TTC after Methotrexate shot

[JPARR01]

Hi everyone -

It is with much sadness that I join you here after an ectopic pregnancy and methotrexate injection on Sunday night. I had molar pregnancy in 2009, a chemical pregnancy in December 2011 and now an ectopic - seriously, how much can 1 girl handle?!?!

I was hoping to be able to chat with some of you that are going through a similar situation, and to those that have been through it and are now pregnant (I'm so happy to see that there are lots of those)!

I see there are lots of opinions regarding TTC after the shot, and I was just hoping to hear what different doctors are recommending these days (and where you're from). I'm in Australia, and my fertility doc this morning said 3 months however I have read lots of doctors are saying one normal cycle post levels returning to 0.

I have my follow-up appointment at the hospital tomorrow (day 4) so I'm hoping my levels are heading in the right direction. They weren't very high when I got the jab (around 300, I think) and were already about 250 by the following day. I do hear though that they can start to rise again and that is frightening the life out of me. I really don't want a second jab!

I've had no bleeding and no pain so I'm not quite sure what to expect in the coming days/weeks. I just can't wait to get back to 0 so that we can try and look into why I've had 2 miscarriages back to back. I do have a happy and healthy 16 month old so I know my body can do it - I just think it needs a bit of a CTRL-ALT-DLT to get it back into conception mode!

Any advice, recommendations or words of encouragement would be muchly appreciated!

MissPx

I really think it is beyond important that you wait some time after the shot. Methotrexate is no joke. Almost everyone I have talked with also said that their doc said wait 3 cycles or 3 months.... Give your body time to heal. The time will go fast, trust me. I thought it would take forever for my 3 cycles to pass... but, it flew right on by and the first month back trying we got pregnant. xoxo

 

[Gwenylovey]

JPARR, I'm loving your scan picture!! Looking good

 

[JPARR01]

JPARR, I'm loving your scan picture!! Looking good

Awww thanks!!! xoxo

 

[Dee1989]

Hi Annie77, I had the shot in June last year and have also had no luck in conceiving again and now my cycles seem to be changing, grrrr.

Hope everyone is well.

Sorry to hear your story.

I too had an ectopic and got the meth jag on 5th sept last year. It didn't work well enough so needed a 2nd shot the week after. I waited 12 weeks before trying again but alas - so far i have had no luck conceiving. I have always fallen very quickly but maybe this is my body's way of telling me it isn't ready yet??

I hope you are not having too much discomfort - physical or emotional and I really hope you find this forum helpful. I know when I came on here in sept, it gave me a lot of hope to see Jparr, presh, michelle etc all fall pregnant.

Presh - hope are doing okay?

 

[libbyloulou]

Hi dee,

I'm interested to know how your cycle has changed? Mine has always been a regular 28 day cycle then out of the blue last month it was 24 days....weird! my ectopic was in july.

Good luck to everyone ttc. I'm on cd7, same as a few others on here I think x

 

[chig]

I was hoping that it would be okay with you ladies for me to join this thread. I have read this whole thread and I am just inspired with all of the great success stories of BFPs after having to take methotrexate. I was diagnosed with a suspected ectopic this January and was administered the shot. My numbers were at 8100 when I was given the shot and are now down to 1085 after 3 weeks. I am happy that they are going down, but I know it is going to take me a long time before they reach the 0 mark. This was my second pregnancy. My first pregnancy ended at 18w when I went in for my second u/s and found out that my baby had a severe congenital heart defect and wouldn't survive. That was probably the worst day of my life when I found out I would have to terminate my pregnancy. I have never cried so much in my life. The doctors couldn't tell me why it happened and said it is just one of things that just happens. We did chromosome testing and everything and it all came back normal, so it was just my bad luck. I waited the 3 months as the doctors recommended and ended up with an ectopic...I just want to have a baby so bad and just feel like I have to wait so long.

Sorry for the long post. I just needed a place to talk about this as there aren't many people out there that understand what we go through.

 

[Renzalxx]

Hi chig
Welcome, I was so very sad to read your story, you have certainly had a rough time. So sorry for your losses. You have come to the right place the women here have been amazing!!
From personal experience, about two-three weeks after my shots I had what can only be described as a mini-miscarriage. A lot of blood and cramping and then my numbers started to drop dramatically after that. I was around 6000 and they only dropped slightly for the first two weeks and then plummeted after the bleed.
I really hope things happen fast for you hunny and please drop us a line anytime if you have an questions or just need a hug

 

[chig]

Thanks Renzalxx for replying. My situation was a little different. The day I tested to see if I was pregnant, I started to spot a little bit that day. I spotted brown for about 5 days. The spotting then turned to bleeding with some clotting. I knew at that point that i had miscarried. I bled for about another 4 days and it just tapered off to spotting. I had two u/s and they could not find anything in the uterus or tubes, but my hcg number kept rising. My OB thought that it could have been an incomplete miscarriage. She scheduled me for a d&c to remove any remaining tissue that could be causing my numbers to rise. After the d&c, they told me there wasn't much to get out and ordered the metho shot as they could not locate the ectopic and my numbers were rising. It has now been three weeks and I have only been lightly spotting. At first I thought the shot wasn't working because I wasn't bleeding like everyone else, but my numbers are still dropping, so I am just happy about that. I guess everyone is different...I also didn't have any pain, except for some slight twinges on my right side every now and then. Does that sound like an ectopic?

 

[Renzalxx]

Hi again Chig
Yours actually sounds quite similar to my experience. I too thought I was miscarrying but was told I had a cornual ectopic whereby it wasn't in my tube but just outside it in an extremely vascular area. They are very dangerous (inoperable due to the risks) and very difficult to find but after about half and hour my doc was able to locate just outside my tube. I was then sent straight to emergency to start metho treatment. I also had brown spotting/clotting the moment I fell pregnant up until about a week after my major bleed from the meth. I assume your doc just wanted to be absolutely sure by giving you the shot... In saying that, your numbers are going down so you are on the right track!! Yay!
The only upside for us hunny is that we still have our tubes but it's still horrible to say the least...
All the best, hoping things get back to normal again for you soon xx

 

[Dee1989]

Hi libbyloulou, before the ectopic I was irregular then after it I went onto a regular 30 day cycle then from Dec I had a 26 day cycle, 31 day in Jan then this one I was due AF tomorrow and it came 2days ago, so I had a 28 day cycle lol, i'm used to being irregular but I preffered knowing if that makes sence, maybe now I should start temping again to pinpoint ovulation.

Good luck and lots of

Hi dee,

I'm interested to know how your cycle has changed? Mine has always been a regular 28 day cycle then out of the blue last month it was 24 days....weird! my ectopic was in july.

Good luck to everyone ttc. I'm on cd7, same as a few others on here I think x

 

[chig]

Has anyone monitored their temperatures while they were watching their hcg levels drop? My temperatures were high before the shot and a week after the shot. Over the past two weeks my temps have been gradually dropping. I only have spotting after the shot. Do you girls think I could get my AF soon? Also do you think this means my hcg levels will drop quicker now that my temps are at pre-O temps?

Sorry if I am asking too many questions...I just really can't wait until my numbers drop to 0 and I can start taking my prenatals again and start getting my body back to normal.

 

[Renzalxx]

Hi Chig
You can ask as many questions as you like sweetness...we are all here for one another!
I couldnt really tell you anything about temping as I have not tried that option, however I do know you will not get your AF until approx 2 - 4 weeks after your HCG reaches zero. I got mine two weeks after my tests came back at zero and started back on my pre-natals as soon as i did - from my shots to getting my AF took approx 8 weeks in all.
Keep your chin up xx

 

[Renzalxx]

YIPPPPPPEEEEE Aunty Flo has come to visit... one step closer to TTC.

 

[chig]

Yaaaay for AF! Hi Renzalxx. Thank you for being so kind. I guess I just need to be patient and heal while I wait. When you said 8 weeks, it sounds like a long time, but then I realized that it will be 4 weeks for me this Wednesday. I go back tomorrow for more bloodwork. I am praying that they are way down!
I am so happy for you! I can't believe I am saying this, but I can't wait until AF comes to visit me...

Where did the rest of you ladies go? I hope all of you are doing good!
to all!

 

[Gwenylovey]

Chig, I know how frustrating the wait can be, but I swear it will be over before you know it. If you can, I recommend trying to do some other things you enjoy to take your mind of off this for little bits of time if you can. I know it's tough, but I found that when I could finally relax a little bit about it that time went by even more quickly. Just my 2 cents, take it or leave it And as for AF, mine also came about two weeks after my levels hit zero as well.

Renzal, YAY!!! So exciting to hear Are you ttc again this cycle, I can't remember now but I think so! I am currently in the dreaded tww...I think 4 or 5 dpo or something like that. I'm trying to take my own advice - keep myself busy and try not to obsess so much! Way easier said than done....

 

[PreshFest]

YIPPPPPPEEEEE Aunty Flo has come to visit... one step closer to TTC.

Wahooo!! That is so exciting! Mine ended this past wednesday and I've had some spotting on and off since then, which is not normal for me at all. So I'm 100% wtt until after next af, just in case. But still! About 4 weeks from now I'll be officially ttc again!

 

[Gwenylovey]

YIPPPPPPEEEEE Aunty Flo has come to visit... one step closer to TTC.

Wahooo!! That is so exciting! Mine ended this past wednesday and I've had some spotting on and off since then, which is not normal for me at all. So I'm 100% wtt until after next af, just in case. But still! About 4 weeks from now I'll be officially ttc again!

Yay Presh, so exciting!! That 4 weeks will fly by in no time!

 

[Gwenylovey]

Also, I'm not feeling any real symptoms yet...I know it's early but I wish I felt something! Did any of you ladies in any pregnancy feel symptoms at 4-5 dpo? If not, when did they start? Ugh, this patiently waiting thing is not happening for me...

 

[PreshFest]

Also, I'm not feeling any real symptoms yet...I know it's early but I wish I felt something! Did any of you ladies in any pregnancy feel symptoms at 4-5 dpo? If not, when did they start? Ugh, this patiently waiting thing is not happening for me...

I've never gotten symptoms until 4-5 weeks along... At this point, if fertilization has occurred, it's still making it's way to your uterus. You typically don't feel symptoms until well after implantation, I think. Once that hcg starts rising is when they really start.

 

[JPARR01]

The only symptoms I felt during the 2ww ---> waking up in the middle of the night starving, sore boobs, and some cramping. xoxo