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Get updates on how your baby develops, your body changes, and what you can expect during each week of your pregnancy by signing up to the Mumsnet Pregnancy Newsletters.

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Get updates on how your baby develops, your body changes, and what you can expect during each week of your pregnancy by signing up to the Mumsnet Pregnancy Newsletters.

Pregnancy

6-7 weeks pregnant, but foetus can't be found! Ectopic? Or something else?

82 replies

ladylashes · 27/08/2013 15:34

I posted on here the other day as I was having some brown discharge. I believe that based on the date of my last period I am between 6 and 7 weeks. I haven't had any pain, just a bit of medium/dark brown discharge on my liner every day (which based on everyone's responses seems to be something relatively common).

I was given an ultrasound today but nothing was found. They did an internal and NOTHING was there - no sac, nothing. They said that I have not had nearly enough bleeding to have miscarried (I haven't had red blood or passed any tissue or had any pain). I still have pregnancy symptoms such as tiredness and nausea. They did a test and it was a strong positive (but I know the hormones would still be in my system anyway). I think it's extremely unlikely that I am less pregnant than I think (which would explain why nothing can be seen). My LMP started on 10 July and I had a positive test a week ago.

Surely if the foetus had died there would be an empty sac or something there?! They are worried that my pregnancy is ectopic so they are doing blood tests over the next few days to monitor my hormone levels to see if they're increasing. I am waiting for them to call me with today's blood test results - if they're high then I need to go back to hospital straight away.

I can't believe this is happened to me. Does anyone have any thoughts or any experience of this? I was reluctant to post this on the pregnancy forum as technically I am still pregnant :-( xxx

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monikar · 27/08/2013 15:49

Oh dear lady I really am so very sorry to read this. I don't know what to say - I have a good friend who had an ectopic pregnancy but all her pregnancy tests were negative and they didn't think she was pregnant.

Hopefully someone with more knowledge will be able to offer you more helpful advice soon. In the meantime I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

ladylashes · 27/08/2013 16:02

Thank you monikar

I really don't know how to feel at the moment. Whatever the result, it seems very unlikely I'm going to have a continuing pregnancy xxx

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Londongirl84 · 27/08/2013 16:08

I have nothing helpful to say but really want to wish you luck and best wishes x

ladylashes · 27/08/2013 16:11

Thank you londongirl84 xxx

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Potcallingkettle · 27/08/2013 16:14

Ask for the exact levels of your hormones to be checked. It is unlikely but you may have gestational trophoblastic disease. Whatever you have, keep pestering the professionals until you get an answer. Better to find out sooner than later. Take care of yourself!

TeaAndANatter · 27/08/2013 16:16

Hi there,

I had that experience, and was found to be miscarrying - no sac was found on the scan (I was being investigated for ectopic due to pain), so they did my HCG over two days, which were low for dates, then dropped, then I bled. I hope that maybe your dates are wrong perhaps, or you had a duff scan, and will cross everything for you x

JohFlow · 27/08/2013 16:17

Every sympathy for you OP. It must be very difficult waiting. Have you been given any care advice to follow in the meantime?

I hope that they find a test that gets you results soon. It's good that they are testing you for hormonal anomalies.

Testing around hormones and pregnancy can be very complex so sometimes the answers aren't there straight away.

All you can do is keep 'jogging' people on to give you answers.

I have all my bits crossed for you

DaleyBump · 27/08/2013 16:26

Are you 100% sure of your dates? A friend of mine had a scan at what she thought was 6 weeks and they found nothing - told her it could be ectopic (or something, sorry if you're reading this and I've got it wrong!). Her HCG levels were also very low. Turns out, she was only 4 weeks instead of 6, so when she went back in two weeks for another scan she saw her little bean in her belly :)

Keeping absolutely everything crossed for you

MrsJohnDeere · 27/08/2013 16:26

My first thought was molar pregnancy (tiny % of which become gestational trophoblast disease). If so you would have hormone levels far higher than in a 'normal' pregnancy. I continued to get positive results on pregnancy tests for 5 months after miscarrying a molar pregnancy (but that's the exception rather than the norm).

Sorry you are going through this.

Writerwannabe83 · 27/08/2013 16:28

Hi ladylashes

I'm sorry you didn't get more positive news - it all sounds very confusing and you must feel in completely limbo. I will be following your posts and hoping that things turn out to be ok x x

ladylashes · 27/08/2013 16:45

Hi everyone, thank you for your comments and kind wishes - sorry for not responding individually xxx

DaleyBump my cycles are irregular and this was the only month I didn't do the ovulation testing (ironically the only reason I stopped doing it was that I thought it was putting too much stress on the conception!). My cycles have ranged between 32 and 39 days, but I guess I would have needed to have ovulated very late for this to be an early pregnancy. My head is so muddled I don't have the wherewithal to calculate it myself! If the mental fog clears I will try xxx

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ladylashes · 27/08/2013 17:06

Just had my hcg result - 1585. At that level they really should have seen something in the scan. My only hope is that the dates are severely messed up and so it's a very early pregnancy - see the corresponding hcg levels on this chart:

www.babymed.com/hcg-level-in-early-pregnancy

Waiting for the hospital to confirm whether they want me to go for an emergency scan tonight :-( xxx

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Writerwannabe83 · 27/08/2013 17:35

Wow, you'd definitely think something would be there with that reading.

In what way will the emergency scan be different to the scan you have already had? Is it more advanced?

dirtyface · 27/08/2013 17:39

oh no ladylashes i am sorry to hear this

saw your other thread

no advice i am afraid but sending virtual ((((hugs)))) and

ZenGardener · 27/08/2013 17:42

I had similar and it was an ectopic. They couldn't see the ectopic in the scan even though one tube looked slightly bigger. They said they can only really know when they did the surgery (endoscopic).

It wasn't so bad and we went on to have three kids (another in the oven).

I hope they can get some answers for you soon. It is good you know early and they are looking into it.

ladylashes · 27/08/2013 17:51

writerwannabe83 yeah I would have thought so. They said 'emergency scan' but I think it would have been the same thing, just done by (possibly) someone more experienced! Based on that chart I have hormone levels of 4weeks4days pregnant. I would have had to have ovulated on day 31 or something crazy like that - but I guess it's possible. The hospital called me back and said I def haven't miscarried, it's either ectopic or early.....now the waiting game continues! xxx

zengardener you've very helpfully just answered one of my burning questions - how do you truly know where the ectopic pregnancy is? I will just have to keep praying it's not one :-) xxx

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ladylashes · 27/08/2013 17:51

dirtyface that's so sweet of you, thanks xxx

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Writerwannabe83 · 27/08/2013 17:52

So what is the next step then?? Do they want to re-scan you or are they just going to take a wait and watch approach??

ladylashes · 27/08/2013 17:57

writerwannabe83 they are doing another blood test on Thursday to make sure hcg is rising. If it is then they will do another scan but it still might be too early to see something (ectopic or viable pregnancy). I suspect I might need to wait until next week for something to be seen properly.

If the hcg doesn't rise....who knows?!

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princesscupcakemummyb · 27/08/2013 18:02

hi ladylashes sorry to hear of your worrying time i had this with dc2 they said i had prob miscarried or it was etopic they did my hcg bloods which where low but had doubled 48 hours later i had a scan followed up approx 10 days later to which their she was what im saying is i also went overdue by 1 week according to them i did not know when i ovulated with dc2 so they went by the LMP dates which are not very accurate point is their i had a healthy baby at the end your dates could be off thats why pregnancy is dated from 2 weeks either side sending my thoughts to you

Cloudhoney · 27/08/2013 18:02

So sorry for what you are going through. I would ask for a second scan in a week or so, if there is any question about dates. That is what my health authority does as a matter of course.

ladylashes · 27/08/2013 18:43

princesscupcakemummyb great story! Thanks :-) hope it will be the same story for me! xxx

cloudhoney yes, I fully intend on asking for one! :-) xxx

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MummyJetsetter · 27/08/2013 18:52

Hi ladylashes, I commented early in your last thread. So sorry you're going through this! My dates were 2 weeks off at my early scan, I don't know how because I had been ttc for 8 months and my cycle was regular so I knew the date of my lmp. So it is possible to ovulate at an odd time. I'll keep everything crossed for you that that's all it is! x

FizzyFeet · 27/08/2013 19:07

Hello OP, sorry you are going through this. I've been in your shoes twice now. For me it was an ectopic both times. I'm sure the hospital have told you this but if you have any pain, bleeding, faintness, nausea or upset stomach please go to the hospital straight away. A ruptured ectopic is potentially very serious.

Keeping everything crossed that it works out for you. Having an ectopic is very very tough but you will come out the other side of it and it doesn't necessarily damage your future fertility as much as you might think.

The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust have useful info on their website about what to expect if it is ectopic.

Thinking of you

ladylashes · 27/08/2013 19:35

Thank you Fizzyfeet and MummyJetsetter xxx

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