At what stage did you discover the pregnancy was not viable?
I went for a first ultrasound at 10w5d and we found no heartbeat with a baby measuring approximately 8wga.
Had you been spotting/cramping prior to that?
Yes. I had some very light spotting around 8wga, then again for a few days in a row around 10wga.
Did you still have any/all pregnancy symptoms?
Yes. Compared to my two full-term pregnancies, this first trimester was the hardest as far as nausea went. I didn't lose the nausea until 11wga.
Did you have a D&C immediately? What were your reasons (to help others trying to decide)?
I knew I wanted to avoid a D&C if at all possible. I knew the risks of cervical scarring, plus I wanted this to be an intimate experience, saying goodbye to our baby. I tend to be a person who is wary of unnecessary medical interventions in general (especially when it comes to birth), and so this was an easy decision for me. If it got to the point where I felt like it wasn't a good idea to wait anymore, I would have taken misoprostol rather than opting for the D&C first. Did you wait for a natural m/c? How long did you have to wait before bleeding began? What was the bleeding like? Like a period? Heavier? Was it obvious to you when you passed tissue? Was there any clotting? Was the amount of blood at any time frightening to you? If you tried to pass everything naturally, was it successful, or did you end up having a D&C anyway due to residual tissue, etc.?
Yes, I waited for a natural m/c. The wait time was 2 1/2 weeks - a long, hard wait, but very worth it in my mind. I bled off and on for the entire 2 1/2 weeks, mostly spotting at first, and then 6 days before the miscarriage I started consistently bleeding like a medium day of a period. 3 days before the miscarriage I started what I call "false starts": heavy cramping (similar to early labor contractions) with bleeding like a heavy period. A heating pad and lying flat on my belly helped during these times. Each of these false starts lasted a few hours, and each time I thought I was miscarrying (very discouraging to stop all activity knowing I hadn't passed the baby!).
I miscarried at 13wga. The actual miscarriage was, physically, a piece of cake. I had been very nervous about the level of pain I would experience, mostly based on other women's accounts of their miscarriages I had read online, but it wasn't even close to what I expected. I started having cramps around 5pm, but thought it was another one of my false starts, so I continued with my day, cooking dinner and taking care of my kids. At 6:20pm, I was doing dishes when I felt a gush of blood, so I went to the toilet and sat down. The blood was dripping steadily, kind of like when you open a faucet to a few drips per second. I wasn't cramping too badly, so I decided to wrap a chux pad around me like a diaper, told my husband to watch the kids, and I went back to doing the dishes. A few minutes later I felt something large come out of me, but I assumed it was a clot and kept doing dishes. After the dishes were done, I went into my bedroom and looked in the chux to find that the whole sac had come out in one piece. It was the size of an avocado. I had to break the water to get to the baby, and found him/her wholly intact, with 10 fingers we could count. It was so sad, but so beautiful at the same time.
I felt fine after that, only was bleeding about as heavy as I bleed after my births, so I went in to take a shower.
The amount of blood never scared me. I had small to medium-sized clots (no bigger than a golf ball) and bleeding like I have after my full-term births. I am a midwife, however, so seeing that amount of blood was not as dramatic to me as it might be for someone who has never experienced anything worse than their periods.
How long did you bleed total (for natural or d&c) including spotting before and after?
The miscarriage just happened 2 days ago, so we shall see...
How long until you physically felt yourself again?
I felt physically fine almost immediately afterwards (actually, I never felt physically "not fine" during the miscarriage).
At what stage did you discover the pregnancy was not viable? I found out at my 6 week appt the pregnancy wasn't viable. My HCG levels were lower than expected (170 at 16dpo, 665 at 21dpo and 1251 at 28dpo). It hadn't even double from 21-28dpo. The sac also measure too small (3.5mm at 5weeks and 5.5mm at 6 weeks. At 6 weeks it should have been about 10mm)
Had you been spotting/cramping prior to that? The day before my 6 week appointment I noticed pink CM on the toilet paper after going to the bathroom (it seemed that I only noticed it after a bowel movement, too). The day of my 6 week appointment, there was blood when I wiped away the ultrasound gel. No cramping prior.
My breasts were tender, but they weren't as tender as when I first got a BFP. Since they were still somewhat tender, I dismissed this (what's that expression....hindesight is 20/20? :) ) Did you have a D&C immediately? What were your reasons (to help others trying to decide)? I was given the option to have a D&E but was so upset about being told the pregnancy wouldn't be viable that I just needed time to process the info. I decided I wanted to wait a week before doing any procedure. I also asked if they would do another HCG draw. I needed to know the HCG levels were falling in order to confirm what the doctor was telling me. When the doctors office called later that morning with my HCG levels, I immediately knew it hadn't doubled in a week and indeed the pregnancy wasn't viable.
Did you wait for a natural m/c? I didn't have to wait long. My 6 week appointment was on a Wednesday and I started having brown spotting on Friday.
How long did you have to wait before bleeding began? Actual bleeding started 5 days after my 6 week appt.
What was the bleeding like?Since I wasn't far along in the pregnancy, the bleeding wasn't that heavy, so I'd say it wasn't too different than a period for me.
Was it obvious to you when you passed tissue? My cramping started on a Monday evening. Tuesday morning when I went to the bathroom, I did feel two things pass through me. As soon as I felt these 2 things pass, I immediately broke down crying. I guess I didn't think I'd feel anything pass through me. While it was very emotional, I did feel more myself after.
Was there any clotting? Was the amount of blood at any time frightening to you? If you tried to pass everything naturally, was it successful, or did you end up having a D&C anyway due to residual tissue, etc.? I don't think I had a lot of clots. Most of what did come out seemed more like red (for lack of better term) slime, but that was mostly immediately following the strong cramping. I'm guessing everything passed successfully as the ultrasound I had the day after I passed the two tissue/clots showed everything was out. I also had a negative pregnancy test a week after passing the tissue/clots. How long did you bleed total (for natural or d&c) including spotting before and after? Natural - spotted for 3 days, bled for 7 days (the last 2 days were really light) How long until you physically felt yourself again? After I felt the tissue/clot (not sure what it was, to be honest) pass, I felt more myself. After I passed that tissue, my cramps had seriously subsided. I still had cramping throughout the rest of the day, but not as strong. Once the bleeding stopped, I definitely felt more optimistic.
Me (34) DH (33)
TTC#1 starting July 2011
BFP Sept 28, 2011 - Oct 05, 2011
Finally properly diagnosed with Hashimotos Thyroiditis in Nov 2011. Working with an endo to get TSH under 1.2 preconception. TSH at 0.88 Jan 05, 2012
BFP Jan 18, 2012;
13dpo beta = 275
17dpo beta = 1915
19dpo beta = 4631
http://tcoyf.com/members/kellyshe/pccharts/default.aspx
This is such a great thread. I read so many of these posts over the last few days and it really helped me to deal with what was happening to me and what I was about to go through. Although nothing can fully prepare you, reading these stories definately helped. So here is mine...
At what stage did you discover the pregnancy was not viable? At 11 weeks I had some brown spotting. I went to the hospital where my doctor did an ultrasound. He saw a sac which only measured 6 weeks.
Had you been spotting/cramping prior to that? I had had no one single bit of spotting or cramping that would suggest that anything was wrong until I was 11 weeks.
Did you still have any/all pregnancy symptoms?Yes, although in hindsight I think they may have started to disappear a week or two earlier. I just thought that the morning sickness and fatigue were easing up as I was approaching the end of the first trimester.
Did you have a D&C immediately? What were your reasons (to help others trying to decide)? No because my doctor wasn't completely sure what was going on. My first HCG level was 18,000 which he said was quite high for a baby which had obviously died much earlier. So he said to wait and see what the next few days would bring. A D&C was his last option. I just went with what he said as I trust him wholeheartedly.
Did you wait for a natural m/c? I didn't actually 'wait' but it just began to kind of happen.
How long did you have to wait before bleeding began? The spotting began on the Tuesday morning. By that afternoon, I had brown bleeding everytime I wiped. It gradually increased to darker red and then bright red with lots of clots over the next two days. As I was cramping and bleeding a lot, my doctor did another ultrasound which showed I still had the sac so he sent me home with Cytotec which he explained would either help the baby to pass naturally or soften the cervix to make a more gentle D&C the next day if I was not to fully miscarry overnight.
What was the bleeding like? The bleeding got heavier as the days went on and increased in volume and thickness. Each time I went to the toilet I would have big thick bits pouring out of me (sorry is TMI). I never bled a huge amount into a pad (apart from when the cramping began after the Cytotec), just into the toilet each time I sat down.
Was it obvious to you when you passed tissue? Not completely obvious that that was tissue but there were a couple of times when I felt something fairly big just slide out of me. It was enough to make a splash in the toilet but it was impossible to see anything for all of the blood, not that I was very keen to look hard at it anyway.
My body kind of told me though anyway, that is was all over. I had fairly severe cramping for about 3 hours after taking the Cytotec and when the largest part came out of me, the cramping just all of a sudden disappeared. I knew then that it was over.
Was there any clotting? Was the amount of blood at any time frightening to you? If you tried to pass everything naturally, was it successful, or did you end up having a D&C anyway due to residual tissue, etc.? I was never frightened of the amount of blood, but the feeling of some of the larger clots passing through was pretty gross. I don't think I was in the right frame of mind to be scared of what was happening as I was cramping so bad from the Cytotec that I just wanted it to hurry up and be over.
The next day I went back to the hospital to have another ultrasound. If everything had passed naturally, I would be able to go home. If not, I would have a D&C that morning. Thank goodness it had all passed and nothing else needed to be done.
How long did you bleed total (for natural or d&c) including spotting before and after? I bled for a total of 7 days, beginning with spotting on the first day. Even after I had passed the tissue, I still had some very heavy clots for about 3 or 4 days afterwards. I had two massages on these days which I think helped to pass the clots much quicker.
How long until you physically felt yourself again? It was amazing how much better I suddenly felt (both physically and emotionally) once I had passed the tissue. I had had some very straining, tedious days before hand, not knowing and wondering what was going on with the baby as they couldn't comfirm that there was nothing there. I just desperately wanted it over with as I knew the signs were not good. As soon as that last bit came out of me and the pain subsided, I felt 80% better. It is now the emotional part that I will begin to deal with....
6+3 weeks , but I had horrible cramping on 5+6weeks and my guess is that the mc actually occurred on or around that day. My first HCG was 72 when at that point it should have been >15,000.
Not before that day on 5+6 weeks. I didn't actually start bleeding until 2-3 days later, the morning after DH and I DTD.Did you still have any/all pregnancy symptoms?
No. I didn't have any of my normal symptoms. I usually get all kinds of problems at 5 weeks and they just never got started. A little queasy and dizzy, but none of my normal food aversions, car sickness, fatigue, none of it. Yeah, that made me suspicious.Did you have a D&C immediately? What were your reasons (to help others trying to decide)?
No. Still waiting on last HCG. If it is 5 or below, I won't need a D&C.Did you wait for a natural m/c?
If the HCG is low enough, we will be able to presume this.
How long did you have to wait before bleeding began?
If the mc actually occurred on 5+6weeks, the bleeding on started 2 days later and only after sex. It does make me wonder how long it would have taken to bleed if we hadn't DTD.
What was the bleeding like? Like a period? Heavier?
Felt a gush and when I stood up, blood rushed down my legs. Bright red blood. Never brown. Never just spotting. Always enough to run down my leg. That was heavier than my period at that point, but it stopped after that. It started again at 6am so I went to the ER. For the rest of the day, it was fairly light and stopped/started. I never soaked an entire pad and I never used more than one pad per day. I don't feel like I had a large blood loss which seems somewhat unusual from all of the other stories I have read.
Was it obvious to you when you passed tissue?
YES. I would get fairly strong cramping and within a half hour of that, I'd pass clots. If I wasn't cramping, I wasn't passing clots.
Was there any clotting?
??? I presume I clotted or I would have bled constantly.
Was the amount of blood at any time frightening to you?
I have never bled in previous PGs so having any of the blood was worrisome. I knew something was wrong.
If you tried to pass everything naturally, was it successful, or did you end up having a D&C anyway due to residual tissue, etc.?
Won't know until the next HCG (11/1/11)How long did you bleed total (for natural or d&c) including spotting before and after?
Off and on for 3 days, presumably all after.How long until you physically felt yourself again?
The 4th day. All of the bleeding stopped and it felt like any other day. It was odd. Yesterday I was PG. Today I am not and I feel like I never was.Please also provide any information that you feel might be helpful to someone facing this for the first time.
I had a few people tell me that you just know when you are miscarrying. I'm not sure that I agree for me this time. Sure. The bleeding was scary evidence. The cramping was troublesome to ignore. But I was expecting something more dramatic and for me this wasn't. Nothing really crazy happened. It wasn't that I lost a ton of blood so I just knew the baby was gone. I was thinking while I was sitting in the Lab waiting room that it was more the fact that the bleeding didn't stop. It kept coming back. It would go away just long enough for me to think, ok maybe that's all and the baby is ok. And then it would start again. It was the fact that the bleeding would not go away for good that kept me worried. I never had severe cramping ( I took no pain relievers) and I didn't have a ton of blood. I can soak 2-3 pads on my heavy period days and I never soaked a single pad during this mc.
I haven't read any of the responses in this thread, but I'll bet mine is pretty unique in that way. I only mention that because it is awfully easy for me to think it was all a mistake. This has been a dream. It isn't real because I didn't experience anything remotely like what I have been told and have read about. But with a HCG of 12 on 6+3weeks, I am positive that I mc.
HTH...
First I would like to say I am sorry to anyone who has found the need to come to this thread. The information here helped me tremendously, I hope it can help you too.
At what stage did you discover the pregnancy was not viable? I had my first ultrasound at 7.5 weeks which showed the pregnancy to only be 5.5 weeks along. I had a follow-up ultrasound two weeks later which showed an empty sac, which was starting to become misshapen. Had you been spotting/cramping prior to that? I started brown spotting at 6 weeks, right after my first OB visit. I thought it was maybe caused by irritation from the exam. The brown spotting continued right up until my D&C, and it varied between a brownish mucus discharge, to brownish/red spotting or sometimes nothing at all for days. I had mild cramping the entire time along with the spotting. Did you still have any/all pregnancy symptoms? I had sore breasts up until about 8.5 weeks, and mild upset stomach, but it was never severe. Did you have a D&C immediately? What were your reasons (to help others trying to decide)? My doctor and I did not discuss any options until after my second ultrasound when we confirmed the pregnancy was not progressing. My doctor suggested a D&C or to wait for it to pass naturally. She did not recommend pills like Cytotec as she said about 20% of women experience such heavy bleeding they require a D&C anyway. We scheduled a D&C and I had hoped I would miscarry naturally before my appointment, but things never progressed beyond brown spottng and I was already about 5 weeks since the embryo had died, so I did not want to continue to wait, especially with the holidays approaching. I was initially set on miscarrying naturally (to avoid the minor risks associated with a D&C), but the weeks of waiting were starting to drain me emotionally. Did you wait for a natural m/c? How long did you have to wait before bleeding began? What was the bleeding like? Like a period? Heavier? Was it obvious to you when you passed tissue? Was there any clotting? Was the amount of blood at any time frightening to you? If you tried to pass everything naturally, was it successful, or did you end up having a D&C anyway due to residual tissue, etc.? I just had the D&C yesterday, and had some moderate bleeding in the hours right after the procedure but it has tapered off to very mild spotting and mild cramping. How long did you bleed total (for natural or d&c) including spotting before and after? See above. UPDATE: It's now four weeks since the D&C and I ended up bleeding like a normal period for a week, then it tapered off to a few days of spotting. I have had normal CM & EWCM in the weeks that followed, just as if the D&C date was like a regular period. How long until you physically felt yourself again? Physically I think I will feel like myself in a day or two. Mentally I am still on the road to recovery, day by day. The agony of waiting to confirm a non-viable pregnancy, then waiting to miscarry naturally was taking a heavy toll on me and the D&C has helped get over that, but it is still a process.
Hugs and prayers to you all and your angel babies...
At what stage did you discover the pregnancy was not viable? I lost all my symptoms and started spotting (pink/brown) at 5w + 4d. I assume the pregnancy ended just before then.
I didn't start cramping until a couple of days after the spotting started, when the spotting became bleeding.Did you still have any/all pregnancy symptoms? I lost all my symptoms and generally didn't 'feel pregnant' anymore, but the sore bbs came back, just not as strong.
I decided to let my body continue to do what it was doing. It was the best choice for me. It wasn't too bad since the pregnancy ended so early. I just didn't want something so invasive done if I could go through the process myself... I think it was important for healing mentally, to go through the process instead of having it 'taken care of' for me. Did you wait for a natural m/c? How long did you have to wait before bleeding began? What was the bleeding like? Like a period? Heavier? Was it obvious to you when you passed tissue? Was there any clotting? Was the amount of blood at any time frightening to you? If you tried to pass everything naturally, was it successful, or did you end up having a D&C anyway due to residual tissue, etc.?
I started spotting on Saturday and then it progressed to bleeding by Monday. After my ultrasound and appointment on Tuesday, the miscarriage was well underway. The bleeding progressed from pink or brown spotting, to darker red bleeding. The tissue I passed was kind of dark red and 'syrupy' with some clotting. After that was all passed, it was more like a period. The amount was never frightening to me. I knew what was happening... So far the bleeding has stopped. I'm just having some super light pink spotting now. It's only been 9 days since it began.How long did you bleed total (for natural or d&c) including spotting before and after? I'm spotting pink right now, but it's been 9 days. I assume the bleeding/spotting will be totally cleared up by tomorrow. So, 10 days.
How long until you physically felt yourself again? I spent three days worrying before I could get a doctor's appointment. Mentally I knew what was happening, but couldn't give up hope that maybe that little life was still hanging on. I felt most awful not knowing for sure. After my doctor's appointment and confirmation of the miscarriage, I felt much better. Now that the bleeding is nearly finished, I feel pretty much like myself. I don't think you're ever the same after a miscarriage. It's a sad, traumatic experience. I'm sure the memory of the life I held inside of me, no matter for how short a time, is something I will keep forever.
I've experienced two early miscarriages, both in the 5-6 week range. My experiences were rather similar both times, described here:
Dark brown spotting was the first sign, followed by period-like cramping and continued spotting for a few days.
Once the cramping became intense, I called the doctor for an appointment.
(During the second miscarriage, I also experienced intense bouts of dizziness.)
hcg betas came back low and falling. My boob swelling and tenderness was decreasing at this time as well.
I passed the tissues naturally. It was rather painful for a period of about 3-8 hours, with cramps coming in waves. I also had back pain.
The tissue all came in one piece the first time (about pinky sized), but in several pieces the second time. The color was different from a normal period--especially including pink/grey tissue.
I cried and cried.
I bled for about 4 more days afterward, like a normal-light period, for a total of about 10 days of spotting/bleeding each time.
I ovulated soon after with each one--around two to three weeks after passing the tissue. I felt physically like myself by then, and ready to conceive another one right away.
Hopefully the next bean is a sticky one!!
My thoughts and prayers are with all of you who are experiencing a miscarriage too.
The stories on this post have been invaluable to me over the past few days as I was experiencing my loss and deciding what to do. So I just wanted to thank everyone who posted and shared their stories.
Ultrasound at 10 wks 3 days showed no heartbeat and a baby measuring 9 wks 3 days. We had seen a strong heartbeat and on-track development at our 7w 5d ultrasound, so I felt good knowing the risk of miscarriage is greatly reduced after seeing the heartbeat. I was ready to announce my pregnancy after seeing the heartbeat, but interestingly enough, my husband had a bad feeling about this pregnancy from the beginning and requested that we not share the news until I completed the 1st trimester. Turns out his intuition was right.
Yes, I started experiencing a small amount of brown spotting right around the 9 week mark. It lasted on and off for a week. I was mildly concerned because I never had any spotting during my previous pregnancies, but since it was brown, I figured it wasn’t a big deal. On Friday (exactly 10 weeks), I noticed some pink tinged spotting. It progressed during the weekend, and by Sunday I was having red spotting. I called my midwife and she said I didn’t need to go to the ER unless I was having severe bleeding or pain. I went in for an exam Monday morning to see if there was any obvious cause for the bleeding (cervical polyps, infection, etc). The midwife couldn’t find anything, so she sent me for an ultrasound.
Yes, although my symptoms had been relatively mild during this pregnancy compared to my previous pregnancies. I was still having mild nausea and food aversions up until the day after I found out the baby had died. In retrospect, I realize that my breast tenderness had subsided around 9 weeks. In the early weeks, it did worry me that my nausea wasn’t as strong as with my previous pregnancies, but I knew that every pregnancy can be different, so I tried not to worry about it. But I guess maybe it was a sign that things weren’t going well. I still had a full feeling in my abdomen until the morning of my D&C when I realized that my belly was a little deflated.
Yes. When I found out that my baby had died, my first instinct was that I wanted to “get it over with” as soon as possible. Kind of unexpected because I normally lean toward “natural” when it comes to pregnancy/birth. I’ve always trusted my body to do what it needs to do and delivered both my children with no pain meds and as little medical intervention as possible. So, my gut instinct was to have a D&C, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was the right decision for me. My reasons: (1) Given the baby’s gestational age, I believed I was at increased risk for hemorrhaging, infection, or retained tissue if I tried to miscarry naturally. My midwife and doctor agreed with this assessment. Not that it was impossible, but that it would be harder and riskier than miscarrying earlier. (2) I was having mild bleeding, but no cramping, and I didn’t like the idea of sitting around waiting for it to happen. I have two children, so I was afraid of it happening when I was alone with the kids, scaring them or being unable to care for them. And putting an extra burden on my husband to work full time and also pick up the slack with the kids and housework for who knows how long. (3) I just didn’t want to deal with the pain. I have experienced natural childbirth, and it was amazing and empowering… but I got a baby at the end. With this, I didn’t see the point of going through all that pain and not even have the “reward” of a live baby.
In the end, I’m really happy with my decision to have a D&C. The only regret I have is that I would have liked to see the baby with my own eyes, maybe take a picture to remember, and bury the body. But I really feel that, for me, the pros of the D&C outweighed the cons.
Did you wait for a natural m/c? How long did you have to wait before bleeding began? What was the bleeding like? Like a period? Heavier? Was it obvious to you when you passed tissue? Was there any clotting? Was the amount of blood at any time frightening to you? If you tried to pass everything naturally, was it successful, or did you end up having a D&C anyway due to residual tissue, etc.?
See above.
Not sure yet. I just had my D&C yesterday. I am having minor bleeding (about like a light to medium period day, definitely not as heavy as my heaviest period day). I have had virtually no pain. A few mild cramps here and there, but nothing requiring pain meds.
I had my D&C at 9am yesterday, was home by noon, and pretty much felt fine by evening, just tired. Today, I feel really good, actually better than I have felt for awhile given that I had been experiencing fatigue and mild nausea for the past month. I felt energetic this morning and was able to get some housework done and play with my kids. Much better than the past week where I was pretty much just lying on the couch moping and snapping at the kids! Now, though, it’s catching up to me and I’m feeling pretty tired. But overall I’m feeling good considering I had surgery yesterday.
Emotionally, I’m kind of up and down. I’m trying not to dwell on it, but it’s always there in the back of my mind. I’ve been crying sporadically. I expect the emotional recovery will take longer than the physical. One thing that has kind of surprised me is how disorienting it is to find myself no longer pregnant. Obviously I’m mourning the loss of my baby, but it’s also hard to go from being pregnant one day, even if the baby had died, to being empty the next day. Being pregnant had become such an integral part of my identity over the past 2 months, it feels weird to not be pregnant anymore.
Other info
I thought I would also share the details of my D&C, in case it helps anyone. My procedure was performed at our hospital’s outpatient surgical center under general anesthesia. Since I was working with a midwife group, I didn’t have an OBGYN. So my midwife referred me to one who turned out to be really great, an older woman doctor with a very motherly manner. I met with her on Tuesday, and then she performed my surgery on Wednesday morning. When I arrived at the surgical center, I was taken by a nurse to change into a hospital gown, then sat with her to answer some questions. She then attempted to start an IV but wasn’t able to (that part was unpleasant). Then they brought my husband back and sat us in a small waiting area. The doctor came to talk to us, and then the anesthesiologist. Then a nurse came and got me and walked me to the operating room. At that point, I began crying, and she rubbed my back and tried to comfort me while we walked. We got to the OR and the doctor saw I was crying, so she came and helped me lie down on the table and held my hand and starting asking me questions about my other kids to distract me while the anesthesiologist started my IV. Within a minute, I was asleep. I woke up in recovery and immediately began crying. I didn’t feel groggy or uncomfortable as I had waking up from anesthesia after my one previous surgery. I just felt overwhelming sadness. Someone got my husband from the waiting room, and he was able to stay with me in recovery. The nurse offered me something to drink and sat me up in the bed. The doctor stopped by to check on me. Then the nurse brought my clothes, and I dressed and sat in a chair. They continued to monitor my pulse and blood pressure for awhile. Then they disconnected me from the IV and everything and said I was ready to go. They brought me a wheelchair, but I felt fine to walk. The nurse accompanied us to our car. Obviously I was there under terrible circumstances, but as far as surgeries go, it was a good experience. Everyone I encountered was friendly and treated me compassionately.
At what stage did you discover the pregnancy was not viable? 4w6d
Had you been spotting/cramping prior to that? Spotting the day before and woke up with cramps in the middle of the night
[edited to add] Did you still have any/all pregnancy symptoms? None, all sxs disappeared the day before the miscarriage
Did you have a D&C immediately? What were your reasons (to help others trying to decide)? No D&C necessary
Did you wait for a natural m/c? How long did you have to wait before bleeding began? What was the bleeding like? Like a period? Heavier? Was it obvious to you when you passed tissue? Was there any clotting? Was the amount of blood at any time frightening to you? If you tried to pass everything naturally, was it successful, or did you end up having a D&C anyway due to residual tissue, etc.? Began bleeding that morning, quite heavy and large clots (and tissue). Bled like that for 2 days, then like a period for 3 more days.
How long did you bleed total (for natural or d&c) including spotting before and after? Bled for 5 days, spotting for 2
2 days after the miscarriage, my body felt like it's old (pre-pregnant) self. My heart still hurts.
Seven months ago exactly I posted on this thread. And now I'm back. I hope my info helps others.
At what stage did you discover the pregnancy was not viable? My progesterone was low from the beginning and HCG didn't quite double the way it should have. But all in all, I was about 9 weeks (baby was appx 6 weeks) when it was offically determined it wasn't viable.
Had you been spotting/cramping prior to that? Some spotting as I had a small SCH.
Did you still have any/all pregnancy symptoms? Oh yes, despite having a pregnancy that wasn't confirmed to be viable, my HCG still rose to 40k and I was nauseous, tired, sore breasts, etc.
Did you have a D&C immediately? What were your reasons (to help others trying to decide)? No, my doctor wanted to avoid it. I don't care for the process at my hospital to have a D&C and wanted to avoid it. It would mean a longer process (to go natural, etc), which I was overall okay with.
Did you wait for a natural m/c? How long did you have to wait before bleeding began? What was the bleeding like? Like a period? Heavier? Was it obvious to you when you passed tissue? Was there any clotting? Was the amount of blood at any time frightening to you? If you tried to pass everything naturally, was it successful, or did you end up having a D&C anyway due to residual tissue, etc.? Oh my. This is where it gets ugly. I waited 2 weeks after stopping the Progesterone to see if I could miscarry naturally. I didn't. I then took Cytotec. It was pain-free but one of the most insane things I've done. My house looked like a crime scene - I am still shocked to remember the blood and all the clots (12 of them) the size of lemons. I must have lost a liver or lung or some other organ in there as there was so much...stuff! A week later, the tissue was stuck on top (?) of my cervix and I went to the ER and they pulled it out. Since then my HCG has drastically dropped and my lining has thinned out and things are returning to a non-pregnant state.
How long did you bleed total (for natural or d&c) including spotting before and after? After taking the Cytotec, I bled for about 10 days, then spotted for another 2 weeks.
How long until you physically felt yourself again? Probably after leaving the ER when they took out the tissue and knowing it was "done". I don't know if I will rebound as quickly as I did for the last one though. I was farther along and was more pregnant than the first miscarriage. One miscarriage is sad, a reality check, and a big deal. But two...it feels so different. It terrifies me about my 3rd pregnancy.
AT WHAT STAGE DID YOU DISCOVER THE PREGNANCY WAS NOT VIABLE:
At 6 weeks and 1 day at the ER I was told there was no heartbeat, and an empty sac. Blightened Ovum is what they called it as long as a Threatened Miscarriage
HAD YOU BEEN SPOTTING/CRAMPING PRIOR TO THAT:
Yes, I had light pink spotting when I wiped for a few days prior to my ER trip. I was concerned, but not too worried since everyone told me either they had spotting with their pregnancy or it was normal....
DID YOU STILL HAVE ANY/ALL PREGNANCY SYMPTOMS:
The only thing I can say I had from the time I got my bfp to the time of loss was very sore breasts. Something I never had as a PMS symptom.
DID YOU WAIT FOR A NATURAL M/C?
Yes
HOW LONG BEFORE BLEEDING BEGAN?
Friday night trip to ER, (then 3 days later) Monday night m/c.
WHAT WAS THE BLEEDING LIKE?
Super heavy long period. I am used to a 3 day light bleeding period, so this was very weird for me to have so much blood loss and drag out.
WAS IT OBVIOUS WHEN YOU PASSED THE TISSUE?
Yes.
WAS THERE ANY CLOTTING?
IF YOU TRIED TO PASS EVERYTHING NATURALLY, WAS IT SUCCESSFUL?
Yes. I didn't need a D&C
HOW LONG DID YOU BLEED?
2 full weeks. This is my story:
I started spotting a few days before my 6 week mark. I always had this pain on my right side ovary area. I wanted an early ultrasound cause I was worried about tubal. Everyone told me I was over reacting, but looking back, I knew something was wrong. I actually went to the ER Friday night when I started dripping red blood when I peed. They took my HcG levels and gave me an IV for the ultrasound. the ultrasound tech did the outer and inner ultrasound. No heartbeat, no baby in the sac. They sent me home. I actually went to the doctor on Monday and got more HcG testing as well. My OB explained everything to me that the ER should of explained 3 days prior. She even said our ER does a horrible job... I told her if the ER explained everything she just did I wouldn't of even needed to go to the OB that day. What she explained is what I will be expecting if I do miscarry. She said I do not have to go to the ER again unless I feel really sick or loosing alot of blood. She said it would be normal to fill a pad every 30 minutes. HcG levels were 4600 Friday night, my OB wanted to see 10000 as of Monday, but when I found out what they were, they only rose to 4900. We knew there was no baby then. Surprisingly, as soon as I got back to work from the OB, I started getting mild cramps at work at 5pm. I couldnt wait to get out of there at 6pm and just be in my own house. I just wanted to be in the bathroom on the toilet at work so I really couldnt wait to be at home. I stayed on the toilet from 6pm until the miscarriage happened at 730pm. I tried to lay in bed but it was so uncomfortable. I had these painful cramps and then I would have a gush of blood. then the cramps would stop...a few minutes later painful cramps then gush of blood.. It kept going like that for an hour. I was on the phone with my ma the whole time trying to get my mind off of the pain. I wanted a natural birth in 7 months time so I figure if I cant handle this pain, I will definatly never handle a natural labor. I was trying to almost punish myself and not take tylenol which i never had anyway. I was home alone. I texted my dh telling him it was happening and I was so glad he wasnt home to see this happening. The pain got intense and I told my mama i was gonna hang up. I didnt wanna scare her, I just said ok, i will call you back or talk to you tomorrow. i breathed through this pain, and a thick jelly clot slid out and I was in disbelief cause i knew this was the sac. I started crying and saying "oh my gosh....oh my gosh....this is the baby..." even though they said it was an empty sac at the ER, it is still a baby to me, i dont care what anyone says.... Then my cramps stopped being so intense. my dh walked in the door from work at that time. i told him it was over. i scooped the sac out of the toilet and put it in a paper cup. I layed in bed. what i remember after that was being so exhausted. like it was over, my body did what it had to do, then i was super tired. Then i took a tylenol to relieve cramps since it was over. my dh bought them for me since i texted him to bring some. i felt like i was allowed to take them now cause it was over. Plus, we have a 2nd job we go to at night, so i had to go to work about an hour after the miscarriage. I am not one to be a drama queen and drag it out...but instead just do what i had to do. I took work slow that night, but got through it.
HOW LONG UNTIL YOU PHYSICALLY FELT YOURSELF AGAIN?
I felt myself as soon as the night was over. Physically, the next day was a new day. Emotionally.....its been 4 weeks and I think about it everyday and I cry occasionally still. Sometimes I will have a breakdown when I am alone or with my dh.
ADDITIONAL INFO:
I believe I ovulated 2 weeks exactly after m/c and I got AF 2 weeks exactly after that...I always was on a 27 day cycle and I expected my af to show 27 days after m/c and it did. I am proud of my body for bouncing back so quickly and now emotionally I feel so glad to have af back and I can be "normal" again.
the OB said to wait 2 cycles....cycle 1 is just over now, so we will practice birth control methods during the next 3 weeks until af #2 gets here, then we will just continue to not use birth control as we did. We never set up days to bd during ovulation...i knew when my egg was there, but I would never tell dh cause he wants it to be surprise. it took 6 months bd like that until i got my bfp. So who knows how long it will take again. But we are just taking things one AF at a time. I figure when its meant to be, we will have a beautiful baby in our arms. I am sorry for all of the women that have to read this being they are wondering, or going through it, or can relate. It is one of the worst experiences of my life, and i am sure it is the worst of your life. I didnt expect my 1st pregnancy to be this way.
Thank you for starting this. I wish I had found it when I was going through my loss.
We went in to our 10 week appointment and couldn't find the heartbeat. I had no symptoms of mc whatsoever. At that point we went ahead and set up an appointment at the hospital for a d&c.Had you been spotting/cramping prior to that?
no[edited to add] Did you still have any/all pregnancy symptoms?
I had all of my pregnancy symptoms. I was still throwing up and and had food aversions for two weeks after my d&c.Did you have a D&C immediately? What were your reasons (to help others trying to decide)?
I had a d&c 3 days after we found out. I was comfortable with the d&c because I trusted my doctor with my life, and because at that point I was very ok with not seeing anything. Also, I have a history with hemorrhaging which made me want to go through my miscarriage at the hospital. I didn't want to hemorrhage on the toilet and bleed out right there. Also, for insurance purposes, it was cheaper to go to outpatient surgery than it was to go to the ER.Did you wait for a natural m/c? How long did you have to wait before bleeding began? What was the bleeding like? Like a period? Heavier? Was it obvious to you when you passed tissue? Was there any clotting? Was the amount of blood at any time frightening to you? If you tried to pass everything naturally, was it successful, or did you end up having a D&C anyway due to residual tissue, etc.?
N/AHow long did you bleed total (for natural or d&c) including spotting before and after?
I bled for 2 weeks after my d&c. Pretty heavy for the first week and it settled down after that. How long until you physically felt yourself again?
I started my period about 32 days after my d&c. I cried for at least a month. It's been 3 months now and I still breakdown now and then over it. I don't know that I feel 100% yet, but it does get better with time.
At what stage did you discover the pregnancy was not viable? Since I conceived via IUI, I was monitored very closely. At my second blood draw, we saw my HCG doubling, but my progesterone level was decreasing even while being on support since 4dpiui. My second u/s at 8w3d showed no heartbeat and the baby was only measuring 5w6d.
Had you been spotting/cramping prior to that? No, I hadn't spotted or cramped at all.
Did you still have any/all pregnancy symptoms? As that was another of my concerns (my total lack of pregnancy symptoms) I didn't have any during my entire pregnancy or once I realized we were going to m/c.
Did you have a D&C immediately? What were your reasons (to help others trying to decide)? No, my RE told me if it didn't happen naturally within two weeks, then we'd discuss D&C, but they preferred natural.
Did you wait for a natural m/c? How long did you have to wait before bleeding began? What was the bleeding like? Like a period? Heavier? Was it obvious to you when you passed tissue? Was there any clotting? Was the amount of blood at any time frightening to you? If you tried to pass everything naturally, was it successful, or did you end up having a D&C anyway due to residual tissue, etc.? Yes, we waited for natural. I began spotting brown 3 days after stopping my progesterone supplements (on a Thursday). I then started spotting bright red on Friday afternoon. Saturday I decided to do some heavy yard work, and by Saturday night/ early Sunday morning I was passing lots of large clots and having intense period like pain, but 1000X worse. I ended up passing out either from low blood pressure or from the amount of blood loss, but b/c of this my DH freaked out (and I honestly was freaking out to when I regained consciousness), and rushed me to the ER. On the drive there I honestly thought I was going to die. I was having what I can only assume was contractions, and I could not get comfortable. I was rolling around in the back seat praying for some release from the pain. It was as we were about 5 minutes from the hospital that I felt like I had passed a huge clot after a very intense amount of cramping. I honestly didn't pay attention to the amount of blood, so it wasn't the amount that was frightening, it was more my very low blood pressure (when I arrived at the ER it was 72 over something!). Once in the triage unit, they examined me to determine that I had passed everything all at once in the car ride to the hospital, and a follow up u/s with my RE confirmed that a few days later.
How long did you bleed total (for natural or d&c) including spotting before and after? I started spotting brown on a Thursday, and I didn't stop bleeding until the second Sunday after that. So a total of 10 days.
How long until you physically felt yourself again? I felt okay physically the Sunday I came home from the ER. Still some cramping, but nothing compared to the night before. I stayed home Monday from work as advised by the Dr. and went back on Tuesday. Tuesday after work I had some pretty harsh cramping that I had to take pain meds for, and had to lay in bed with a heating pad all night. That really seemed to help... Emotionally, still coming to terms with everything, and that may take awhile still. Just trying to take it day to day.
For my first miscarriage, I discovered at 10w5d at an ultrasound. The second one, 10w3d
First one, yes, for a week I was barely spotting and then bright red blood Saturday night. Monday morning I saw my doctor and had the u/s that day. By then I was having intense cramping.
The second one, that I just confirmed 2 days ago, I had no spotting until Saturday night and then went right away to the ER because I didn't want to wait for a week worrying and hoping.
[edited to add] Did you still have any/all pregnancy symptoms?
First one, yes I had nausea until I actually passed the baby. Second one, I was taking 1000 mg progesterone so it was hard to sort out what was a pregnancy symptom and what the supplement was but I notice in the ER I had no nausea.
I
No, I wanted to see if I'd have the baby on my own and with the first, by the time we confirmed I really felt like my body was moving in the direction of having him since I was in so much pain. This time I'm waiting it out as long as it doesn't drive me too crazy and this doctor really doesn't push for D and C. ETA: I had the baby naturally at home 6 days after the u/s revealed she had already died. Almost 3 weeks after she died.
Yes, first time bleeding began before we confirmed baby died and it kept increasing. Heavy the day of and that evening I passed my baby it was very heavy, many clots. The day after I had even heavier bleeding for 2-3 hrs and it was scary. I called my doctor and about an hour later it slowed down but she was close to sending me to the ER. I did pass everything naturally, held my baby, saw his little toes and eyes and everything and we took his body to the funeral home the next day.
Second time, I still am waiting to start bleeding. ETA : Saturday was our u/s, Thursday night began bleeding, bled Friday all day with small clots and it kept building. Friday late night I passed the baby into a container and yes it was obviously a baby. I kept her to bury her and she has little eyes, arms, legs, and a nose. I bled very heavily the next 4 hrs and in intense pain. Today not very much bleeding so I believe everything is out.
About 10 days of heavy bleeding after, total, with spotting about 35 days.
I took a sleeping prescription drug for a month because I couldn't sleep (this time too, just got my script) and it was well over a month before I felt physically OK. Emotionally I feel like I didn't fully heal from the first one and now 4 mos later have had my second one. I'm a mess right now.
Thanks for starting this thread! It helped me so much when I discovered my pregnancy wasn't viable. I had lots of good places to start thinking about what was best for DH and me. I'm so sorry if you are reading this thread because you are miscarrying or have just miscarried. It is a truly heartbreaking experience.
I went in for my first appointment at 7w1d (7w4d since LMP). My dr's office always does a viability ultrasound on the first prenatal visit. DH and I were so excited to see a heartbeat, but there was nothing in the sac and I was only measuring 5w6d. The NP told us it might just be an issue with the dating and but if not, then we had some cause to be concerned that it was not a viable pregnancy. She told us not to panic yet. It could still be viable, but we needed to prepare ourselves if it wasn't. We went back to the office a few days later to get checked again, and there was some growth in the size of the sac but still no fetal pole or heartbeat. I got a series of beta draws that showed my HCG slowly rising over the course of a week. We had another ultrasound in the 8th week that showed a sac measuring 6w3d but still nothing inside it. At that point, we really started coming to terms with the fact that it was not a viable pregnancy. We saw one of the OBs, who raised some concerns about ectopic pregnancy since my HCG was still rising but the sac wasn't developing. He said that in some ectopic pregnancies, a "pseudo sac" can develop in the uterus, so when you do an u/s, you'll see something that looks like a gestational sac when the pregnancy is really developing outside of the uterus. We decided to wait another week to see if my body began to miscarry naturally before deciding about a medical intervention. I had another beta draw that showed a drop in HCG, signifying the beginning of a miscarriage, but then had a spike in HCG two days later, to the highest level yet which made the doctor concerned again about possible ectopic pregnancy. We had another u/s on Wednesday of this week and saw that the sac was only 6w1d with no fetal pole or heartbeat. That confirmed to DH and I that this pg was really over and that we should listen to our dr's advice to intervene medically.
Not at all. I had some pinches and pulls in my uterus area starting in my 4th week, but no spotting and no cramping that was particularly painful or intense. I did have two pretty intense cramps about a week before my D&C but those didn't turn into anything--no bleeding, spotting, or further cramps happened.
I had mild pregnancy symptoms from the beginning--sore, swollen boobs, gas, fatigue, some bouts of nausea (though nothing very strong), just a general feeling of "yuckiness" until about 8 weeks. My symptoms started disappearing, though I still had occasional bouts of fatigue and/or nausea. As my symptoms started disappearing, I came to terms more with the fact that I was losing this pregnancy.
I didn't have a D&C immediately. I waited almost three weeks from the time we first learned it might not be viable until when we scheduled the D&C. I wanted to see if my body would miscarry on its own. However, the doctor remained concerned that this pregnancy could be ectopic, so by the 9th week, he was recommending we intervene, either with drugs or D&C. By that point, I was so exhausted by the grief of carrying around an unviable pregnancy that I was ready to intervene as well. My mental and emotional state were deteriorating very quickly and I had NO SIGNS of miscarrying. If I had been cramping or bleeding, I would have waited to try to miscarry on my own. But I did not think I could make it another 2 - 3 weeks or however long it would take my body to miscarry on its own. The anxiety around it was too high for me to be able to function well.
The doctor used laminaria to dilate my cervix. Basically, it's a piece of seaweed about the size of a match stick that gets inserted into the cervix 18 - 24 hours before the procedure. The seaweed slowly expands as it gathers moisture from the body, so it gently dilates the cervix overnight rather than doing it manually in the course of 5 - 10 minutes during the actual procedure. I liked this idea because my doctor said it would lessen the chances of cervical bruising. The laminaria was not too bad. I was a little uncomfortable, but I couldn't really feel it. The dilation process did increase my cramping, but it mostly just felt like a dull, pre-period aching in my abdomen, legs, and hips. I did have some cervical cramps while the laminaria was in, and sometimes those got pretty uncomfortable, but nothing very bad at all. I was able to work, I just took it a little easier than normal because I didn't feel great.
The D&C process was quite smooth for me. The doctor and nurses made sure I as comfortable as possible. The actual procedure took less than 30 minutes. I was at the hospital for about 2.5 hours total, including time to check in, talk to the dr and anesthesiologist, and get the IV put in and then wake up again after the procedure, etc. Honestly, the hardest part of the D&C was the emotional part for me. I was obviously quite sad that the pregnancy was over and the D&C made it feel so final. Which is part of what I wanted so I could begin the healing process, but it also just broke my heart. It definitely didn't help that the anesthesiologist was super cute with a big pregnant belly. Every time she came in, it just reminded me of what I was losing, which was hard. After she left, I cried a bit, but DH was really sweet and made me feel a little better.
I had no bleeding, spotting, or cramping. I did have two pretty intense cramps about a week before my D&C, but they didn't turn into anything.
I just had my D&C yesterday, so I won't know for sure how long I will bleed. I had a pretty good flow of blood right after the procedure, but that slowed down by the end of the day. I haven't filled a pad yet--just changed them for sanitary reasons. I would compare it to bleeding from a moderate- to-light period. The nurses said I should expect to bleed for about a week.
My D&C was yesterday morning and I am already feeling more like myself, physically. Obviously the emotional healing will take longer. I had some pretty bad cramping and aches for a few hours after the D&C, but my dr gave me prescription-strength motrin and methylergonovine to help with the pain and to regulate bleeding. Both of those helped and I was feeling much better by early evening yesterday. Pretty groggy still from the anesthesia, but not too bad. I've been more active today than yesterday, but still taking it easy so my body can heal. I am also in a better emotional place than I was leading up to the D&C. I feel more like myself. I am still sad, of course, and know it will take time for that to heal, but my spirit feels more like "me" than it has in about three weeks, which is a relief.
Me: 32 DH: 32
TTC #1 since February 2011, off BCP since September 2008.
BFP 3/11/12!! - @ nearly 10 weeks
BFP 10/22/12 - @ 4.5 weeks
My chart: http://tcoyf.com/members/DramaMama12/charts/default.aspx
I tested positive on 4/11 when I was either 11 or 10dpo, and tested positive for the next 4 days. I went to the doctor the following week at 4w2d and confirmed the pregnancy then. I was having cramps - some sharp and almost exclusively on my right side - so my doctor wanted to do blood tests to confirm that it wasn't ectopic. Two days later I found out that my hcg levels were actually dropping (161 to 135 and later to 54). I was 4w7d when it was official.
No spotting at all, but I had been cramping pretty consistently. Some of it felt like pressure that is normal with pregnancy (lower and more centralized), but I also had a lot of sharp cramping on my right side which made me really nervous.Did you still have any/all pregnancy symptoms?
Absolutely. Up to the time I had my final blood draw (hcg 54) and for a couple more days afterwards, I was having increased appetite and cravings, my BBs were noticeably larger/fuller and incredibly sore, I was urinating frequently... That was the worst part. Feeling pregnant and knowing that my body was preparing itself for something that was never going to happen. Did you have a D&C immediately? What were your reasons (to help others trying to decide)?
I did not need to have a D&C as I miscarried naturally and my doctor didn't even bring it up because I was so early on in the pregnancy. She told me it could take weeks to happen, but that it would probably feel a lot like a normal period. I think that if I was further along I might have done a D&C because mentally and emotionally it was really difficult to be pregnant knowing it would not go to term.Did you wait for a natural m/c? How long did you have to wait before bleeding began? What was the bleeding like? Like a period? Heavier? Was it obvious to you when you passed tissue? Was there any clotting? Was the amount of blood at any time frightening to you? If you tried to pass everything naturally, was it successful, or did you end up having a D&C anyway due to residual tissue, etc.?
I started miscarrying at 5w3d, so thankfully I did not have to wait very long. The bleeding was not like a period. It was much heavier, thicker, and very clotty. The amount of blood wasn't scary, but the thickness of it made it all more real and upsetting. How long did you bleed total (for natural or d&c) including spotting before and after?
I bled for about 3 days (day 2 was by far the heaviest, and with the most painful cramping) and then spotted for about 3 days. There is still a little residual spotting (I'm on day 8 now)How long until you physically felt yourself again?
Physically I felt pretty normal. The cramping and pregnancy symptoms made it difficult, but they don't compare to the emotional difficulty at all. I would say that by the time I started miscarrying most of the pregnancy symptoms were gone. Now I feel "normal" physically. Emotionally, I am doing better than I expected. We have been TTC #1 for 14 months and this was our first BFP. My mom has stage 4 cancer so the worst part of all of this is not being able to surprise her on Mother's Day by telling her she will finally be a grandma. Every time I think about that, I cry. But I am thankful to know we can actually get pregnant. I am thankful it happened naturally and quickly. I am thankful that we found out early and that my doctor did blood draws. It is not easy, but I know that my experience has been much less difficult than some others here and I feel for everyone who has reason to post here. We are ready and eager to start trying again - I just hope my horribly inconsistent cycles start normalizing so that we actually have the opportunity to try every month.
My husband and friends scolded me for reading all of these posts (yes, every single one), but I wanted to know what to expect and wanted to feel like someone knew what I was going through. These posts were extremely helpful to me and I thank you all for sharing your experiences and your feelings.
Me: 32, DH: 32. Married since July 2009. Off BCP and TTC #1 since Feb 2011. Charting since 7/2011. Abnormal PCOS.
BFP 4/7/12! Due 12/18/12 m/c @ 5w3d
5/2012: Started acupuncture and herbs. Diagnosed with PCOS. MRI confirmed no right ovary.
6/2012: Started Synthroid. TSH down from 3.34 to 1.57. Prolactin down from 32.19 to 11.66 to 7.73.
8/2012: Pooled progesterone: 5.34. Taking prometrium supps 100mg 2x/day starting 3 days after pos OPK.
9/2012: IUI #1 = BFN. (Letrozole 5.0mg, u/s monitoring, OPKs). Started Yoga for Fertility. Initially on 2.5mg of Letrozole, but after no results, up to 5.0mg in the same cycle.
10/2012: IUI #2 = BFN (Letrozole 5.0mg, u/s monitoring, hcg trigger). Started Mayan Abdominal Massage.
11/2012: Letrozole 5.0mg + timed intercourse = SURPRISE BFP 12/2/12 @12dpo. Due 8/13/13. Praying for baby to stick!!!
Posey - I think one of the things that can make miscarriage so scary is not knowing what to expect. I found my 2nd miscarriage to be just as devastating but the physical parts were not as scary since I knew what my previous one was like (and they were both at the same age and were very similar in amount of bleeding and pain and size of baby). I'm sorry for your loss and take time to heal physically and emotionally.
Posey - So sorry for your loss, I definitely understand your crying when you think of Mother's Day. I hope next mother's day is much happier! Also, I read pretty much this whole long thread after my miscarriage as well. It definitely helped me and I'm glad you found some comfort here too. There are many ladies here who know what you're feeling right now - feel free to reach out if you need, if you're not getting support offline. Not to say anything against your husband/friends, but it's hard for people who haven't been through the experience to relate. Just want to let you know, we're here.
After seeing at heartbeat on the ultrasound at 7 weeks, I was feeling more positive about this pregnancy despite the continual spotting I had had since 6 weeks. At 10 weeks I went back for a follow up ultrasound and saw a perfect looking baby on the screen but it had no heartbeat.
I began spotting light brown from about 6 weeks. It was never heavy and usually only on the toilet paper when I wiped. Occasionally, like if I'd had a busy day, there would be a little bit in my panty liner but there was never enough to even consider wearing a pad. I had had some slight cramps every now and again too but nothing terrible, just something that made me think that perhaps it was just round ligament pain or something as it was light a pulling pain.
I never had particularly bad pregnancy symptoms but I never really do, even with my DS's pregnancy. I had sore boobs off and on and the only day I had morning sickness was the day I found out there was no heartbeat.
Since this was my fourth miscarriage, there was no waiting around. I found out on the Monday that there was no heartbeat. I had a second ultrasound on Tuesday morning, just to be sure and then I was booked into hospital on the Tuesday night. This isn't a usual occurence but since my doctor likes to give Cytotec prior to a D&C to soften the cervix, I was admitted to hopsital the night before the procedure as I'd had severe pain and bleeding taking this with a previous miscarriage. He said I was better to go to hopsital where they could give me pain relief if required and if the bleeding got too bad, I was happy to be called in for the D&C overnight.
After taking the Cytotec on the Tuesday night, I had a little bit of brown-dark red bleeding but nothing much at all which was different to the other times I have miscarried and been given this to take which just shows that each miscarriage is different.
I lost a lot of blood during the D&C (Something like 800mls) which is apparently unusual. Dr had told me that it was too dangerous to keep suctioning because of the blood loss but he was confident that they had got all of the tissue. The nurse had told me before the D&C that I could expect a little bit of bleeding after the procedure but not a lot, but I bled and bled and bled. I ended up having to stay another night is hospital hooked up to an IV so they could monitor my bleeding. I never really bled a heap in the pad but everytime I went to the toilet, I would all just come out in a huge gush. It was foul. I had a follow up ultrasound the next morning which showed that there were still some big clots and bleeding to come. I was given Iron tablets, more Cytotec (to keep my uterus contracting) and Tranexamic Acid (to help stop the bleeding) but I just kept on bleeding. A few days after the D&C, it was discovered that the results had come back as showing I'd had a partial molar pregnancy which explains all the bleeding. It's 12 days since the D&C and I'm still bleeding now so I have no idea when it will stop.
As this was my fourth miscarriage in 8 months, I am struggling to deal with not only another loss but also the complications of a molar pregnancy. I definitely felt physically better after the D&C but I've been very emotional ever since. There's been tears every day and it only takes one little thing to set me off. I'm hating life right now.
Me (30) DH (33)PCOS (Metformin 850mgx2 daily)
born October 2010 (Pre-eclampsia and bed rest from 34 weeks, DS born 38 weeks) @ 11 weeks 28th October 2011 (ultrasound showed size to be only 6 weeks) @ 4 weeks 5 days 26th January 2012 @ 4 weeks 4 days 11th March 2012 @ 10 weeks 30th May 2012 D&C 'Partial Molar Pregnancy' (ultrasound showed size to be 8.5 weeks) nervously expecting number 2 in May 2013My Chart
bellebelle - i am so sorry for your loss - and for your multiple previous losses. i had my first miscarriage in february and with the depth of grief i felt with one, i can't imagine the grief from a fourth. thank you for being willing to share you story - i pray that you will find some comfort as the days pass and that you'll have a successful pregnancy soon ~