What is an ectopic pregnancy? 

An ectopic pregnancy is when the fertilized egg attaches to the fallopian tube. This usually happens in the first few weeks of pregnancy, before you find out you are pregnant. Once the egg attaches to the tube, it will eventually burst the tube which could be fatal if not caught in time. When I had an ectopic Pregnancy in the summer of 2013, I had no idea what it was. Below i will tell you 5 signs of how to tell if you have an ectopic pregnancy and a little bit of my personal story. Please remember, this post is to help inform, not diagnose. If you have any or all symptoms you may want to seek medical advice. I am not a doctor, I just want to inform others about ectopic pregnancies, because i wish someone had done that for me.

1. Bleeding

Bleeding without clots is one sign you may have an ectopic pregnancy. This bleeding is usually with pain in one side. You may think it’s your monthly period, but if there are no clots with severe pain seek medical help immediately.

I was 1 week late on my monthly period. I thought “no big deal”. We were traveling and had just gotten back and i started bleeding, i thought it was my monthly period. Hours before, i had bought a pregnancy test, but never used it thinking since i was bleeding, i couldn’t be pregnant. But then, sign #2 came.

2. Pain on one side

This pain is sharp. It’s normally on the right or left side. Mine happened to be the right. I thought it was my appendix. The pain is sharp and sometimes will be so sharp will cause #3 and #4.

The pain was unbearable. At first i thought it was cramps, but then the pain increased through the night. Finally about 4:00 am i took some pain medicine. It didn’t even touch the the intense pain i was feeling. Then Sign #3 hit me.

3. Dizziness

Dizziness from the sharp pain. It may feel light, or may feel like everything is spinning. Like when you get on one of those rides at the fair that spins you till your sick. Like that but in your body. 

I told my husband that we needed to go to the E.R. I tried to see through the dizziness to get my clothes on, and my shoes. It was warm out, so i put on some shorts and a t-shirt. By the time i was in the car i was so dizzy i couldn’t stand it, that is when sign #4 hit.

4. Nausea 

Whether from the intense pain or dizziness, nausea will most likely come up (literally). By now if you have not gone to the doctor, you may want to. Throwing up plus pain and bleeding is pretty scary stuff. 

We were in the car and i felt the rush of the heat on my face and grabbed a bag from the floor. There went my pain medicine. We got to the hospital and got right in. While waiting for the doctors to come in and take tests, i sat there feeling like i had the flu time a million. While waiting the pain got worse, so bad in fact it went to sign #5.

5. Pain in the shoulder

Shoulder pain. It adds to the localized pain but makes your whole body hurt now. It feels as if you have a tight muscle, but worse. If you have shoulder pain plus the other symptoms please go to a doctor. 

The shoulder pain was terrible. By the time i had an ultra sound and the doctors told me I had an ectopic pregnancy, i was in so much pain i couldn’t stand it. Yet, i asked for no pain medicines. I was told that this pain is worse than childbirth. I will see when the time comes. 

I had no idea what an ectopic pregnancy was until i experienced it for myself. I had no idea that i had internal bleeding, and that if i had waited any longer to go in to the hospital that i would have died. Within a few hours i was in surgery, and that night i was sleeping in my own bed at home. Doctors don’t know exactly why ectopic pregnancies happen yet. Not only do you go through the shock of coming close to death, but you have to deal with the loss of the baby as well. I was 5 1/2 weeks along and had no clue. Looking back i see signs of pregnancy, but i didn’t know it at the time. 

It was probably the hardest thing i had to go through, but i know i will see my baby in heaven someday, and now it’s my time to tell others about ectopic pregnancies in hopes it will save someone someday. When i had mine,my tube had not bursted yet, so they were able to remove it with no problem. I have a less of a chance of getting pregnant in the future, but i will leave that up to the Lord.