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TTC After a Loss 6 Months+
ColindaP
member
Non-clicky cytotec/misowhatever poll
ColindaP
member
Ok, girls. I'm thisclose to giving in and calling the doc about cytotec, because, uh, well 51,000. So since I know several of you have taken it before, please answer me the following questions:
1. How long did it take to kick in after taking it?
2. How long did it take for the miscarriage to complete?
3. How long did you bleed?
4. Are the cramps/contractions worse than the ones with a natural miscarriage?
5. Did your body completely miscarry or did you have to have a D&C anyway?
6. Did you have any other side effects?
I know the answer to a lot of these questions depends on how far along you are. I'm 9 weeks, so I would be taking it in the 9-10 week time frame. Thanks!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Non-clicky cytotec/misowhatever poll
With my second miscarriage, at 6 weeks, there wasn't a heartbeat and the fetal pole was really small.
I blamed it on an incompetent doctor. And I waited. About a month and a half, and several u/s later I came out of denial and accepted that there wasn't a baby in there. The gestational sac had started to misshapen and I agreed to cytotec. My experience wasn't great.
1. About 4-5 hours I started cramping and bleeding.
2. I bled for about 12 hours, but had to call because I did not feel that the m/c completed.
3. I cramped/bled for about 12 hours. BUT, the bleeding never got too heavy and I never passed any clots
4. No, the cramping with the natural m/c was far worse.
5. I had to have a d&c. And a week after that I started to hemorrhage and had to take cytotec AGAIN! It was miserable.
6. No other side effects.
I should have been about 11 weeks, the gestational sac was measuring at 10 weeks. But, it was empty.
If I had to do it all over again, based on my experience I would have had the d&c. The main reason I gave into the cytotec was that I was having horrific m/s, couldn't stop throwing up, back aches and my uterus continued to expand so I had a baby bump. It was so depressing to have the symptoms and see the belly and know there was nothing in there.
BFP#1 Kaitlyn 11-17-04
BFP #2 Matthew pPROM 23w5d 06-03-07, b/33 weeks 8-6-07, d/10-15-07 SIDS,
BFP #3 m/c 8 weeks 2/20/09, BFP #4 m/c no hb 6w4d, m/c 9w4d, D&C 11w2d, BFP #5 C/P 12/18/09 after BFP- 9dpo
BFP #6 Samantha- 11-9-10
BFP #7 4/20/12 21 DPO beta: 2382 29 DPO beta: 23000! HB 6w2d 116 bpm due Christmas day!
This Momma's Journey
~Today I am pregnant and I love my baby~
I think BBHME is right about having an u/s first. Here's my experience.
1. How long did it take to kick in after taking it?
About 12 hours. I 'took' it at 10pm the night before (on Fri), so it'd start in the morning, per my docs recommendation. That way you're not waiting around all day for it to start.
2. How long did it take for the miscarriage to complete?
In my case, it didn't. I went into my OB's office on Monday and via u/s learned only about 25% was gone. I opted for the D&C because I couldn't take it anymore, but I could have tried a 2nd dose.
3. How long did you bleed?
I continued to bleed at least until my D&C, three days later.
4. Are the cramps/contractions worse than the ones with a natural miscarriage?
I've never had a natural miscarriage, so I can't answer that one.
5. Did your body completely miscarry or did you have to have a D&C anyway?
D&C
6. Did you have any other side effects?
No other side effects.
I am so sorry. I know the decisions are tough. My first pg held on for 4 weeks before I learned of it and I hope and pray that is not the case for you. Big hugs.
Missed m/c 11.09 | Missed m/c 3.10 | We miss you & love you so.
~ ~ ~
Formerly toddandjulie
I can only answer a few of these because I was given cytotec at 22 weeks.
I had three doses (6 hours apart) before I had any kind of progress with it. I'm assuming they'd make you swallow it at 9 weeks, but i had it inserted to my cervix. If they insert it, it hurts i'm not going to lie. The contractions started off barely there and were not bad until I was a lot further along but I had to dilate a lot further. I had to have a D&C after for the placenta. The only other side effect was I had a little bit of a headache but that really could have been with the stress of everything going on and once the cytotec was stopped the cramping stopped as well. Oh and the other side effect of the cytotec was diarrhea and it was not controllable if i had to go then I was going.
For the first pregnancy (only measured 6w2d) my OB took fourtablets and dissolved them in water a little and then inserted. She had me lie there for 10 minutes before leaving to make sure they didn't spill out.
1. After about 3-4 hours I had some dull cramping and diarrhea.
2. I thought it was over after a few days, but then I had an increase in bleeding. I went in for a follow up and OB found retained tissue.
3. On and off for a week (I think).
4. I've never had a natural m/c so I can't compare. They were pretty bad and I had the chills (forgot about that). I don't think it would have been so bad if I would have taken the Ibuprofen right away instead of waiting to feel the cramps.
5. Yes.
6. Nope.
For the second pregnancy (only measured 7w1d) my OB took four tablets and dissolved them in water a little and then inserted. She had me lie there for 10 minutes before leaving to make sure they didn't spill out.
1. After about 3-4 hours I had some dull cramping and diarrhea.
2. I think it was pretty much over 3 days.
3. For about 10 days.
4. Again, I can't compare. With this round of cytotec I took 4 Ibuprofens as soon as I got home and did 4 more after the recommended time. It was much more managable.
5. No. My OB gave me the option to try another dose of cytotec, but by that time I really just needed it to be over with. I had to have two D&Cs. My OB explained she is not aggressive with the procedure and that's why I ended up needing the second D&C. I'm not sure if it made a difference in my second experience with cytotec, but I found out at my 10 week appointment that the baby stopped developing at 7 weeks - so my body had already been hanging on to that tissue for some time.
6. No.
I have no experience with it (I had a D&C). I just wanted to place another vote for having another u/s to confirm. I didn't and I cannot tell you how often I worry that I had a D&C and my baby was OK. Your in my thoughts.
For my 2nd miscarriage, I went from 49,000 to 51,000 hcg in week 8, for the record. Though I still think it's definitely worthy of a second look, I don't want to get your hopes up. I used misoprostil/cytotec twice, so here are my answers (slashy indicates / moving to 2nd time)
On to your poll:
1. How long did it take to kick in after taking it?
Inserted at 3pm, cramps by 6pm, spotting by 7pm, INTENSE pain at midnight (felt through percocet and advil), passed softballsized gestational sac at 3 am, spotting by the next day. / Inserted at 6pm, cramps by 8pm, spotting and bleeding through the night. Passed tissue 26 hours after insertion and continued to pass pieces of tissue for the next 4-6 days. My theory? #1 was 4 weeks after confirmed fetal demise. My bod was ready to let go. #2 was just days after the hb stopped. My body was NOT ready to let go.
2. How long did it take for the miscarriage to complete?
24 hours (3-4 of them fairly intense) with spotting for 10 days afterward, negative hcg at 20days past and resumed fairly normal cycles/4-6 days of passing dime to silver dollar sized bits of tissue, with one grand-finale at the FH-filled zoo where I passed some sort of placental tissue or, it has some other name uterine cone or something like that. Overall bleeding was light the whole time, it just took longer for the tissue to come out. It wasn't ever very intense with pain, but I took my drugs because I needed them. Emotionally.
3. How long did you bleed?
10 days-ish? Never heavy - light to spotting most of the time. Real bleeding only lasted about 48 hours. / 8 days-ish? With 4 days of spotting afterward? Never heavy either - medium to light flow the whole time.
4. Are the cramps/contractions worse than the ones with a natural miscarriage?
Yes / No. They were actually less intense. For me, the cramps/contractions were worse with cytotec #1 because the gestational sac was so huge. My guess is that a natural miscarriage would also have been as intense, because I had to dilate and that's not easy. Here's the deal: Most docs prescribe the cytotec and give you percocet as well. TAKE IT. Take the cytotec and 2 advil and then about an hour later, despite the fact that you feel little pain, take the perc. Keep on top of the pain meds for the first 24 hours.
5. Did your body completely miscarry or did you have to have a D&C anyway?
Both times, my miscarriage was complete. The second time, at our 48 hour later follow-up u/s, I still had a lot of blood in my uterus, but doctor considered it complete as he could see the tissue was separated from the uterine wall, I guess.
6. Did you have any other side effects?
None, other than the normal massive hormone drop a few days after the miscarriage (I can only assume you get that with a natural m/c too) and the vast suckage of the whole fricken' situation.
You forgot a few other questions:
Would you use it again? YES. In a heartbeat.
Would you recommend it to a friend? Absolutely. I find it a viable and fast method of dealing with a miscarriage without the horrible horror of waiting. The first time I used it, we'd waited 19 days for the m/c to happen at that point and I was so emotionally drained from it all, it was sheer torture to endure another minute.
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For the record, I'm not trying to suggest that there might magically be a living baby in there. I just want you to make sure it's not a partial molar or something more sinister that would actually require a D&C.
OH. And a couple more things.
My dosage was 800 mc(micrograms? I have no idea what the dosage comes in, just that it was 800). They were in 200mg tablets, which might be hard to find, but I suggest them because 4 are easier to insert than 8 and I don't feel as though the 100mg tabs were as effective.
I inserted them with a tampon (this carries the low risk of TSS but the risk is low and the method is effective, IMO). Pull the tampon back, stack the tabs upon it, then insert the tampon. When you see blood, remove the tampon. The tabs SHOULD be gone. If any come out, reinsert them (sorry, gross, I totally know).
If you MUST use 100mg tabs, do it, but if ANY fall out, reinsert them. When I had my 2nd round of cytotec, 4 of my tablets came out nearly whole and I attribute the drawn out nature of the m/c both to the timing AND to the lack of a full massive dose.
Many docs prescribe 400 mgs, but studies show that 800mg is MUCH more effective.
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I was also 9 weeks when I took the cytotec. I'm so sorry you're having to do this Colinda. ::hugs::
1. How long did it take to kick in after taking it? I inserted them vaginally and kept my hips propped up on a pillow for about an hour to make sure they didn't come out. In retrospect I should have gotten them wet first. I started cramping about 2-3 hours later.
2. How long did it take for the miscarriage to complete? I inserted the pills at 10am and felt myself pass the sac around 7:30-8:00pm that night.
3. How long did you bleed? I bled heavily for about a week and a half, more period like for a week after that and then it started to taper off. All in all about 3 and a half weeks.
4. Are the cramps/contractions worse than the ones with a natural miscarriage? I have never had a natural miscarriage so I cannot compare but the contractions are pretty brutal. I was alternating tylenol3 and advil. I wish I had asked the doc for something stronger. Once it was over I had almost instant relief from the pain.
5. Did your body completely miscarry or did you have to have a D&C anyway? My body miscarried completely
6. Did you have any other side effects? It did make me a bit queasy but I also had compozine to help with that. I never had bowel issues or vomiting.
And moreso, I don't want you to ever think in any way shape or form: "What if?"
I still have bizarre thoughts - STILL - about our January loss that we moved too quickly and surely there was a baby there, despite seeing a HB on Monday and no HB and a shrinking fetal pole on Thursday. STILL. It's irrational, it's insane, but it happens. If you see an u/s that day, I think it's far, far, far less likely to happen.
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Very much agreed. They didn't give me a second u/s before performing my D&C, and I still have fleeting worries about it.
I am going to go with these lovely ladies on the u/s.
Colinda, I am so very sorry. My heart breaks for you. I don't have any words on the drugs, but I hope that whatever decision you make, things move quickly for you.
((hugs))
What a horrible thing to have to even think about. I'm so, so sorry.
I took Cytotec intravaginally for my miscarriage. I had already passed most of the tissue naturally, but needed some help getting the rest out. Unfortunately, it had absolutely no effect. I'm one of the small percentage of people that it didn't work for.
I think if you take the pills intravaginally, you'll have much less GI upset and it'll start working faster. Theoretically, you should start cramping pretty quickly after your first dose...within a couple hours. My OB had me inserting 2 pills every 4 hours for 48 hours.
My thoughts are with you, sweetheart.
12 long, hard years of TTC-
Miscarriages, losses, lots of treatments & drugs & IVF
Natural BFP (WTF?!) - 06/04/11 ~ lots of complication and drama, but sweet baby Adele born 02/07/12!
BFP #million -another girl for us! EDD - 05-08-15 (but will come early)
I took 2 separate doses of 800 mcg of Misoprostol for my blighted ovum. This was after 3 ultrasounds, starting at 6 weeks, and the last one at 8 weeks, confirming the blighed ovum dx, and waiting for two weeks for the m/c to begin naturally. My numbers were still also in the 30,000s after all of that, so I asked my OB if we could try Cytotec. His response, "I was hoping you would suggest that." Um, WTF? Who is the doctor? Apparently, he was under the impression that because I didn't want a D&C, I did not want any medical intervention.
By the time I took the first dose, I was around 10 weeks as well.
1. How long did it take to kick in after taking it?
I started bleeding within 2 hours.
2. How long did it take for the miscarriage to complete?
Unfortunately, it took two doses, four days apart, and then another week before I passed the tissue. I was on the verge of breaking down and requesting a D&C, but I'm glad I stuck it out.
3. How long did you bleed?
I bled for about 4 weeks. (I bled for about 6 weeks following my D&C, though, which is on the long end of normal as well.)
4. Are the cramps/contractions worse than the ones with a natural miscarriage?
I found them about the same.
5. Did your body completely miscarry or did you have to have a D&C anyway?
Completely miscarried.
6. Did you have any other side effects?
I did have some side effects for the first 12 hours after taking the meds, the chills/shakes and nausea. I felt pretty terrible following each dose, to be honest.
I'm interested to see how many of you took these vaginally. I took mine orally, which might have contributed to the major nausea.
I don't have any advice on the meds but just wanted to say that I'm sorry you even have to make this decision (((HUGS)))