methotrexate? - warning, TMI and talk of miscarriage.

[MrsCornishWed]

Hiya *waves* ... I've wondered on over from the CS bit. .

I wondered if there was anyone else here who had been treated with methotrexate for an eptopic pregnancy? I'm 4 weeks on from my last (and 2nd, the first failed) dose. My hcg is finally zero and I have just finished bleeding.


I could really do with talking things through with someone who has been here, especially if you've gone on to have a healthy pregnancy afterwards. I'm getting a bit desperate.


Thanks in advance x

 

[chrono]

Ms. CWed,
So very sorry. My mother had an ectopic pregnancy but it was after she had me and I am the youngest one in the family today.

 

[treysar]

I'm so sorry. What a terrible thing to happen and especially at this time of year.

I have been treated with methotrexate for an ectopic pregnancy. It was one shot, in the butt cheek. It didn't do much except make me feel nauseous for a day or 2, and even then, it wasn't as bad as I expected. I hope that you get a similar reaction or none at all.

Again, I'm sorry. I am here to talk if you need to.

ETA: I had 4 pregancy losses before my daughter was born. I now have 3 kids. I hope that makes you feel hopeful. The journey sucked but at the end of the rainbow I found my pot of gold.

XOXO

 

[chemgirl]

I miscarried 4 weeks ago and still waiting for hcg to hit zero. Luckily I made it through without medication, but I think the recovery is similar.

I know there can be some issues with scarring in the tube after an ectopic pregnancy, but not sure what the odds are or how you would check for that. I do know a girl who had a normal pregnancy after an ectopic so hopefully you will have similar results.

I think overall it takes a few months for everything to get back to normal. I know its stressful (seriously still waiting to feel normal), but just give it some time and discuss any concerns with your doctor.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

MrsCornishWed and Chemgirl, I am sorry.

An anecdote is not a rule, but two of my friends had ectopic pregnancies and went to normal, stress-free pregnancies and births.

 

[azstonie]

I have several friends who had problem-free pregnancies and deliveries after an ectopic pregnancy, hold faith!!

 

[Circe]

I'm so very sorry for your losses, Mrs. CornishWed, Chemgirl, Treysar.

I took methotrexate a few years ago, for similar though not identical reasons. It took them another year to figure out what my issue was (turned out to be a blood clotting disorder), but the methotrexate did not do any damage to my fertility or my liver. Like a few other posters, I had several miscarriages along the way. It can take such a toll, psychologically, emotionally, the whole shebang. Posting here on PS in FH&H actually helped me immensely: miscarriage is such a taboo subject generally that connecting with other women who'd experienced similar things helped preserve my sanity. My best wishes for you, and I hope things turn around soon ....

 

[MrsCornishWed]

Thank you for contributing to my thread, lovely ladies. I am so sorry to hear of your losses also.

We have 1 incredible little person of 3 years old, caught first month.. textbook pregnancy and lovely birth. . . . We'd been trying for 16 months when I finally got this bfp. When I started bleeding they scanned and discovered a little beany measuring 8 weeks. . Things were going quickly and I fully mc without any help, we caught instantly.. lots of confusion over whether I hadn't fully mc, my hcg was all over th
e shop. Seeing an empty womb on the screen has to be one of the most heartbreaking moments, I felt like I couldn't breathe.

Finally, after several painful internals, they found a tiny mass in my tube, and they have deemed it a suspected eptopic. I was given methotrexate, but my hcg kept hovering. I had a 2nd dose a week later and it worked really efficiently. I'm thankful for that, but after 6 solid weeks of blood draws every 4 days and being sat in the wards etc.. It really took it out of me... and the side effects if the drug, Bleurghhh

Anyways. The 3 months wait is up in February but I'm terrified ill have another mc. Should I wait longer? It seems like the safer option.

I'm just desperate to be pregnant again. I'm getting better at coping with it, but today it feels so raw. Like I'm drowning. Will it get better?


Sorry for the massive waffle. I'm feeling a bit lost today.

 

[April20]

M/c's are so hard. I had one last Feb and then a chemical pregnancy in Sept. The chemical wasn't so bad but the m/c took me a long, long time to get over. I was just so pissed it happened. I wanted to get preg immediately again but my husband wasn't on board at first. We finally worked thru it and I'm 7 weeks pregnant with a healthy bub now. It really took us being at the point of trying again for me to really be "over" it.

If your doc recommended waiting three months and you're emotionally ready to try at that point, I say go for it. I don't know that there would be any health reasons to wait longer. It's good they caught your ectopic early enough to resolve it without surgery or you losing a tube. I would imagine they would be willing to get you in very early next time you are pregnant for your piece of mind and to make sure everything is where it's supposed to be.

There's some great support in the TTC and TTC to 6 months or more threads over in the Familu, Home and Health sub forum if you'd like to join us over there.

 

[chemgirl]

I'm so very sorry for your losses, Mrs. CornishWed, Chemgirl, Treysar.

I took methotrexate a few years ago, for similar though not identical reasons. It took them another year to figure out what my issue was (turned out to be a blood clotting disorder), but the methotrexate did not do any damage to my fertility or my liver. Like a few other posters, I had several miscarriages along the way. It can take such a toll, psychologically, emotionally, the whole shebang. Posting here on PS in FH&H actually helped me immensely: miscarriage is such a taboo subject generally that connecting with other women who'd experienced similar things helped preserve my sanity. My best wishes for you, and I hope things turn around soon ....

What an awful ordeal. A bit of a thresdjack, but do you talk about being diagnosed with the clotting disorder in FH&H? I research everything to death and think there is a decent chance that I have something similar.

 

[Circe]

I'm so very sorry for your losses, Mrs. CornishWed, Chemgirl, Treysar.

I took methotrexate a few years ago, for similar though not identical reasons. It took them another year to figure out what my issue was (turned out to be a blood clotting disorder), but the methotrexate did not do any damage to my fertility or my liver. Like a few other posters, I had several miscarriages along the way. It can take such a toll, psychologically, emotionally, the whole shebang. Posting here on PS in FH&H actually helped me immensely: miscarriage is such a taboo subject generally that connecting with other women who'd experienced similar things helped preserve my sanity. My best wishes for you, and I hope things turn around soon ....

What an awful ordeal. A bit of a thresdjack, but do you talk about being diagnosed with the clotting disorder in FH&H? I research everything to death and think there is a decent chance that I have something similar.

Thanks, Chemgirl. I'm pretty sure I talked about it in FH&H, but can't remember the title of the exact thread ... I'll see if I can look it up. The short version, the one that I got from the blood doctor after I was finally diagnosed ... I told her that I wasn't looking to sue anybody, I just needed to know: for the sake of medical responsibility, should I have been tested for blood disorders after the miscarriage at 20 weeks, or after the multiple miscarriages that followed that year? Her answer was simply, yes. So if you're seeing a similar pattern, a) my deepest, deepest sympathies, and, b) get thee to a fertility specialist, stat. Insurance companies can be short-sighted and cheap, and unfortunately doctors can go along with it: I understand their desires to keep costs down, but if somebody had asked me off the bat if I'd be willing to pay 1k or 10k or really practically any amount of money under the sun to have avoided that year, I would have jumped at it. (Uh, not to terrify anybody - even out of pocket, the various tests do not cost more than 1k.) Once I was diagnosed, it was fairly easy to manage: baby aspirin every day for the rest of my life and blood thinners when I'm pregnant (and immediately post-partum, to lessen the risk of stroke). My specific type is Protein-C deficiency, but I believe there's a spectrum of similar disorders that can affect fertility: ask them to run the full screen.

Thank you for contributing to my thread, lovely ladies. I am so sorry to hear of your losses also.

We have 1 incredible little person of 3 years old, caught first month.. textbook pregnancy and lovely birth. . . . We'd been trying for 16 months when I finally got this bfp. When I started bleeding they scanned and discovered a little beany measuring 8 weeks. . Things were going quickly and I fully mc without any help, we caught instantly.. lots of confusion over whether I hadn't fully mc, my hcg was all over th
e shop. Seeing an empty womb on the screen has to be one of the most heartbreaking moments, I felt like I couldn't breathe.

Finally, after several painful internals, they found a tiny mass in my tube, and they have deemed it a suspected eptopic. I was given methotrexate, but my hcg kept hovering. I had a 2nd dose a week later and it worked really efficiently. I'm thankful for that, but after 6 solid weeks of blood draws every 4 days and being sat in the wards etc.. It really took it out of me... and the side effects if the drug, Bleurghhh

Anyways. The 3 months wait is up in February but I'm terrified ill have another mc. Should I wait longer? It seems like the safer option.

I'm just desperate to be pregnant again. I'm getting better at coping with it, but today it feels so raw. Like I'm drowning. Will it get better?


Sorry for the massive waffle. I'm feeling a bit lost today.

MrsCornishWed, that sounds terrible. I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I know it sounds cheap and easy, but yes, it does get better. The idea that "time heals all wounds" is trite as hell, but it's a cheesy cliche for a real self-defense mechanism. In the immediate aftermath of mine, I had something roughly akin to PTSD: two years out, when I was pregnant with my son, I had dreadful anxiety throughout gestation (never had the concept of taking things one day at a time been so apt). Five years gone - my firstborn's due date would have been five years ago in January - and pregnant again, I remember my sorrow and fear intellectually, but it doesn't overwhelm me unless I really go looking for it, and I try not to. It does get better. In the meantime, talk to us, or to your friends, or to a therapist: in my experience, at least, desensitizing yourself to the grief and fear is a very effective way of coming to terms with it. And, again, so, so very sorry. I hope things get better for you - for everyone in this thread - sooner rather than later.

 

[chemgirl]

CW: I totally get the worry about trying again. My doctor is saying its totally fine to try again after a few cycles. Doesn't mean I'm not terrified. I was 11 weeks when i started to miscarry and baby measured 10.4. Totally normal ultrasound just a week earlier. Emotionally draining, but to be honest it's the physical trauma has me scared. The medical field is so focused on making it seem like something normal that they don't fully prepare us for everything involved. Would have loved some pain meds and reassurance that yes, that much blood is OK. Instead I was sent home without any information to handle a potentially dangerous and extremely painful process by myself. The idea of repeating that is terrifying


Circe: I'm thankful that it hasn't become a pattern yet. First ultrasound at 9 weeks was normal and then miscarried at 11 weeks so it wasn't a typical early miscarriage. I have an autoimmune disorder which I know can go hand in hand with some clotting disorders. I also get splinter hemorrhages in my nails when on birth control and while pregnant. Nobody can explain that one, but they don't seem terribly concerned. Splinter hemorrhages can be caused by mini clots.

Unfortunately in Ontario you have to have 3 miscarriages before any testing will be done. I have asked about it and my doctor is understanding, but there are only so many tests she can order before the magic 3. I'm probably being paranoid, but the idea of going through that 2 more times is horrifying.

For the record i used to work in health research and used that access to get actual scientific journal articles. I'm not frantically Googling in some paranoid frenzy like most people think when I bring it up.

Currently taking omega 3 and vit e because they have been shown to help with clotting. Ugh.

 

[Circe]

Chemgirl: that is utterly horrifying. Would it make a difference if you went to a different sort of specialist? Either a reproductive endocrinologist or a blood specialist would be able to have you checked.

 

[chemgirl]

Chemgirl: that is utterly horrifying. Would it make a difference if you went to a different sort of specialist? Either a reproductive endocrinologist or a blood specialist would be able to have you checked.

Would love to! No private health options here and everything must be referred by your primary physician. I have an appointment in a few weeks and will push the splinter hemorrhage thing and see if I can get more testing based on that.