Schedule D&C or wait to miscarry?

[Anonymous]

I should be 7-8 weeks along. Two weeks ago, I had non-rising beta levels. One week ago, I had an ultrasound that showed a 5 week 2 day embryo with a heartbeat. Today, on recheck ultrasound, no heartbeat. I have been bleeding lightly for one week. I am not crampy at all. Do I wait for the m/c to happen on its own, or schedule a D&C?

I really just want this roller coaster to be over with. On July 15 I had m/c but it was at 5.5 weeks as a result of a chemical pregnancy. I work for myself, and I'm out seeing appointments all day. I can't afford to call all my clients on a given day because I'm in too much pain bc of a miscarriage. If I schedule a D&C, I can plan to take the day off.

I am having trouble making this decision. For those who have had a D&C or a natural m/c at 7-8 weeks, what is 'better'? I am devastated and don't know what to do.

[Anonymous]

Sorry for your loss. I'd have the D&C so you can plan better and have time to recover. Maybe schedule it on a Friday, so you have the weekend?

[Anonymous]

Oh no....so very sorry for your loss A few years ago I started out with a very normal pregnancy. At a routine ob appt at 10 weeks we were told that there was no heartbeat..we were crushed. The cause was unclear, but I was having no symptoms at all and the pregnancy remained in place. I was given the option of waiting to miscarry or scheduling a d/c several days later. I decided to schedule the d/c as i figured that having some predictability and organization to the process would be less traumatic and upsetting. Well, 2 days before I was to go to the hospital, I heard a weird pop..didn't thing much of it and went on about my day. Several hours later I started spotting and called my ob. He told me to come into the office and while sitting there I felt like I had wet myself so I went to the bathroom to find i was bleeding profusely. I got up to walk to the back area and fell to the floor because I had lost so much blood. The team there did what they could to stabilize me, but I ended up being rushed to the hospital to have an emergency d/c and blood transfusion. This was one of the worst experiences of my life. Having to face the grief of losing my baby was bad enough, but the health crisis that followed was just as bad. I'm so glad that I went into my doctors office and there were folks there to assist, had I been home when the bleeding started I don't know if I would have been able to call for help. Good luck...and again, I'm so very sorry for your loss.

[Anonymous]

I would miscarry, but I'm only saying that because I'm picturing a D&C being like an abortion (and I've had an abortion). I would think the D&C would be more painful than the miscarriage, which I'm guessing would be more like a heavy period. Plus, you just never know - you could get lucky maybe and everything is fine (small chance, but medicine is not an exact science).

[Anonymous]

Schedule the D&C. I've had eight miscarriages. One, also at 6-8 weeks, that I did without interventions took almost 6 months before my betas went below 5. And yes, I was bleeding and cramping the whole time. That was super fun.

The D&C is quick and they put you under so it is not painful. I have always found them very easy to recover from. It's usually a day or two and I'm back on my feet. Plus, you can get back to TTC much sooner, if that is important to you, and you don't have to endure pregnancy symptoms for weeks (mine continue until my betas are below 5) or feel like you are walking around with this tragedy inside you, which in my opinion, is the worst part of it.

00:53, you may want to consider limiting your comments to things you actually know about. The kind of misinformation you are spewing is mean, inaccurate, and damaging.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I am bleeding pretty heavily this morning, with big clots and I'm starting to get crampy. I guess it's happening on its own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I am bleeding pretty heavily this morning, with big clots and I'm starting to get crampy. I guess it's happening on its own.

PP here (6:51), I'm so sorry. Have you called your doctor? They'll want to monitor you to make sure your betas start going down and all the tissue is expelled. They can also give you something for the pain. Hot water bottle and a day on the couch with your favorite movies and treats.

[Anonymous]

Hang in there, call your doctor. Schedue d &c ASAP. Why put yourself through the additional pain, un certainty.... Good luck.

[Anonymous]

So sorry you are going through this, OP. It sounds like you might be miscarrying on your own, but I'll give my input anyway.

I had a loss in late May -- I was nearly 8 weeks, but the embryo was around 6 weeks. I chose to have a D&C, and I am so glad that I did. It was nearly painless, and knowing that it was over instead of dragging on for weeks and weeks was very important for my mental health at the time. Plus, my RE said that oftentimes even natural m/c end up needing a D&C if there is remaining tissue hanging around. My numbers were below 5 w/in 1 month, and I got pregnant again in August.

[Anonymous]

OP again. I can't take the day off. I own my own business and have 6 appointments I need to see. I guess I just take some Advil and bring a lot of pads and make it through te day somehow. I don't know that there's anything else I can do. I can't cancel these appointments bc rescheduling would be a nightmare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I am bleeding pretty heavily this morning, with big clots and I'm starting to get crampy. I guess it's happening on its own.

I'm sorry OP. It sounds like your body is taking over. I had a missed miscarriage at 10.5 weeks. Once I started to bleed heavily, the pain lasted a few hours. I wouldn't do the D&C since you are already having a natural miscarriage. Even though it's routine, there are risks that I was afraid of since I wanted to TTC again.
You will probably have to have an ultrasound to make sure that the miscarriage was complete.
I waited a cycle and then started trying again. Good luck to you.

[Anonymous]

Still get checked. I had a horribly terrible miscarriage with a lot of bleeding and almost passed out on my bathroom floor (seeing sparks, sweaty all over, couldn't sit up). Went to ER and they did an ultrasound to find the embryo/fetus still in me even though my body had "miscarried". I need a D&C to prevent infection. D&C is easy and pain free - you get sedated/put under and they give you pain medicine if you need it when you wake up. Recovery was quick.

[Anonymous]

I'm so sorry for you OP. I think you've gotten plenty of advice but there can't be too many wishes for you to have an easier time in the future.

[Anonymous]

I'm so sorry for your loss, OP. I also suffered a chemical m/c followed by another pregnancy and m/c at about 9 weeks. I had actually scheduled a d&c, but miscarried naturally prior to the appointment. Please note you will need MUCH MORE than advil. I ended up going to the emergency room because I was in so much pain. I would recommend having your doctor prescribe you heavy duty meds (I had oxycotin) in the event that you m/c prior to your d&c. Long way of advising you that if you opt for a d&c, schedule it for as soon as possible. Best of luck to you.

[Anonymous]

Sorry you are going through this!
I went with the miscarriage and in hindsight would have a d&c. The miscarriage took several weeks and I had to go to the dr once a week for blood work to check my hormone levels to make sure the miscarriage was taking place properly and that there was no remaining tissue.
I had to wear a pad for about 5 weeks. This really seemed, for me emotionally, to drag on b/c my hormone levels were high for so long.
Best wishes.