Your Advice: D&C

mjolk

I'm creating this thread anew because the old one seems to have vanished.  I remember reading through the thread and finding it helpful, but now the url is "discussion not found". If it can be accessed again I can delete this one.

Advise and experiences about D&C procedures here.

chloe97

I have had 2 D&Cs. My first was elective after a MMC at 10 weeks, but my second wasn't because I was 13 weeks and my baby had Triploidy. I was not nervous until I got to the surgery center and they separated me from DH. I was very nervous when the nurse put the IV in me. I was freaked out she did it wrong and I wouldn't go under. Once the anastethiologist started the Valium, my nervousness went away and I was able to relax before they put me under.

Recovery wasn't too bad. You need to pee before you are allowed to leave. I didn't realize it the first time and DH and I ended up chilling in recovery room for 3 hours until the nurse finally told me why they would let us leave.

The recovery afterward is pretty easy. You may be slightly sore and lightly bleeding. I could have gone to work the next day, but I took time off to recover emotionally. I bled very lightly for about 10 days with both. I used a pantyliner for all 10 days. HPTs stopped registering about 12 days after the procedure. I got my period after 4 weeks with the first one. I'm still waiting for AF at 6 weeks with my 2nd (I will update this when it comes).

If I have another MC before 10 weeks, I probably would take Cytotec or miscarry naturally because having multiple D&C could cause scarring or cause incompetent cervix during future pregnancies.

mjolk

Background: I knew something was wrong from the very beginning. I bled for a week, thinking it was my period. When I got a positive test I cried, because I knew something must not be right. And I was right. It took many many blood tests and ultrasounds and bleeding scares to finally be told I likely had a blighted ovum. I had a sac that was growing slowly but no baby ever developed.

Procedure: I got to nearly 11 weeks but on last ultrasound the sac was only in the 7 week range. My highest HCG count was around 27,000. The worst part of the procedure was waiting and the IV. I got my IV put in a couple hours before the procedure because they were running behind. I got very squirmy and sweaty because I was pretty nervous. It did not hurt, I was just worried about bumping it wrong or something. My S/O was allowed to be with me right up until surgery and then right after I was out of recovery.

I remember going to the operating room. They gave me lots of compliments and tried to make me feel nice. I remember my arm feeling weird with the anesthesia. And that is the last thing I remember before a nurse telling me I was in another room and everything was done. I felt too tired to ask or do anything, I kept falling in and out of sleep. To me it wasn't really a "pleasant nap" but maybe just because I wanted to be awake.

There wasn't much that surprised me, except how long it took (yes, the surgery is under half an hour, but I had to be in recovery for nearly an hour, and doing tests, forms, IV all took quite a bit of time, too.) So the person who took me had to take the entire day off of work. I also was not expecting how much precautionary stuff needed to be done. I had things put on my legs that suck air in and out to prevent blood clots for instance. I was also surprised I didn't have to get in stirrups before anesthesia.

I only had mild cramping. The first time I got up I got blood on the hospital bed and was pretty embarrassed and felt bad about it. However after that I've only had spotting and sometimes nothing at all. I took a nap when I got home and slept a lot. The day afterward I did heavy activity though with no issues. Three days later, I took a HPT and while it was positive, it was much more faint than my positive at 5 weeks pregnant. I've felt pretty depressed and I don't know if that is just to be expected or if it is my hormones dropping.

I would do the procedure again if I ever had to, but it is definitely something where you should weigh your options. For me, it was mostly a decision based on my emotional well-being.

  to anyone going through this.