- Lightheadedness
- Dizziness
- Almost passing out
- Pale complexion
- Clammy-feeling skin
- Fast heartbeat (over 100 beats per minute)
- Abdominal or pelvic pain so severe that you can't even stand up.
If you are pregnant and experience any unusual abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding, contact a medical professional immediately. If your health care provider cannot be reached, or if your symptoms become worse, go quickly to a hospital's emergency department.
Exams and Tests - Your health care provider or an emergency doctor will want to confirm pregnancy if this has not already been done. The doctor will perform a pelvic exam. An ultrasound of your pelvis will probably be done to determine where the pregnancy is located. If the bleeding is severe or becomes life threatening, you may be taken immediately to the operating room.
Sometimes the pregnancy has not developed sufficiently to be seen by ultrasound. If the bleeding and pain are not severe, the doctor may recommend you have special blood tests every 2-3 days to monitor the pregnancy until it has grown large enough so that it should be visible. Another ultrasound will likely be performed at that time to make sure the pregnancy is in the uterus and developing normally.
Treatment - Treatment depends on the size of the ectopic pregnancy and its location. If the ectopic pregnancy is in the fallopian tube and is very small, you may be given medication to cause the tissue to stop growing and allow your body to expel it. Most women who undergo this therapy describe lower abdominal pain, especially within the first several days, and vaginal bleeding "like a heavy period" will occur. You will be advised to have blood tests every 3 days to ensure that the medication has been effective.
If the ectopic pregnancy is large or outside the fallopian tube, or if there are signs of severe bleeding inside the abdomen, surgery is required. Often the surgeon can use laparoscopic surgery (small incisions in your abdomen to remove the ectopic tissue), but sometimes a larger incision is required. In the case of a tubal pregnancy, if the tube has not ruptured, sometimes it is possible to extract the tissue from the tube. Often, however, tubal damage is so great that the fallopian tube must be removed.
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