pain exactly the same or sometimes worse than I had with the ectopic. This month is especially noticeable and daily since I stopped bleeding. I’m wondering if this is common to feel after a tube removal, and if so is it potentially due to the inflammation and irritation of the ovaries preparing for ovulation?
My ectopic was pretty painless the whole time with only niggling shoulder pain in the final week.
Dear Cedarwattle,
I am so sorry to hear of your ectopic pregnancy and loss and continued discomfort.
It is certainly common to experience pain after ectopic pregnancy, however I am not medically trained so cannot comment specifically on the pain you are experiencing.
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. The pain maybe transferred from inflammation experienced during ovulation but I would 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. If you pain worsens, I would advise speaking to your GP sooner.
Sending much love,
Karen x
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