Second ectopic? Or just "late"?

[porcelina]

I am having a really hard time figuring what is going on with my body. I am not currently temping because i am nursing and cosleeping, but I have been charting cm for the last 6 months. I have a history of 2 m/c, 1 ectopic, and 2 wonderful healthy pregnancies, in that order. The last 5 months, my periods have been 25, 25, 25, 27, and 26 days. In all the time I have charted (when ttcing or getting ready to), my longest normal cycle has been 30 days. Today is cd 29 (cd 30 only half an hour away) and my last fertile cm was on cd 13. I usually ovulate around cd 12-13, though it has been cd 15 before in the past. Not sure if relevant, but we had a cutoff plan for dtd, and so last time was cd10.

So, bfn on what is conservatively dpo 16 (today, Walgreens generic test), and on dpo 14 ($ test). It seems really weird that there is absolutely no sign of AF, but no symptoms of pregnancy either. Given that I have a history of ectopic, I am starting to wonder. When I had the ectopic, I got Bfp on cd 30 (didn't test earlier, ovulated cd15). I felt completely fine, no pain, no symptoms of ectopic (not a lot of pregnancy symptoms, though didn't really know pregnancy symptoms at the time). I insisted on an early u/s (after being turned away by my OB because they "could not fit me in", I called every provider on my list until I found someone who would do an early scan), because of my previous early losses. At 6 weeks, there was a heartbeat, but it was in the fallopian tube. Went in for emergency surgery a few hours later.

So, I am really trying to be laid back about this whole thing, and not alarmist, but it is just so weird! I am quite regular, have never missed a period, usually have short cycles, and am pretty sure I ovulated early (as usual) this cycle. So, when do I start to really worry and call the doc, as opposed to just alarming myself for no reason? I don't have any pain, nor do I have any period cramping. Maybe a weird sensation here or there, but nothing I could pinpoint, call a pregnancy symptom, or an AF symptom. Wait a couple of days? Call before the weekend? Test again?

[etsdtm99]

I would wait a few more days and keep testing daily, mainly because as far as i know (and someone correct me if i'm wrong) they can't diagnose an ectopic pregnancy at 4 weeks anyway..   plus there are other things that could be going on.. you could have not ovulated (it happens, though i understand not often for some people), you could be pregnant and everything could be fine or you could have slow rising hcg levels for a reason other than ectopic pregnancy..  you could always head to the ER when/if you get a positive test if your doctor isn't available..
 

[porcelina]

Thanks for your response! It's good to get feedback from someone! Yes, you're certainly right that they would not be able to diagnose anything this early, so there is probably no need for concern at this point even if it was an ectopic. I am really pretty sure that I am simply not pregnant, given the absence of any other signs, but who knows. I guess my thought was that if I wanted to try to get an early scan, it might be hard to schedule one and I'd need time in advance for that. But, I'm probably way ahead of myself. I guess I'll keep testing every couple of days until AF shows.

[drmsg]

It is definitely in your advantage to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy early so you will be a candidate for medical management rather than surgery. If you get a positive urine pregnancy test you will want a doctor to start following quantitative HCG levels, they should double every 72 hours minimum in early pregnancy. Nothing can be seen on ultrasound until the quant HCG is at last 1,500, but a lot can be told from the rate of rise of the hormone level. Sounds you like you are fine for now but your are right to keep a close watch.

Here is a good resource for Ectopic Pregnancy

[porcelina]

Thanks for the link, drmsg! I will take a look and follow that as we go through our TTC journey.

Just to update, in case anyone else is searching through such threads like I was, AF did arrive the day after I wrote this, in the afternoon, at what must have been 17DPO. Just a fluke!