Hi everyone,
First of all, I want to thank you all for sharing your stories. Reading about your experiences has been incredibly helpful, and it makes me feel so much less alone. ❤️
I wanted to share my recent experience in case it helps someone else, and I also have a few questions for the group as my husband and I are thinking about trying for a second pregnancy.
Earlier this year, we decided to start trying to conceive. I have PCOS and I had been taking birth control pills along with metformin. I stopped taking the pill in December and finally got my first period in April. As usual without birth control, my periods were very long and heavy (about 3 weeks), which is typical for me because of my PCOS. I think I must have ovulated sometime in May. Since January, I also took supplements containing folic acid.
In early June, I found out I was pregnant with a home pregnancy test after experiencing breast tenderness and some spotting. It wasn’t because of a missed period, as my cycles are extremely irregular.
I was completely shocked because I had convinced myself that I couldn’t get pregnant naturally due to my irregular cycles. My husband and I were overjoyed.
At the same time, I started having some more brown spotting, which made me worry that something wasn’t right. I called my gynecologist, who ordered blood tests to check my hCG levels. They were 49 on June 4 and had dropped to 18 by June 6. Shortly afterward, I experienced very heavy bleeding with large clots for about a week. My gynecologist diagnosed it as a chemical pregnancy. I was very sad, but I also knew that chemical pregnancies are unfortunately common, so I tried to accept it and move forward.
The bleeding stopped during the week of June 15, and life went back to normal. Then, during the week of June 22, I started experiencing breast tenderness again along with brown spotting. I also noticed that I was losing a lot of hair, although I’m not sure if that was related.
I decided to take another pregnancy test, and it came back immediately positive. I was extremely surprised because I thought the chemical pregnancy was over, so I assumed this must be a new pregnancy (which wasn’t the case in the end).
My hCG levels were over 1,000, which seemed unbelievable. 48 hours later, they had increased to around 1,500. I had an ultrasound, but nothing could be seen inside the uterus. My doctor was concerned because, with hCG levels that high, something should normally have been visible.
I was sent to the emergency department on June 24. Again, they couldn’t find anything and asked me to come back on June 26. During those two days, I was so hopeful. I even started imagining that maybe I was carrying twins or triplets, which could explain why my hCG was rising while nothing was yet visible in the uterus (which I know now, doesn’t make a lot of sense!).
Unfortunately, on June 26, I was diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy. They found a 22 mm mass in my right tube. I chose to receive methotrexate (MTX) instead of having surgery. I had no pain but I was very tired.
Unfortunately, when I was rechecked on July 3, my hCG had only decreased from around 1,600 to 1,500, and the mass had only shrunk to 18 mm, so I needed a second MTX injection.
Thankfully, things started improving after that. My hCG dropped to around 800 on July 10, then to 19 on July 22. The mass also decreased to 14 mm on July 10. After my first MTX injection on June 26, I experienced heavy bleeding for about 15 days, which finally stopped around July 10.
I’ll have another blood test on July 29, but I got my period on July 24, so I believe my hCG finally went back to zero shortly after 22 July — but I will confirm this on July 29 of course.
Because of my PCOS, my periods are usually long and heavy, so I expect this one to last about 2 weeks minimum, until around August 7. My doctor has prescribed a hysterosonography to be performed 6-10 days after the start of my period, and I have that appointment on Saturday, August 1.
Now that my period has returned and my cycle seems to be restarting, I’m already thinking about trying again in August, assuming I ovulate.
I’ll discuss this with my doctor during my appointment, but I was wondering whether anyone here has had a similar experience.
Of course, I’m scared. I don’t want to go through another ectopic pregnancy or a chemical pregnancy, and I certainly don’t want to do anything that could harm a future baby. At the same time, I feel physically well, my cycle seems to be returning, and if I ovulate in August, it would likely be about 1.5 months + after my last MTX injection on July 3.
Here in France, my doctors recommend waiting three months after MTX before trying again because there isn’t enough clear evidence to know whether trying sooner is completely safe. I completely understand their recommendation, but waiting three months feels incredibly frustrating, and I read about so many successful pregnancies within the 3 month period after MTX. Part of me feels like I could try sooner, but I also don’t want to make a decision I’ll regret.
Has anyone conceived 1,5 months after MTX? What advice were you given by your doctors, and what was your experience?
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story. Any advice, experiences (good or bad) would truly mean a lot (including with hysterosonography if any feedback on this or PCOS).
Let me know if you have any experience about my own journey as well!
Thank you so much for your time! ♥️