Gina's Story

I am unable to locate Gina's Story, but hope to have it on the site very soon. Krista

UPDATE:

On December 18, 2002, I had surgery to remove my ectopic pregnancy in my right tube.  My post-op visit was fine-both tubes were okay, even though I have now had 2 ectopic pregnancies, on in each tube.  I was encouraged to take an x-ray of my tubes when I was ready to try to conceive, to make sure they were clear, but otherwise I got a thumbs-up.  Jump to January 13, 2001.

I was sitting at the computer, and all of a sudden I felt a sharp pain shoot through my abdomen down around my rectum and it just continues. I tried several pain relieving techniques like walking it off, sitting on the toilet, laying on the floor but nothing helped. I was really scared, because I just knew it was probably related to my surgery. I eventually crawled to bed where my husband lay sleeping. He heard my panting and immediately sprung up. "something's wrong", I whispered. I tried be calm and just wait it out because I once went to the emergency room when I was pregnant for contractions at 20 weeks and found out that I just needed to move my bowls.  It was very humiliating and made me scared to repeat that mistake!

The pain wouldn't leave. We live in another town from family and had only one relative to call that day for baby-sitting help. We had to wait for her to arrive. Meanwhile, I started to get dizzy and nauseous. I limped to the bathroom and sat near the toilet.  It was there I had my first episode of instant sweating, clamminess and dizziness. My 3-year old was scared and my husband had to lift me up and get me to the bed. ANY movement was shear agony. I somehow got in a position on the bed with pillows that I could bear, if I was completely still. I started to drift into sleep even. My husband had to dress me as I had only a flimsy nightgown on and it took everything from me to even do that. Every time I got up to be dressed or to move to the door, I got weak and collapsed back on the bed. By the time my sister-in-law arrived to baby-sit, all I wanted to do was sleep. They pressed me to get up and get to the van. I refused an ambulance over and over again, saying "I can make it", but I couldn't. I kept falling to the floor and finally passed out. I kept bouncing in and out of consciousness and I was sweating bullets, and they said I had no color to me. I couldn't hold my head up and I remember giving the okay for an ambulance. They arrived very quickly and could not get a pulse on me at all! Once in the ambulance, they quickly got an IV in me and stabilized me. I remember the EMT sending my vitals in over the radio and my blood pressure remained in the 60s. I somehow managed to stay awake and we had a 20 minute ride to the hospital. We told them my ectopic history at the ER and that is what they investigated right from the start, but I was confused. How can it be? I had JUST had surgery for my ectopic less than a month ago!

I thought that I KNEW I wasn't not pregnant again, and even if I were, it would have been too early for this to happen again. After a painful vaginal check and another episode of my blood pressure dropping to the 60s, they gave me an ultrasound and found a lot of fluid in my belly, even up near my liver. I remember breathing was difficult--I felt as if my lungs were being crushed. The Doctor on call from my OB/GYN office was the same doctor I mentioned earlier who wanted to wait things out. He eventually showed up and disclaimed ectopic right off the bat  I agreed.  After all, we took care of it, right? He said the last surgery indeed had resulted in the removal of "products of conception" and that my ovary probably had a cyst that ruptured or there was blood in my tube. Blood from what he wouldn't say, just some vague explanation about hormone levels and egg production. Well, he put me under observation for a night and to treat my pain. He was under the assumption my bleeding would stop and I would get better. At this point, my hemoglobin was somewhere under 9 and still he wanted to wait. Well, I did not take my own previous advice and just said, "Yes, you are the doctor.  Just get me better."

The next day my hemoglobin dropped a little more, but not dramatically (probably diluted from the nonstop IVs, I was told), and so we were told I would probably go home the next day. The next day came and it was under 7.4. Surgery was now necessary as my pregnancy numbers (which were still present from the previous ectopic, and had gone down on my post-op check up) had now gone up! Conveniently, the weekend on call doctor was now able to hand the case back to the doctor who originally did the surgery. Apparently he had not gotten all of the tissue and it had regrown and ruptured my tube. I knew it, and all of a sudden I felt the rush of disappointment as I heard myself tell the doctor to go ahead and also tie my left tube because I couldn't physically take another ectopic if the tube should have another one.  He wholeheartedly agreed, and I was whisked off to surgery.

My original IV from the ambulance had to be removed as it was beginning to leak. Five tries later, the anesthesiologist had to be called to put my IV in as I heard the doctor say her veins have clamped down. Well, I had lain in bed for 2 days with a ruptured tube and was so bloated from IVs and who knows how much blood that had collected in my belly. I had to be on a constant incline before the surgery just so I could breathe as the pressure from the blood crowded my lungs. After the surgery, I woke up with the worst pain I have ever experienced from the 9-inch incision that was now on my bikini line, and without the ability to get pregnant naturally. It was a hard recovery and I am left with a lot of unanswered questions...

Is this a common occurrence? Is it the doctor's fault? Should he have checked my pregnancy levels more diligently? I was checked 10 days after (on the 28th of December) and was scheduled for another blood test on the 17th of January but never made it because it ruptured on the 13th. How come they didn't warn me of this risk? If it is a common risk, how come the doctor on call did not recognize it in the emergency room? I feel like I am being avoided. The doctor has not spent more then 6 minutes total with me since the surgery (I mean 2 minutes for each of the 3 visits in the hospital). Other than having my staples removed by a nurse yesterday, I will not have a scheduled appointment for almost 3 weeks.

I was told to do nothing and lift nothing and clean nothing for all that time, and I am a mother of 2 young children. Thank goodness for my husband, who now has seen how serious an ectopic really is firsthand. He has been wonderful, and truly has been a mother and a father this last week to our daughters. We were hoping to try for a son, but now I don't think it is in the cards. In-vitro is of course an option, but not financially possible at this point. We feel blessed for what we have, and are trying to deal with the disappointment. This website is a definite help.

I am dealing with the physical pain for now. I survived, am okay enough to sit here and type this update. My emotional pain is just starting to surface. I was watching a movie today that focused a shot at the ending credits of a newborn baby that no one wanted and I just cried and cried and could not turn off the faucets, so to speak. The physical act of crying really hurt my incision, but I couldn't stop, and my 3-year old was asking why I was crying and I just couldn't answer her because I couldn't stop the tears. I guess I was just needing to cry as I had not let myself the whole time I was in the hospital.

Thank you for listening. I needed this...