D&C scheduled for tomorrow, what happens? *ticker warning*

cg0112358

After a great deal of internal struggle, I scheduled my D&C for tomorrow. Although I would have preferred to wait it out based on what I've heard from most ladies this seemed to be the best choice. I was hoping some of you ladies would share your experiences with me so I know what to expect.

HopingforChange

If they are putting you completely under, it's easy.  You'll go back and change into the gown, hat, and socks for the surgery.  Then, they'll put the IV in (for me, this was uncomfortable but it's fast).  I got to chat with my anesthesiologist about his plan for my surgery.  I also had the option of talking to the Dr. who would do the surgery, but I passed on that as I had just seen him that day.  They let DH come in after the IV went in and before I discussed the anesthetic options.  He stayed while they gave me a few different IV drugs (if you haven't had this before, it feels weird and some of them burn, but it is not painful--kind of like icy hot, actually).  The nurse gave me one that made me loopy.  I remember being wheeled away a bit, I think.  And, I do remember a stab of fear (normal, I am sure) but then nothingness.  Those meds work amazingly, and the ones they give you before the general anesthetic will really work on your fear.  You will feel much better after them.  I might remember the inhaled anesthetic a bit, but I am unsure.  The meds cause retrograde amnesia, so you might forget things even if you were originally aware for them.  Then, boom, the nurse woke me up.  They want you to drink something and pee before you leave.  They brought DH back again, and we went home.  Easy, and DH was there most of the time.  That day was fine, physically.  On the second and third days, I noticed more soreness as everything from the surgery wore off, but no major pain.  Feel free to PM me if you have questions.  I wish I had known about this resource before I had my surgery!  It's good to know what to expect!  Best of luck to you, and don't worry too much about the surgery itself.  I know it's hard.  I was petrified, but now that it's over, I wish I had been easier on myself. 

sdlaura

In a physical sense, my D&C went really smoothly.  I checked in and they did pre-op stuff and did an HCG blood draw so they could check my numbers the next day as well and make sure they had dropped.  I hung out with my husband for a while before the operating room opened up, they wheeled me in and put in an IV, and the next thing I knew I woke up in recovery.  I went home probably 15 minutes after waking up and we stopped for groceries on the way home.  I had zero pain (I never needed to take so much as a tylenol) and very little spotting.  Then again, we later found out from the pathology report that no fetal tissue was removed and my pregnancy was actually ectopic, so who knows, maybe that's why mine was so physically easy.

With both of my losses/surgeries, I have found that everything emotional/psychological is so much worse than the physical pain.

I hope everything goes smoothly for you, and I'm sorry for your loss.

peloquinJ

Good luck tomorrow!

Here was my expeience: I had to be at the hospital at 8am and it was pretty quick to get up to surgery where I was under anesthesia. Other than the nurse having trouble with my IV I had no problems during my stay in the room. I think I woke up around 11 and I was pretty unsteady at first (and really loopy), but was happy that I wasn't nauseous like the last time I had anesthesia (I had told the anesthesiologist that I had that reaction in the past and he said they routinely put anti-nausea drugs in your IV). They let me leave around 11:30. At that point I was dizzy enough that I needed to use a w/c to get to the car and I was unsteady until I think around 1pm. I slept most of the day until 4ish and felt fine physically (I was just tired). My surgery was on a Friday and I went back to work on a Monday and I have a physically active job. I had minor cramping Monday and Tuesday followed by significant cramping Wednesday (like a heavy period type cramp). After that I had no other cramping. As far as bleeding I had some bleeding the day of, but not as much as I thought I would. I had occasional spotting until Wednesday when I started heavy bleeding followed by bleeding that lasted as long and was as heavy as a typical period.

mrskruse07

So do they put you under general anesthesia? Or something like when I had my wisdom teeth out and had an iv and fell asleep type thing.

Also, was it your OB who did it or something else? The more I read about this, the more freaked out I get. I started m/c on Monday, but they don't want to see me for an appt til next Thursday...is that typical?

KMck27

I'm so sorry for your loss.  With my D&C experience, I had an IV and feel asleep. I remember waking up after the surgery and a nurse telling me that her and I had a full fledge conversation before I fell asleep, I don't remember one bit of that.  My doctor didnt preform the surgery, but one of his partners did. I was in so much pain that it didn't matter who preformed it as long as it was done properly. I don't remember exaclty how long after the surgery it was for a check up (I had the D&C with my first m/c)  but I want to say it was at the least a week or two. I had went to the doctor who preformed the surgery for the check up and everything was ok.

Good luck with everything. Thoughts and prayers for you and your family

HopingforChange

Mrs. Kruse:

It's usually a general.  With your wisdom teeth, you may have been under a general or may have been twilighted (which means you could wake up if you were, let's say smacked across the face or something similarly intense repeatedly).  The general requires medication for reversal in order for you to wake up.   

My surgery was done by my OB.

I was really freaked out before my procedure, and I wish I hadn't been.  It was just fine.  I know it's hard, but try not to worry about that part of it.  It will be okay.

As far as the appt. time, that does seem long to me.  I would call back and see what you can do about it.

QuigleyCat1

Cgillan, I'm having mine as well tomorrow. I wish you the best of luck tomorrow and in whatever your future holds.

And for those who responded to this post, thank you for sharing!  I was wondering the same thing as OP. 

cg0112358

QuigleyCat1:

Cgillan, I'm having mine as well tomorrow. I wish you the best of luck tomorrow and in whatever your future holds.

And for those who responded to this post, thank you for sharing!  I was wondering the same thing as OP. 

I see we're on a similar timeline as to when we lost our LOs. I am very sorry
I hope your D& C goes well tomorrow, what time are you scheduled for? 

mrskruse07

Thanks Hoping...I think I'm going to call tomorrow and see what they say. The nurse was very vague on the phone. I love my OB, but dealing with 2 or 3 different nurses who won't call you back the same day is getting annoying.

From what I've been reading the sooner the better? I'm cramping and bleeding, but it seems just like my period.

Sorry for you other ladies too. It's still way too fresh.

lawilbur

I just wanted to say I hope everything goes well for you both tomorrow. My D&C went very smoothly (if that's really possible). The hardest part for me was that the 4 different nurses and 3 different Dr's I saw while getting checked in and prepped (all at different times) had to hear me verbally confirm what procedure I was there for. I wasn't prepared for having to say "I'm here for a D&C" 7 different times. After the 7th time I said it I just lost it completely. They were all very sensitive and compassionate, it just sucked having to say it over and over. I don't know if that was just a policy at the hospital I went to or if all hospitals do it. But I just wanted to give you a heads up on that, just in case it is something every hospital requires. Good luck with everything and I'm so sorry for both of your losses. 

PittPurple

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I live in the UK so I thought it would be different but it seems that my experience was the same as everyone else's. I got to the hospital about 7:30 and was taken back around 10:30. Woke up at 11:30 - don't remember anything after them putting in the IV. They were very compassionate, they were talking about something else while I was lying on the gurney and I started crying (as I did for days) and they were really lovely.

I had to see a bunch of different doctor's and nurses and they kept asking me the same questions over and over again just like lawilbur said. Honestly, it seemed to get harder and harder the more times I had to repeat myself. No one mentioned that part to me either. 

Here I had to eat something, drink something and pee before I could leave. My blood pressure was really low so they had me stay a bit longer. Oh - and when I woke up, I had the shakes really bad which is apparently a random side effect from general anaesthesia. Wasn't expecting it so it freaked me out a bit. But once that passed, I actually felt better than I had in days (I had terrible cramps before).