Medicine to induce miscarriage

areneej1

I think I am about to face my  3rd miscarriage.  All signs are leading to that (decreasing HCG, cramping, mild spotting, empty sac). I have a final ultrasound on Wednesday and am mentally preparing myself for the worst.  I have had two d and c (s) already and know for sure that I don't want to have another one.  Anyone take medication to induce the miscarriage? What was that like? How long did it take?  Thanks!

CapitolBaby

I'm so sorry about what you're going through.  I hope and pray that you don't have to join us on this board.

 So, I just went through the Cytotec induction last week because I had a missed miscarriage.  I originally chose the D&C, but I've never had surgery/anesthesia in my life, and I was just so afraid of the thought, so I quickly changed my mind. 

I took 4 pills orally at about 10:30 AM.  Within a couple hours, I was feeling slight cramps (this is the point where you need to take your painkillers!!! - I had Tylenol 3 prescribed by my OB). As soon as 4 hours hit, I had terrible cramps, along with contractions every 5 or 10 minutes.  It felt like what I would imagine labor to be like. I'm not going to lie: it hurts.  However, your body NEEDS to cramp a lot, because that's how it pushes everything out.  Everytime I would get a contraction/cramp, I would pass either a large clot/tissue, and lots of blood.  The passing of tissue in itself didn't hurt while it was being expelled - it was just the cramps that hurt.  It went on loike this for a couple hours. I basically stayed in the bathroom during this time.  Also, the more you walk around, the faster everything happens.  I had heard that a lot, and it made sense to me while I was going through it.  Walking around really seemed to push things along faster.

So, after a couple hours, the cramps stopped, and I felt totally normal - I resumed the normal activities of my day.  Then 11:00 PM came:  cramps were back out of nowhere.  This time, the cramps weren't as severe, and lasted less than an hour.  I took another painkiller at that point, and slept like a baby through the night.

I never saw the Sac pass that day, so the next morning, I called my doctor.  The doctor told me to take the 2nd dose of Cytotec, just in case there was anything left.  I took the same dose I had taken the morning before, and I felt nothing that entire day.  Not a single cramp.  However - that evening, I went to the bathroom, and passed a HUGE piece of tissue.  I barely felt it coming.. I kinda pushed it out when I thought there was something small there.

My follow-up appointment is this Wednesday.  I hope and pray that everything came out, and that I won't need a D&C.  I do want to share with you an emotional part of this for me:  if I could go back and do it over again, I would do the exact same thing (although you'll hear a LOT of girls who would say the opposite).  Personally, I thought there was something deeply sad and beautiful at the same time about going into labor, and having contractions.  I felt as if I was caring for my baby the way I would if I was delivering a full term baby.  With the D&C, I'd imagine there is something really impersonal about it - as if somebody is taking your baby from you.  It was truly a labor of love.  I'm honestly grateful that I got to experience the same feelings for this baby that I would have experienced had he/she lived.  I told my husband that, and he started crying.  It's true.  It was painful, it wasn't pretty, you'll go through so many pads, you'll have to see the blood that was once keeping your baby alive, you'll likely see the Sac itself, but - you are the one doing it for your baby, and it is a physical way of saying goodbye.

I'm sorry this got so long.  Obviously, the feelings are still so fresh for me.  I wanted to give you this link to a message board that helped me IMMENSLY before I took the Cytotec pills.  This website is 6 pages of very detailed experiences with Cytotec.  You should try to read all these accounts.  It was the best preparation I did for myself.  You're in my prayers!

https://www.pregnancy-info.net/forums/Pregnancy_Loss_Miscarriage/My_Experience__Misoprostol_Cytotec_for_Miscarriage_/

CapitolBaby

Oh, and 2 more things I forgot to say:

1) Definitely make sure somebody is home with you when you go through it. Also, 2) Make sure you doctor prescribes you real painkillers.  Some girls have said their doctors just told them to take over-the-counter meds like Tylenol or Advil.  That will not be enough.  You will need Tylenol 3, or something along those lines to manage the pain.

jeffrae

I took misoprostol to induce mine.  I took the pills internally -- 2 at 10:30 am and then laid down for an hour.  At 12:30 the cramping started.  I took my second dose at 4:00 pm because I knew I would start bleeding soon (could just feel it).  The cramping became intense (I had darvocet and motrin IB) and at 5 pm I sent DH to purchase a heating pad I was in so much pain.  By 6:00 it was the worst -- and I felt something coming -- went to the bathroom and passed the sac first, then started bleeding. 

The bleeding is like blood pouring out of you and there are golfball size clots (these hurt me).  I spent most of the evening/night in the bathroom (there is a ton of blood -- don't let it scare you too much -- but I wish I knew what to expect).  The bleeding got a little better by 11:30 and by 3:30 am I was finally able to go to sleep.

I bled heavy, moderate, lite off and on for the next week (last heavy day was Friday -- I took miso on Saturday). 

I am a story you don't want to read about though -- I had daily spotting for two months and had slow decreasing HCG levels.  I ended up having a D&C two months later for retained tissue the size of my finger tip (caused all my spotting).  If I ever have to do it again -- I will do the D&C again first.

If you do decide to use meds -- please ask your OB for actual PAIN medication.  Motrin IB does not do it for everyone.

I am sorry for your loss and hope you heal quickly regardless of your decision.