Before knowing if ectopic pregnancy negative test may mean, it is important to know first the definition of ectopic pregnancy, its symptoms, causes and other facts surrounding this condition.
About ectopic pregnancy
For a woman who conceives normally, a fertilized egg is released by the ovary to one of her fallopian tubes then moves to her womb where the egg stays in the lining. However, there is a condition where the egg released by the ovary is implanted in areas outside of the mother's womb; in most cases the egg stays in one of the fallopian tubes. This condition is known as ectopic pregnancy, also referred to as tubal pregnancy.
An ectopic pregnancy can also occur in a caesarean scar, in your abdomen, in your cervix, on the ovary or somewhere in the fallopian tube. According to studies, in 100 pregnancies, there is one expectant mom who may have this condition. Unfortunately, there is no possibility that an ectopic pregnancy would continue normally.
Symptoms of ectopic pregnancy
Indicators of ectopic pregnancy may vary. Sometimes, a woman does not experience any of the symptoms, but the condition would be discovered after undergoing a scan.
If you have an ectopic pregnancy, this will bring about a positive pregnancy test because the hormone produced still moves into the blood stream. If you have an ectopic pregnancy negative test, it would be not result to be an ectopic, however, in some rare situations an ectopic pregnancy negative test would rule out a possibility.
So, apart from a positive pregnancy test, the usual symptoms that may be observed on women who have an ectopic pregnancy include the following:
About ectopic pregnancy
For a woman who conceives normally, a fertilized egg is released by the ovary to one of her fallopian tubes then moves to her womb where the egg stays in the lining. However, there is a condition where the egg released by the ovary is implanted in areas outside of the mother's womb; in most cases the egg stays in one of the fallopian tubes. This condition is known as ectopic pregnancy, also referred to as tubal pregnancy.
An ectopic pregnancy can also occur in a caesarean scar, in your abdomen, in your cervix, on the ovary or somewhere in the fallopian tube. According to studies, in 100 pregnancies, there is one expectant mom who may have this condition. Unfortunately, there is no possibility that an ectopic pregnancy would continue normally.
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Symptoms of ectopic pregnancy
Indicators of ectopic pregnancy may vary. Sometimes, a woman does not experience any of the symptoms, but the condition would be discovered after undergoing a scan.
If you have an ectopic pregnancy, this will bring about a positive pregnancy test because the hormone produced still moves into the blood stream. If you have an ectopic pregnancy negative test, it would be not result to be an ectopic, however, in some rare situations an ectopic pregnancy negative test would rule out a possibility.
So, apart from a positive pregnancy test, the usual symptoms that may be observed on women who have an ectopic pregnancy include the following:
| Symptoms | What you may be feeling? |
|---|---|
| Sharp pain in one side of your tummy/abdomen | The pain may be mild or awfully severe. The pain may either come unexpectedly without any sign or remain for a couple of days. |
| Abnormal vaginal bleeding – may be heavy brown or lighter spotting compared to your regular monthly period. Sometimes, it shows a different color. | Cramping |
| Missed your menstrual periods | This may not be noticeable as you may have experienced non-menstrual bleeding or if pregnancy occurs very early in your monthly cycle. |
| Cramping pain in the tip of your shoulder. | In the event one of your fallopian tubes is ruptured, a bleeding might take place inside your tummy that may cause irritation on your diaphragm. Your diaphragm has a connecting nerve with your shoulder, thus, it may happen that you may feel a throbbing pain on your shoulder due to the effect of irritation from the diaphragm |
| Vomiting and diarrhea | Dizziness |
| Weakness and nausea. In case your fallopian tube tears, you may suffer from serious internal bleeding, so there is a possibility that you may collapse, feel faint or dizzy. | Dizziness |
What may cause ectopic pregnancy?
Women who are at risk of having this condition may have damaged fallopian tubes which could due to a previous surgery on their stomach or if they have suffered a pelvic inflammatory disease after being infected of a sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhea or chlamydia. In the case of ruptured fallopian tubes, chances are they may become scarred, narrowed or inflamed making it difficult for the fertilized egg to move to the uterus. Indeed, this can make ectopic pregnancy possible to occur.
Other causes of ectopic pregnancy may include:
However, almost half of those who have suffered ectopic pregnancy have not known the cause of their condition.
How will you be diagnosed for having an ectopic pregnancy?
If you think you are ectopic, your doctor will clarify if you have those symptoms and will recommend you to undertake some examinations. The pregnancy test is one of these examinations. This test will involve gathering and testing your urine to determine the levels of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). This is a hormone that consists of cells that creates the placenta. If you have the symptoms, even an ectopic pregnancy negative pregnancy test does not always rule out the possibility.
Most commonly, if the result of the test is positive it is likely that you have an ectopic pregnancy as strongly suggested by the symptoms that you have. As a consequence, your doctor may refer you to a specialist in a health facility for further tests.
In a pregnancy test, the results are positive if routine tests hits are 2000 iu/HCG, but they are only certain in 50 % of ectopic pregnancies; thus, they are not always accurate. On the other hand, some tests are sensitive and can be deemed as positive at 75 iu/l, which may rule out a positive case of ectopic pregnancy by 90-95 per cent. Having said so, this kind of ectopic pregnancy negative pregnancy test is quite helpful.
Other test that may be undertaken is an ultrasound scan and a blood test for hCG. During the scan, the ultrasound will produce sound waves so that it will develop an image inside your body. Thereafter, if you see that your scan demonstrates that your uterus is empty while high levels of hCG is found in your blood test, it is possible that you are ectopic.
Indeed, in case the doctor is still uncertain, as in the case of ectopic pregnancy negative pregnancy test, the patient may need to undergo a laparoscopy procedure. The procedure involves the using a laparoscope, a slim, telescopic camera that looks like a tube. The doctor will make a small cut on the patient's abdomen through which this device will be inserted in order to take a glimpse of your the fallopian tubes. Prior to the procedure, the patient will be put to sleep after having a general anesthetic.
How to treat ectopic pregnancy
Treating ectopic pregnancy may depend as to whether or not your fallopian tube was damaged, how advanced is the pregnancy of the patient, and how complex the symptoms are.
Attentive waiting
Some cases of ectopic pregnancies do not require treatments since those cases will actually end on their own. If you do not see any symptoms in your body or your symptoms are not severe, the doctor may advice you not to opt for treatments. Instead, he/she might require you to visit the clinic from time to time for monitoring purposes. Procedures like blood tests and additional ultrasound scans is usually undertaken.
Medications
If after several appropriate tests, it was found out that the patient conceived in one of her fallopian tubes and she is still on her your early pregnancy stage, the doctor may recommend the patient for an injection of methotrexate. Methotrexate is a medicine that works by stopping the growth of the cells of the embryo and gradually reabsorbs the pregnancy. Sometimes, the patient needs to have more than one shot.
There are cases where methotrexate is not effective in preventing the tearing of the fallopian tube. However, in case the tube tears, this time the patient will undergo a surgery.
Surgery
The patient may need to undergo a procedure to get rid of ectopic pregnancy if:
Most commonly, you will undergo a keyhole procedure or laparoscopy. During the surgery, the doctor may remove the pregnancy using equipment that will suck the egg out of the tube. However, this may depend on the location of your pregnancy and how advanced it is. In case you are suffering from severe internal bleeding or you have an open surgery, you might require a blood transfusion.
Women who are at risk of having this condition may have damaged fallopian tubes which could due to a previous surgery on their stomach or if they have suffered a pelvic inflammatory disease after being infected of a sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhea or chlamydia. In the case of ruptured fallopian tubes, chances are they may become scarred, narrowed or inflamed making it difficult for the fertilized egg to move to the uterus. Indeed, this can make ectopic pregnancy possible to occur.
Other causes of ectopic pregnancy may include:
- Using progesterone-only contraceptives
- Having an IUD in place after becoming pregnant
- Smoking
- After undergoing an infertility treatment
- Conceiving at the age over 35
- Having a previous ectopic or tubal pregnancy
However, almost half of those who have suffered ectopic pregnancy have not known the cause of their condition.
How will you be diagnosed for having an ectopic pregnancy?
If you think you are ectopic, your doctor will clarify if you have those symptoms and will recommend you to undertake some examinations. The pregnancy test is one of these examinations. This test will involve gathering and testing your urine to determine the levels of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). This is a hormone that consists of cells that creates the placenta. If you have the symptoms, even an ectopic pregnancy negative pregnancy test does not always rule out the possibility.
Most commonly, if the result of the test is positive it is likely that you have an ectopic pregnancy as strongly suggested by the symptoms that you have. As a consequence, your doctor may refer you to a specialist in a health facility for further tests.
In a pregnancy test, the results are positive if routine tests hits are 2000 iu/HCG, but they are only certain in 50 % of ectopic pregnancies; thus, they are not always accurate. On the other hand, some tests are sensitive and can be deemed as positive at 75 iu/l, which may rule out a positive case of ectopic pregnancy by 90-95 per cent. Having said so, this kind of ectopic pregnancy negative pregnancy test is quite helpful.
Other test that may be undertaken is an ultrasound scan and a blood test for hCG. During the scan, the ultrasound will produce sound waves so that it will develop an image inside your body. Thereafter, if you see that your scan demonstrates that your uterus is empty while high levels of hCG is found in your blood test, it is possible that you are ectopic.
Indeed, in case the doctor is still uncertain, as in the case of ectopic pregnancy negative pregnancy test, the patient may need to undergo a laparoscopy procedure. The procedure involves the using a laparoscope, a slim, telescopic camera that looks like a tube. The doctor will make a small cut on the patient's abdomen through which this device will be inserted in order to take a glimpse of your the fallopian tubes. Prior to the procedure, the patient will be put to sleep after having a general anesthetic.
How to treat ectopic pregnancy
Treating ectopic pregnancy may depend as to whether or not your fallopian tube was damaged, how advanced is the pregnancy of the patient, and how complex the symptoms are.
Attentive waiting
Some cases of ectopic pregnancies do not require treatments since those cases will actually end on their own. If you do not see any symptoms in your body or your symptoms are not severe, the doctor may advice you not to opt for treatments. Instead, he/she might require you to visit the clinic from time to time for monitoring purposes. Procedures like blood tests and additional ultrasound scans is usually undertaken.
Medications
If after several appropriate tests, it was found out that the patient conceived in one of her fallopian tubes and she is still on her your early pregnancy stage, the doctor may recommend the patient for an injection of methotrexate. Methotrexate is a medicine that works by stopping the growth of the cells of the embryo and gradually reabsorbs the pregnancy. Sometimes, the patient needs to have more than one shot.
There are cases where methotrexate is not effective in preventing the tearing of the fallopian tube. However, in case the tube tears, this time the patient will undergo a surgery.
Surgery
The patient may need to undergo a procedure to get rid of ectopic pregnancy if:
- Medications did not work
- If the conception is already in its advanced stage or the fertilized egg is already outside the fallopian tubes
- The patient's fallopian tube has tear down and is suffering from critical internal bleeding
Most commonly, you will undergo a keyhole procedure or laparoscopy. During the surgery, the doctor may remove the pregnancy using equipment that will suck the egg out of the tube. However, this may depend on the location of your pregnancy and how advanced it is. In case you are suffering from severe internal bleeding or you have an open surgery, you might require a blood transfusion.
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