Anyone who has m/c and used cytotec?

madiegirl83

So I also posted this on the m/c and loss board, but I thought I would just see if any of you ladies have some insight for me.  My OB prescribed cytotec and then a D&C if it doesn't work.  What can anyone tell me about their experience with Cytotec?  I know everyone's experience will be different... but I would still like to hear yours...  Did it work?  How long did it take to get things started? Did you need a D&C anyway?  How bad were the cramps?  And anything else you want to share.  Thank you in advance!!

christyjolee

First of all, I am sorry you are going through this.

With my first loss it was a missed m/c and my doctor gave me all of the options.  I chose to do cytotec and I was happy with my decision.  From the time I inserted the pill it took a few hours for the bleeding to start.  I had really bad cramps for the first few days, but the doctor prescribed a pain killer that made it manageable.  I had very bad bleeding for about 3 days or so.  Then, it started to slow down.  All in all I think I bled for about a week total.  I did not need a D&C.

After all of that it took about 5 weeks for my next period to show up.

Best of luck with your decison!

itsmegin

So sorry for your loss.

I took Cytotec twice and it didn't work for me. I put in several pills vaginally and waited, nothing happened for hours and then finally I started bleeding a tiny bit. I went to bed and the next morning I had an ultrasound and everything was still in there. I got another prescription and tried again. Again nothing happened, in fact, I was in so little pain I went out with my sister-in-law to see Eclipse-it was the night it came out and we had tickets to the midnight premier and I wanted to distract myself.

After the medicine not working twice, I had to have a D&C. 

In retrospect, I would have chosen to just do the D&C in the first place. It was the best choice for my body and my situation, and much easier and less emotionally draining and stressful than waiting for the Cytotec to take effect. 

Also, when I had my D&C I bled so much that my OB said if the Cytotec had worked I would have ended up in the ER for an emergency D&C anyway, so it was a good thing that it didn't work. I don't want to scare you but as far as I know from reading other people's experiences as well as mine, D&Cs can be physically easier. 

GL with your decision, and so sorry you are going through this. 

hopefulelise

I took the oral pills of Cytotec. They gave me four pills and I needed three. After the third pill, I got horrible cramps for about an hour while I was passing clots. Although it got the job done for me, it was the worst of all three of my m/c's. I had no complications physically from it, it was all mentally and emotionally harder on me.

Laurakat81

I tried cytotec for both losses and it didn't work for me either time. I took it orally but I've heard it is more effective if taken vaginally but I'm not certain of that. The first time I took it I think I took 4 pills and then do many hours later I took 4 more. I started bleeding with a medium/heavy flow within twenty minutes but didn't have any cramps. The bleeding stayed the same flow all day. The next morning I went for a pelvic exam and ultrasound and it showed my cervix had never opened and the baby had not moved. I had a d&c a couple hours later. The second time I actually took four pills before bed and slept straight through the night and woke up the next morning to light spotting. We didn't even bother with the second dose and went for the d&c again. I hope you have better results than I did. I think I am just in the percentage where it doesn't work.

itsmegin

Laurakat81:

I tried cytotec for both losses and it didn't work for me either time. I took it orally but I've heard it is more effective if taken vaginally but I'm not certain of that. The first time I took it I think I took 4 pills and then do many hours later I took 4 more. I started bleeding with a medium/heavy flow within twenty minutes but didn't have any cramps. The bleeding stayed the same flow all day. The next morning I went for a pelvic exam and ultrasound and it showed my cervix had never opened and the baby had not moved. I had a d&c a couple hours later. The second time I actually took four pills before bed and slept straight through the night and woke up the next morning to light spotting. We didn't even bother with the second dose and went for the d&c again. I hope you have better results than I did. I think I am just in the percentage where it doesn't work.

Lucky us! My OB said this was very rare for it to not work

Why can't we get the good rare things? 

baloneydisc

I'm very sorry for your loss.

As for my experience, I've had 1 cytotec m/c & 1 natural.  The cytotec was my first, a missed m/c at almost 9wks.  I inserted the pills around 8pm & laid in bed with a book.  I started feeling warm pretty much right away, but no cramps.  Cramps started around 10pm.  By 11pm I was cramping pretty bad.  I ended up laying on the bathroom floor, in intense pain, crying & bleeding.  Finally, around 2am I passed a large clot, the pain decreased a little & I was able to go to bed.  I continued to pass clots off & on the next day.  I bled for about a week, then spotted for a few days.  Honestly, the pain was intense enough for those few hours that I never want to do it again.  If I have another medically induced m/c I'm going to ask for a D&C.

MrsMitty08

I am sorry you are having to go through this and for your loss.

Cytotec worked for me with the first dose and I did not need a D&C.  Within about 5 hours I had cramping and at about the 6 hour mark, the hemorrhaging began and did not stop for 7-8 hours.  I continued to spot/bleed for about 16 days. 

At my follow up appointment 3 days after the m/c, I had an u/s and my OB said that I had passed most everything and that is why I didn't need a second dose or a D&C.  

ETA: I had period-like cramping until I stopped bleeding and was taking Rx 800mg ibuprofen to help with that.

madiegirl83

Thank you ladies so much for your advice and telling me about your experiences.  It eases some of the anxiety to hear other real peoples stories.  The OB prescribed 3 pills inserted vaginally and then 3 more 12 hrs later.  He also prescribed Lortab for pain.  I hope I get it all out and that the pain killers work!  Thank you again for the help!!

leelee725

I am so sorry for your loss. 

After my first miscarriage I tried Cytotec.  I was already bleeding when I took my first dose.  I took it right before bed so that I would be able to try to sleep through the cramps that my doctor said were sure to come.   After the first round I had an ultrasound only to find out that there was tissue remaining, so I opted to try it again.  After the second round another ultrasound confirmed that there was still tissue remaining so I ended up having a D&C.  After that experience, I decided to just go with the D&C when I had my second miscarriage.

 I hope the Cytotec works for you.