No heartbeat today ... and now I have to decide how to expell contents of uterus

[Anonymous]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

[Anonymous]

I am so sorry OP. I was in your situation many years ago. No heartbeat at 8 weeks. I opted for the scheduled D&C. I would not have been able to just wait for it to happen naturally. Peace.

[Anonymous]

OP here ... ugghhh ... a new wrinkle. I called to schedule the D&C but now it's too late in the day and my doc is gone. The time she had indicated would work for her on Tuesday afternoon is not feasible - rooms are booked. Now it looks like I will have to wait until Monday before I know when they can schedule me next week. So now do I get the prescriotion filled and start it today? I hate the not knowing. They could not schedule me with another doc without my doc being involved so that was not an option today either.

[Anonymous]

OP, I am sorry for your loss.

I had a missed miscarriage at 9 weeks and was pushed toward a D&C by my RE. I was reluctant to incur the risk of uterine scarring, because I had encountered several women who were having trouble conceiving due to that issue and had done research which indicated that scarring from D&Cs is more common than most doctors believe and quote.

I ultimately took the cytotec vaginally at about 10 weeks, along with an anti-nausea drug and a painkiller. It was unpleasant for a few hours, but I'm glad I went that route. I was able to "catch" the gestational sac when my body expelled it. Actually put it in a container, stored it in my fridge for a day (yup, very gross), and brought it back to my MD for genetic testing that confirmed a chromosomal error.

I would absolutely do the same thing again for a loss before 10 weeks, because it allowed me to control the timing while avoiding surgical risk. The latter enabled me to confidently try to conceive again a couple of months later without worrying that I might have just added uterine issues to my old eggs issues. There was also something kind of peaceful and empowering about passing the embryo vaginally rather than getting knocked out in a hospital and having to walk out of there a few hours later with an empty uterus. I'm too weak-willed for natural childbirth and didn't opt for cytotec due for emotional or philosophical reasons, but in hindsight, I think the process itself was therapeutic in terms of helping me let go of the pregnancy emotionally.

That said, the cytotec was incredibly painful for about 45 minutes even with pain meds. I'm talking about the kind of pain where all the sounds in the room start to drop away. It was probably not worse than intense labor pain though. Also, most women who opt for a D&C have no problems and wouldn't do it any other way. It's good to have choices.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for sharing this. I'm glad you are at peace with your decision. I hope I will get there too.

Is nausea a common side effect of the meds? My OB did not mention this and told me to take ibuprophen for pain. Someone else mentioned vicodin. I do not have a high tolerance for pain and can't take narcotics because they usually make me sick to my stomach. Anti-nausea drugs are tough for me too. They do take away the nausea but put me to sleep in a big way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have no advise. Just wanted to say that I am truly sorry for your loss.

+1

[Anonymous]

OP, this is 16:01. Do you think you would be able to take tylenol 3? It may at least be good to have it on hand if you go the cyotec route. I didn't have much pain but I think you may want to have access to something stronger than Advil.

[Anonymous]

I recently lost a baby, too. The embryo did not grow from one week to the next, as shown in ultrasounds performed at my RE's office. I went to see the OB/GYN because of spotting, and I opted for a D&C that afternoon when the absence of a heartbeat was confirmed.

Because we were not able to schedule the D&C in advance, I had to get by on a minimal amount of medication for pain: 10 mg of valium and a Motrin for me, plus lidocaine for my cervix. I got through the procedure just fine. While it was going on, the doctor and I talked about whether I should undertake another round of IVF.

For me, the D&C was the best decision. Good luck with your decision, OP. There is no right or wrong, except what is right or wrong for you.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes the internet is good and sometimes not so much. I was searching to find out how painful a miscarriage is and found a site that talks about so much pain that I don't think I can take the meds this weekend. http://babyandbump.momtastic.com/miscarriage-support/317291-painful-your-miscarriage.html My cervix was fully closed today so sounds even more painful. I guess it is different for everyone, but wonder how long it will take for my body to begin the process -- will I make it to next week for the D&C?

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry OP.

When I was in this position, I chose option 1. It took until 10.5 weeks for the process to start, and everything happened in one night. I was pretty exhausted the next day. If I had two kids to take care of in addition to miscarrying, I'd probably just schedule the D&C for convenience.

My thoughts are with you.

[Anonymous]

Sorry for your loss. I had a miscarriage at 8 weeks and opted for the Cytotec because I was concerned about the uterine lining. It was my first pregnancy.
I thought the Cytotec worked fine, yes there's some pain, and you do see a whole lot of blood but since you've been through childbirth before that shouldn't be an issue. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no advise. Just wanted to say that I am truly sorry for your loss.

+1

+2

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm so sorry for your loss...a m/c is painful and difficult under any circumstances, so don't discount your pain.

I want to reiterate PP regarding possible uterine scarring (i.e. Asherman's). The risk is actually pretty high ~30%, and it is no longer believed to be the result of improper technique (i.e. scraping too hard). It's just something that happens to some women. If you want to try again soon, the risk of scarring may be a consideraiton.

That said, I opted for D&C, and emotionally I think it was easiest...though unfortunately I did develop Asherman's which took a long time to diagnose causing a lot of stress in the interim. In my case, however, I continued to have bleeding post-D&C for several weeks.

[Anonymous]

I am so so sorry for your loss. I miscarried my surprise miracle baby several months ago and still mourn him.

[Anonymous]

I am so sorry, OP. I went through this in November (have two healthy kids already) when I went in for my 12 week sonogram. The heartbeat had stopped around six weeks... I wasn't comfortable with the D&C and went the Cytotec route. Honestly, it just felt like bad cramps but there was a lot of blood. When I was going through it I had thoughts of "I wish I had just done the D&C"... but now that it's over, I'm glad I went that route. The risks were too high for me personally with the D&C as we may have more children (this had been a surprise).