u/bramblesandshamble5

I have been seeing an experienced Chinese medicine doctor (he obtained his qualifications from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and worked in hospitals in China) for about 6 weeks now and he’s been giving me weekly acupuncture and weekly concoctions of herbs to treat fertility issues.

He will be away for a few weeks and gave me some extra medication for the next 2 weeks. He knows that I just ovulated and the next 2 weeks will be the luteal phase. I asked him if I could continue to take the medication if I get pregnant and he said yes.

I checked the ingredient list when I got home and saw the above 2 herbs and saw that they are not recommended for pregnancy. He did not include these herbs in last cycle’s luteal phase medication.

Can someone explain to me why he included them this time? Will they affect implantation? Or is he trying to more aggressively/less conservatively treat my underlying issues before I properly get pregnant to ensure a healthy pregnancy? (I had an ectopic pregnancy earlier this year). He is on leave now so I can’t ask him directly.

Thanks for your help. This is the full prescription (these are granules and this amount is for 2 week):

Oral: Sheng Bai Zhu 6.4g, Ji Xue Teng 4.8g, San Qi Fen 1.6g, Si Gua Luo 6.4g, Bai He 3.2g, Ju He 3.2g, Li Zhi He 3.2g, Bai Shao 6.4g, Fu Shen 6.4g, Yuan Zhi 1.6g, He Ye 1.6g

One of my staff members just told me she’s 7 weeks pregnant. She got married in August and basically immediately got pregnant. She’s a really hard working staff member who I like and appreciate on both a personal and professional level.

I’m so happy for her and told her that and asked her to tell me if there’s anything at all I can do to support her during this time. I got off the phone and immediately started crying.

She had just come from her ultrasound where they saw the baby. I just keep thinking about how I also went in for an ultrasound at 7 weeks, thinking I would see the baby but instead I had to be rushed into emergency surgery and had the most traumatic day of my life.

I wouldn’t wish that experience on anyone and I’m so glad her experience has been positive. But it really fucking sucks that I had the experience I did and I can’t stop crying 😔

This post is going to be a bit all over the place, apologies. First, here are my numbers:

12 DPO: 13 hcg

14 DPO: 63 hcg

17 DPO: 159 hcg, 71 nmol/L progesterone

20 DPO: 196 hcg

22 DPO: 248 hcg, 34 progesterone

25 DPO: 433 hcg, 65 progesterone

27 DPO: 1062 hcg

34 DPO: 1532 hcg, 18 progesterone (Day of surgery)

12 hours post op: 627 hcg

4 days post op: 152 hcg

I’m currently 4 days post-op and wanted to share a bit of my story. I had an extremely rare abdominal ectopic pregnancy. It was found in the Pouch of Douglas. This was my first pregnancy and only the second cycle my husband and I had tried to conceive.

Right from the start I had a bad feeling. My numbers were low and very quickly the doubling slowed down. I had one day of very light brown spotting that went away immediately but other than that, there were no signs (until things got worse). I pushed to be referred to my local hospital’s early pregnancy unit (EPAS) because I was worried.

At 25 DPO they did my bloods and an ultrasound and didn’t find anything. They told me to only come back for bloods on 27 DPO, not an ultrasound. They were very happy with my 27 DPO numbers and told me that this for sure wasn’t ectopic and it was in fact a viable pregnancy and I should only come back in 1 week for a scan. I knew something was wrong but I wanted to believe them.

Over the course of the next week I started to develop a lot of pelvic pain and rectal pain and pressure. The midwife was so sure that this wasn’t ectopic and I wanted to believe her so badly that I ignored the pain. I shouldn’t have done that, it was the first sign I was bleeding internally.

I went in for my scan a week later as planned (34 DPO). I was dreading it and I was right. Nothing in the uterus. Instead, a strange solid mass in the Pouch of Douglas that would make me scream with pain everytime the probe went near it.

They prepped me for surgery immediately. When they went in they found gestational tissue adhered to my rectum and the outside of the back of my uterus. There was a small amount of internal bleeding. They also did a D&C just to be safe and to make sure we dealt with everything in one go.

I’m very lucky that the ectopic was found as quickly as it was and removed. There was absolutely no damage to my tubes or uterus or cervix. They were able to “bluntly tease” it away and didn’t need to do any cutting internally.

The surgery went really well. I had some post op complications and a lot of complaints about how I was treated by some nurses post surgery but overall I know I had the best possible outcome in a very shitty situation.

Still, it feels really unfair you know? I have none of the risk factors for ectopics. This was my first pregnancy. There’s no rhyme or reason for why this happened. This type of ectopic is SO rare, it doesn’t happen, why did it have to happen to me? I’m sad and angry and just ugh.

For anyone in a similar situation, I want to reiterate:

- If something feels off, advocate for yourself, even if the doctors tell you you’re fine

- Don’t ignore wonky betas, even if you have 1 or 2 instances of good doubling

- Don’t ignore rectal pain or pressure, especially if you have other concerning things going on

- Get early ultrasounds. You CAN see things at lower hcg levels and it could save your life

It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

I haven’t been having encouraging betas.

~12 DPO: 13

~14 DPO: 63

~17 DPO: 159

My doubling time between the first and second was really encouraging but it’s slowed to 54 hours between the second and third. My numbers are not wholly out of range but higher numbers would have been more reassuring.

Despite these low numbers, I did a FRER at 18 DPO and actually got a dye stealer (and it was darker than it was when I last did one on 16 DPO).

I’ve been struggling a lot with the ups and downs of all of this. I’m trying to reach a place of acceptance in my mind. Trying to be okay with whatever happens. I got pregnant quickly and that was such a blessing. Despite my numbers, this baby is doing everything it can to grow. At times I thought “if this is going to be a miscarriage, can it hurry up so that I can move forward”. But that’s not really fair to this embryo that is doing its best. I am trying to strengthen my resolve to also do my best during this time. To provide this life with a home for however long it wants or needs to be here and to let go with grace if or when I need to. I’m grateful for this opportunity I’ve been given and I will do my best to be present as I move through both the joy and the pain of this time.

I just wanted a place to write out these thoughts, thanks for reading. My heart goes out to anyone experiencing a loss or struggling in a time of uncertainty.

2 days ago (11/12 DPO) I saw my very first faint line and the line was stronger + got a positive CB digital yesterday (12/13 DPO). Went to get a blood test immediately after that positive and my HCG was abysmally low at 13.

My LMP was April 7 which would have made me exactly 4 weeks yesterday when I took the bloods. But my ovulation was delayed to CD 17 or CD 18 this cycle. I think this is a case of late implantation because I was testing since 7/8 DPO and didn’t see a faint line until 11/12 DPO.

This is my first pregnancy and I really really wanted this to happen. I love my husband and really wanted to make a baby with him. I didn’t even want kids until I met him. I’m feeling so sad. I can’t stomach the thought of waiting for an inevitable chemical/miscarriage. The thought of that kills me.

I’ll do a repeat blood test but not sure whether to do it 2 days from first one or 4 days. Any advice appreciated but this post is mainly just to vent. Thanks for reading.