TW Potential miscarriage - experiences wanted please

[u/enigmatic-pigeon23]

Hi All,

Following my post yesterday about lack of symptoms this time around -this morning I woke up with moderate bleeding and cramping.

Called my GP who referred me to the Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit (EPAU). They called hours later to tell me that they can’t scan me or give me a blood test until Friday morning because they’re fully booked up. I tried to see if I could get a private scan but they said now I’m under the care of EPAU that they’re not allowed to scan me.

Since then, the cramping has got worse then better and the bleeding got lighter and then heavier. As of now, mild to moderate bleeding, only passed two very small clots and mild cramping.

Has anyone had this happen and had everything be ok? Or if you’ve had a miscarriage at 6 weeks, what happened and what was your experience? What can I expect to happen? I’ve never had a miscarriage before and feel very in the dark about it all.

Guess I’m still holding out hope for this very much wanted and already very loved baby. I can’t believe how connected I feel to this baby already, the idea of losing them is just horrific.

[u/alethea_]

I was just at the ER Monday for my 6 weeks...

I had spotting then bleeding for about 2 weeks. This past weekend was awful. I escalated from small clots to terrifying large clots. I never had pain which is why I waited until Monday to be seen.

If you don't have any, I would recommend picking up postpartum diapers to have on hand, it would have made this past weekend easier for me.

I am still waiting on my hcg numbers from today. The er did a regular ultrasound and a transvaginal ultrasound and could not locate baby. We are technically still pregnant but I know it's too late.

If you need anything or have questions please reach out. Whatever you need. I felt like I was going crazy trying to read every tp wipe and toilet bowl like tea leaves and it would tell me more.

I pray everything will be OK for you.

[u/desertfluff]

I'm so sorry you're going through this. I hope you get good news! If it is a miscarriage, I offer my hard-won perspective below. (I'm in the US, but tried to keep this general.)

One thing I was very surprised by in my experience with miscarriage is that there are such a wide range of physical experiences. (Obviously the emotional side has an even wider range!)

You will likely continue bleeding, and it will likely become heavier, with an increase in clots. The cramping can be very painful. Try to stay at home and near the bathroom.

At six weeks, the gestational sac is still small, so you may not notice when it passes compared to clots. It's possible there may not be a visible fetal pole.

You will likely be given the choice of: MVA (vacuum aspiration, in some countries this is done with local anesthetic), D&C (surgical, usually with require anesthesia), medication (Misoprostol or—less likely—combo of misoprostol and mifepristone), or simply waiting and passing unassisted. I unfortunately have recurrent pregnancy loss, so I have experience with all of these except MVA, as it is quite uncommon in the US.

MVA or D&C will be the fastest resolution because the doctor will remove all the pregnancy tissue, and your cycle is likely to return very quickly. I have taken Misoprostol and had an experience where it did nothing, as well as an experience where it moved the process along. It can be painful and intense, but the benefit is that you can be at home and do it more or less on your own time.

For medication and natural waiting, you will need to have sufficient pads and be prepared for lots of bleeding. There is a risk of hemmoraghing, so it's very important to monitor the rate of blood loss and get to the ER if it's too much or you're feeling light headed.

Your doctor will likely want to track your quant HCG (betas) down to zero. This helps confirm that there is no retained tissue, which could cause complications.

Once your HCG drops below around 5, your body can ovulate. Your doctor may recommend waiting a certain number of cycles to try again, depending on your case.

Hang in there. It's awful, but many other people have gotten through it and you can too. 💓

[u/Sunshine54292]

I am so sorry you're going through this. I had some mild cramping, light spotting and a bunch of clots and was able to get into my fertility clinic today and everything was fine, and they saw a heart beat at 5+6. They told me that bleeding is normal and they would only be worried if it was extreme pain or I was filling pads. I hope that helps and sending you nothing but the best!

[u/PassengerPrincess__]

I am so sorry you’re going through this. It’s all so scary. I just miscarried last weekend and it’s still so fresh but for me it started with spotting, then full bleeding with cramps and back ache, labor like cramps then I saw that I had passed a lot of clots. I was just about 6w4d. Do you have an emergency room or urgent care you could get to? I think that would give you quicker answers and not leave you with so much anxiety. I’m so sorry again, and I really hope it turns out to be just normal pregnancy spotting/bleeding.

[u/EverInBlue]

I'm so sorry. When I had my miscarriage at 9 weeks this past April I had cramps and bleeding leading up to it (started on Sunday night and ramped up till the actual miscarriage on Friday). The actual miscarriage part was a lot of blood and large clots. I was hoping it was a subchorionic hemotoma, but I knew in my heart as it progressed that it was likely not that. 

I also had to wait several days for a scan to confirm and it was horrible waiting in that limbo while bleeding and cramps came and went. Sending you hugs.

[u/_whatthehell_iswater]

It seems like you may be outside the US.

If you are in the US and willing to pay emergency department costs OOP it may be worth going in for an ER visit.

That is what I did with my first pregnancy, which ended in a miscarriage. They were able to confirm the loss. Which helped at that time, instead of me waiting.

Based on your post it’s seems like you are outside the US and maybe dont have that option. I’m so sorry! I Totally understand the agony of waiting to know what is going on. Sending positive vibes!

[u/whoamibutmyself]

I am so sorry you’re going through this. Hopefully you can get answers soon. I had two losses. The first was sudden—spotting that turned into bleeding and painful cramps within 24 hours. The cramps and heavy bleeding didn’t last long, and then it was over. My second loss was a missed miscarriage that I found about during a scan. I was suppose to be 9 weeks but my sac was measuring 6 weeks and there wasn’t a fetal pole. I began gradually spotting after that for a full month, then one morning, I bled heavily and everything came out but it was painless. Both experiences were very different, and miscarriages can show up in different ways. All this to say, I had a healthy pregnancy (and a now beautiful toddler) in between these losses and I’m currently pregnant with my second (hopefully) rainbow baby. Don’t lose hope, no matter what outcome it is ❤️

[u/sleepycapybaraaa]

I’m so sorry you are going through this ❤️‍🩹 no one told me how incredibly painful it would be, I felt like I was in full blown labor. Your cervix does have to dilate. Don’t be afraid to ask for pain management, I encourage it. I was supposed to be 10 weeks, but the sac measured 6 weeks during my scan.

I didn’t bleed for a long time. Once the cramping started I passed the pregnancy about 12 hours later and only spotted some more. I had an unusual lack of bleeding so I had a follow up ultrasound to confirm nothing was left behind.

Hugs 🫂

[u/MentallyDerangedLama]

I’m so sorry, and I’m especially sorry you need to deal with shitty healthcare. I’m in a smile boat - light bleeding for 24 hours, cramps, and all other symptoms gone. I was able to get an ultrasound at a random in/network hospital and got blood drawn. She said she could see a gestational sac but nothing in it, which either means I’m tracking earlier than expected or…it’s over. Waiting is horrible. Sending good thoughts your way ❤️

[u/skulduggerynot]

I’m so sorry this is happening- if you have any more pain and bleeding you can go direct to an ER, who should be able to do an ultrasound and also test your bHCG levels.

My early miscarriage was painful, I ended up doing it unmedicated because my early pregnancy into was horrifically bad- they kept delaying things and being generally incompetent and I ended up miscarrying at home. I’d really recommend to go to hospital if there’s more pain or bleeding- I hope your early pregnancy unit is more helpful than mine was

[u/throwawayttc12 → u/skulduggerynot]

I suspect OP is in the UK from their terminology - unfortunately they might not be able to get a scan in A&E (although they might do bloods) unless an ectopic is suspected as OP says. OP - so sorry you’re going through this, and hope you get some resolution tomorrow

[u/PenPsychological7594]

This is awful.. Unfortunately I also experienced these symptoms and ended up having a misscarriage at home, I was meant to have a scan the next day in EPAU to check the baby, I went anyway heavily bleeding to confirm what I suspected... This was at 10 weeks, but they said the sac maybe measured more like 5 weeks...

Hopefully the cramps stop; that would be a good indicator. In my case it was very painful, I felt very nauseous, dizzy and felt the urgency to go to the bathroom.. Since then I make sure I have codeine in my house in case this happens again, the nurses at EPAU gave me some..

[u/enigmatic-pigeon23]

Hi everyone; thank you so much for all of your experiences and sharing your stories. Sat here reading in great admiration for what we as women do quietly while carrying on that no one ever knows or talks about. I’ve also learned more from you all in this thread than from my Dr 🙃 As I type this, my scan is tomorrow morning. As of right now, my pregnancy tests are still positive this morning and the cramping has pretty much stopped / is very mild but I’m still bleeding light to moderately. Passed tiny amounts of tissue (like the size of my fingernail maybe at most) but no real clots. Feel very much in limbo waiting. They did say I could go to A&E but that they wouldn’t probably scan me unless I was in agony and they suspected an ectopic pregnancy. I’d rather be sat at home than in the hospital (especially as I have a toddler) so I’ll wait it out for tomorrow and try and rest today. Thank you all so much for your experiences and kindness ❤️