Meet Niamh!

Niamh is our first featured story! Thank you Niamh, we really hope this will get the ball rolling!


What type of ectopic pregnancy did you experience? 
The EP was in my left tube. It happened last month (October 2011)

What were your symptoms?
I was 6 weeks pregnant on my 2nd pregnancy and had just been to my GP to confirm when I started to get spotting and bad pains. They weren't on one particular side, just a strong pressure pain very low down. After 2 days I realised they weren't going away and went to the hospital. I had an internal scan and they saw an ectopic pregnancy in my left tube.

How was your experience with the doctors?
I found the doctors (and nurses and all staff in the hospital) amazing. I was diagnosed straight away. I hate hospitals but they made me feel so at ease, and as if I was the most important person in the hospital.

How were you treated? (surgery, MTX)
I had both. The ectopic pregnancy was seen on the internal scan and the doctor on duty wanted to do follow up blood tests to confirm, as the pain subsided and I was stable so they didn't need to act immediately. 3 days after my scan the blood tests confirmed what was suspected on the scan. The doctor wanted to admit me straight away and prepare me for surgery the following day, as the level of hcg was just over the recommended level for the mtx injection. However the doctor on duty the following day felt it was worthwhile trying the injection,. I was relieved but still very anxious. I went home a couple of hours after the injection and the following day I went out for lunch as a distraction. After lunch I started getting the pain again. Within a few minutes I was in agony and barely made it to the car. We rushed back into the hospital where I was scanned as I squirmed around the bed, and they could see fluid in my abdomen. Within minutes I was surrounded by doctors and nurses and rushed into surgery where I lost my left tube and my baby.

Can you tell us a bit about your emotions, family support (if shared) etc?
I was surprised at how quickly I recovered from the physical pain of surgery but the emotional pain will be with me for a long time. We told our families and friends after it had happened as I felt I needed the support and everyone was great. Although after surgery the emphasis was on my physical recovery rather than emotional and I do feel like they dont understand what I am going through. I never thought something like this would happen me. I am getting through it by thinking positively and rather than looking at it as losing a baby I look at it that I have gained an angel who will always look over us. I am very anxious about becoming pregnant again. It was such a scary experience that I never want to be in a position where it could happen again, but it did only happen a month ago so I am sure my feelings will change.

What happened since your ectopic pregnancy?
It only happened a month ago, so I'm slowly but surely getting back to normal.

The Male Perspective

As you go through an ectopic pregnancy, there is so much going on in your head that it's almost impossible to see there and then how your experience is affecting your partner/husband.

John is Deirdre's husband (her story on the tab above) and he agreed to write for us about his feelings, fears and emotions going through his mind at that time. Thank you John!

I remember when D first told me that she was pregnant, I was so so happy, my mind was racing with the excitement of the news, rocking all over the world was playing on the radio! We had the pregnancy confirmed by the GP, and we bought books, read about what would happen at each stage and we waited for the rollercoaster to begin.

Unfortunately this rollercoaster turned out to be a rocky road. When D rang me from work a few weeks later and told me that she thought that she was miscarrying I was shocked. I’d heard about miscarriage, but to be honest I wasn’t too worried. We went to the hospital for a scan, which I presumed would be ok. The doctor though said that the baby had no heartbeat and all we could do was to wait and see and for D to go home and rest. To days later however D unfortunately miscarried after resting, praying to God to leave our baby with us, feeling completely powerless and analysing every symptom. Leaving the hospital we were surrounded by new parents with their babies and I remember thinking how cruel it was to scan women with problem pregnancies in a maternity ward.

Our heads span with shock after the miscarriage. I tried to keep my spirits up for D, and everyone kept telling me to mind D, that we would have another baby, but the best bit of support that we got to be honest were people who said little but gave us hugs and understood our loss. We went to knock and I spoke to a priest there. I told him that I didn’t know if I was grieving a baby or an angel- the priest replied that I was grieving both, which really helped.

In the next few weeks D began to get on and off severe pains in her left side. Visits and scans back in the maternity ward revealed nothing. It was terrifying for me as I knew something was wrong, yet the doctors kept saying that she was fine. We decided to go on a trip to New York that we had booked months before. We travelled to the airport hotel separately. On the way I couldn’t contact D and instinctively knew that something was wrong. When I arrived in the hotel she told me that the pain was back, she doubled over in the lobby. We rushed in the car to Beaumont Hospital where they sent her by ambulance to the Rotunda Hospital. I followed in the car terrified. When we arrived in the Rotunda they did a scan and we were told that D had an ectopic pregnancy- a twin to the baby we lost a few weeks earlier. I didn’t think at this stage of another loss, I was just worried about D as it was clear that she was very ill. I walked with her while she was wheeled to the operating theatre. She was wheeled into a room there and left on her own, I went in after her because I didn’t want her to be all alone. When the nurses arrived I left the theatre. I walked in a daze to the pro cathedral and have never felt so alone and terrified in my life. It occurred to me that I might never talk to D again. I rang our families, prayed and had masses said.

When I arrived back to the Rotunda D was returning to the ward. The surgeon told me that all had gone well and that I was a lucky man that my wife was still alive. I was hard to balance how lucky I was yet how unlucky we were to lose 2 babies in one month. In the following weeks I tried to bottle it all up, stay strong for D while she was recovering, and while people meant well their sometimes poor advice and clichés did not help at all.

At Christmas time we received a silver angel Christmas tree decoration from the Miscarriage Association in the post. One night looking at it it started to spin and shine really brightly. For the first time since our losses I started to cry- for our little twins and for relief that I still had my wife with me. The words of an old teacher came to me - tears are the safety valve of the heart when too much pressure is laid on it.

We have experienced more miscarriages since but are blessed with two wonderful children. I will never ever forget our little angels and my heart will always be with them.

Going through something like this as a man is very hard. Men are meant to be strong, to not show their emotions, so I am sure that the support offered by Ectopic Pregnancy Ireland will enable not only the women going through an ectopic pregnancy but also their husbands/partners. Our strength is in sharing.

If your Husband/Partner is happy to share id experience, we'd love to hear from you. Please email us at info@ectopicireland.ie

Ectopic Pregnancy in Blogland

We have started looking around for bloggers who have reported their experience with one or more ectopic pregnancies. This is a work in progress and hopefully more blogs will be added to the list in the sidebar to the left. If you are not familiar with blogs, you have to imagine them like being diaries. You can search through past posts quite easily and most bloggers have a short version of their stories some where in the main page. The four blogs we have listed here have all been successful in getting pregnant after the ectopic(s) so we think it's a great message of hope for all those dealing with the aftermath of the loss, where the fear of never getting pregnant again is indeed overwhelming.

If you are a blogger and have experienced an ectopic pregnancy, blogged about it and would like to be added to our blogroll please send us an email to info@ectopicireland.ie

Introduction

We are a group of five girls who got to know each other through the very painful experience of ectopic pregnancy. We all felt that what we have been through should lead to something good.

And so we set up a charity and a support group for those women who are going through the same.

It's incredible how little people know about ectopic pregnancies. You can find in the tabs above info on our charity and FAQs on ectopic pregnancy and on the side bar where we are based and how you can contact us (mail, forum, website etc.)

This blog will be used to tell our stories, to gather blogs around the World of others who have been affected by ectopic pregnancies and hopefully to generate a community where no one going through the same will feel alone.
Be patient, we'll do our best to have all the material here as soon as possible!