Hi Charlotte,
I’m so sorry to hear of your ectopic pregnancy and loss. I understand what a long process it can be and that we can be eager to resume our ttc. Even when we are ready to continue, it can leave us with many questions and I will do my best to help.
As you mention, an ovulation predictor kit measures Luteinising Hormone (LH). A surge in LH leads to ovulation within the next 12 hours. Importantly, the egg does not always get released from the ovary in spite of a surge but it is a very good marker. A positive pregnancy test around 14 days after you think ovulation occurred is the only way of establishing that it actually did.
To that point, it is possible for the egg on the side with the missing tube to be “picked up” by the remaining tube. The fallopian tubes and uterus are lined with little receptor cells that, at the point of ovulation, are sent a chemical signal that ‘switches’ them on and they emit a signal that attracts a similar receptor in the egg and in the sperm to come and meet in the same place, i.e. the fallopian tube. The fallopian tubes are not attached to the ovaries and, also at the point of ovulation, some very delicate structures called the fimbriae on the end of the fallopian tube begin to move gently creating a slight vacuum to suck the egg toward the end of the tube it is nearest to (like lots of little fingers waving and drawing the egg towards it).
This means that, if you have only one fallopian tube, then there is only one set of receptors working and one set of fimbriae creating a vacuum and so the egg is much more likely to find its way to that tube, whichever ovary it is produced from. To your question, for eggs that are not picked up by this tube, they are reabsorbed into the body.
Conservative estimates suggest that an egg produced on the tubeless side manages to descend the remaining tube around 15 to 20% of the time. This means that rather than your fertility being halved, it is more the case that the opportunity to conceive has been affected by around 30%. Or looking at it another way, it means we have around a 70% opportunity of conception with each menstrual cycle.
With good wishes,
Michele
The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust
Registered Charity Number: 1071811
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