Needing advice & support (recent D&C)

mjjc7709

I've had 2 miscarriages this year; the 1st was spontaneous and the 2nd was missed. For the 2nd miscarriage, I chose to take Misoprostol (Cytotec) to help pass things through. I took it on September 3, and bled lightly ever since. On September 11, I passed what looked like the sac. On September 17, I followed up with my OB-GYN and she did an ultrasound which showed that everything was progressing fine - keep in my mind, I never stopped bleeding.

Yesterday on September 23, I left work to go to the ER because I was bleeding heavily with clots (saturating 2 pads per hour). The ER doctor diagnosed me with having "retained products of conception" and told me my OB-GYN would have to do a D&C.

Yesterday afternoon, I went through it and I have to admit that I didn't not expect it to be so TRAUMATIC. I thought of myself as someone who's tough but I didn't expect to go through such emotional AND physical pain in one "simple" procedure.

When I arrived at my doctor's office, the nurse gave me Ibuprofen, Norco and Valium to take. Within 30 minutes I was in the procedure room and the doctor gave me an antibiotic. And about 5 to 10 minutes after, she injected lidocaine into my cervix and immediately after, she started the procedure. I FELT EVERYTHING- the medications didn't even touch me. I was crying with pain the entire time and my husband thought I was going to break his hand from squeezing it so hard.

I'm glad it's over now, but I hope I never have to go through that again. I was reading about other women's D&C experiences and they were all described as painless and easy, and were even saying they would choose D&C over taking Cytotec if they had to do it again.

I just want to know if there's anyone out there who has had a traumatic D&C experience as well? Am I just a huge wimp or should I really be changing doctors? Feeling pretty upset.

cyntodd

Wow that sounds horrific! I was actually scheduled to do a D&E because I was further along and then they ended up doing both....I never took the cytotec. My experience was totally different as I was at a hospital. They put me under anasthsia for the whole thing. I can't imagine being in the doctors office and experiencing the whole thing! I'm not sure why your doctor chose to do it that way. I hate that anyone has to experience a miscarriage....I am soooo sorry for the horrible experience you have had. Most people I have come in contact with have all done theirs in a hospital setting with anasthsia. I was devastated by the miscarriage itself. I can't imagine how traumatic this all must have been for you. Hope you can begin to heal....it takes time but it does get better.

mjjc7709

@cyntodd Thanks so much for replying. I'm not sure why my doctor does this either; the only thing I can think of is to avoid a hospital stay and to allow quicker recovery? Regardless, I wouldn't recommend doing a D&C under the circumstances I had.

I agree that having a miscarriage is devastating in itself. My heart goes out to you and to everyone who has experienced any kind of loss. I do find comfort coming to this board and I can't thank you enough for your kind, empathetic words. xo

queen_frostine

Mine was super easy because I was under general anesthesia. That said, it raises the price a lot. 

I'm so terribly sorry about your experience. I can't believe that the doctor would let that happen with you in such pain. My heart goes out to you. Also, I feel less grumpy about my hospital bill. 

mjjc7709

Thank you @RainMira9e - I work in a hospital and have seen patients undergo a D&C in a hospital setting under anesthesia. I can't believe I didn't question it when my OB-GYN wanted mine done in her office. I guess I was desperate to end the miscarriage process because it has been long and drawn out for me. I definitely learned the hard way.