I attended the emergency department at the hospital on the Sunday morning due to extreme back and tummy pain and was told it was a possible urinary tract infection (UTI). I didn’t know it was nine weeks pregnant and I had a 4-month-old at home.
I was tested for the urinary tract infection, which was negative, and was told to go home with possible endometriosis. They didn’t perform a pregnancy test. Due to extreme pain and being unable to walk, my partner refused to take me home and demanded further tests – this included a pregnancy test, just in case. Finally, the positive result came back, and I was transferred to the ward for further tests. The NHS hospital I attended didn’t have any ultrasound scanning facilities over the weekend so was told I would need to wait until Monday morning for a scan.
I never made the scan. I ruptured overnight, leaving me in a critical condition by Monday morning having lost two litres of blood.
Emergency surgery later, I lost my Fallopian tube and my baby. I also lost a part of myself that day. I had a blood transfusion, and the recovery was slow. I was left with such severe internal and external bleeding and the consultant said it was the worst rupture they had ever seen.
I was left with blood clots stuck in my pelvis and uterus, which ended in pelvic infections weeks later.
The consultant told me had I have gone home that night like initially instructed, I would have died at home from the rupture. Very scary.
I never knew any signs of an ectopic pregnancy which included shoulder tip pain, I thought this was just a result of being in so much pain with my tummy and back, I had no idea the severity.
Awareness needs to be shared about ectopic pregnancy, and how you can have no pregnancy symptoms and still be so far into a pregnancy.
Thank you to Amy for sharing her experience. If you would like to share your experience of ectopic pregnancy, please visit our guide for more information.
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