Before thinking about the symptoms of ectopic pregnancy you should know what it refers to. It is the situation when the fertilized egg doesn’t get implanted into the lining of the uterus but it is implanted somewhere else.
In the majority of the cases the ectopic pregnancies are fallopian tube pregnancies, which means that the implantation occurs in the fallopian tubes.
What are the ectopic pregnancy symptoms?
There are some classic signs of a pregnancy of this kind such as pain in the abdomen, lack of menstrual periods and vaginal spotting or bleeding. It is possible for the woman in question not to know that she is pregnant.
These symptoms can also appear in case you are dealing with a ruptured ectopic pregnancy or a non-ruptured ectopic pregnancy.
Although these are the ectopic pregnancy signs, it’s not a must to have them and they could also be caused by some other conditions.
Even more, it is possible to encounter the same symptoms in case of an abortion imminence which may occur in regular pregnancies.
When do the symptoms appear?
In the majority of the cases, the symptoms of ectopic pregnancy appear during the 6th-8th week starting with the time of your last menstrual period.
However it is possible for them to appear later in case the ectopic pregnancy isn’t located in the fallopian tubes.
You might experience some other signs of ectopic pregnancy as well, such as vomiting, breast tenderness and nausea. Dizziness and weakness could also be one of the symptoms in this case along with the feeling that you will pass out if you stand up.
Health related facts
In case you experience any of these symptoms of ectopic pregnancy, it is very likely that you are affected by internal bleeding or you have low blood pressure caused by a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. If this is the case you should call your doctor immediately or head to an emergency room.
The sad truth regarding the ectopic pregnancy warning signs is that about 15%-20% of the women who have a bleeding because of an ectopic pregnancy do not recognize it as a sign. The diagnosis is made only at the moment when the woman has a shock, like low blood pressure, pale skin, weak and rapid pulse and confusion.
Further symptoms
Some of the symptoms of ectopic pregnancy have been mentioned before. Besides the initial ones consisting of bleeding and abdominal pain, as the condition progresses women can observe abdominal pain that gets worse when they move. At the beginning, it could affect only one side and then spread through the entire pelvic region.
As one of the warning signs of ectopic pregnancy, it is also possible to experience pain during a pelvic exam or during intercourse. As it has been mentioned before, lightheadedness, dizziness and fainting are the symptoms of internal bleeding. Also you could have some degree of shoulder pain because you are bleeding into your abdomen which is located beneath the diaphragm.
There are many different symptoms of ectopic pregnancy that are supposed to work as warning signs to make women get themselves checked out by a doctor.
