- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Miscarriage/Pregnancy Loss
D & C vs medical management vs expectant management
Hi All,
I'm new here...sad to say my DH and I found out today (8w 3d) that our little one has no heartbeat and has shown no growth in the last ten days. I am scheduled to see my doc later this afternoon and of course am eager to hear her advice, but I wondered if I might get some advice from those who have been though this before. D & C? Oral medication? Wait it out? I am cramping and bleeding slightly, but mostly only spotting, no clots.
Thanks for your advice,
Erin
This discussion has been closed.
Re: D & C vs medical management vs expectant management
Hi Erin,
First off, I'm very sorry for your loss. My most recent miscarriage was pretty similar in not seeing any growth. I chose to have a D&E (although today the doctor said I had a D&C...who knows) because I was showing no signs of miscarrying on my own. I had no bleeding or cramping whatsoever. It was hard enough for me to wait a week to go to another ultrasound, and not knowing when I would be actually have to go through the hardest part of a m/c was not for me. I also did not think I was emotionally stable enough to go through it on my own. With the procedure, I was knocked out, things were taken care of, and I felt like I could just move on (although I'm still emotional at times).
Good luck with whichever way you choose. I know you will choose the best one for you.
TTC #1 since 7/08 After 3 years, 2 losses, 3 rounds of IUI, and one round of IVF, we finally have our dream come true! DS born 7/30/11
TTC #2 off and on since 7/12
Hi Erin. I'm very sorry for your loss. I was also 8w,3d when I had my m/c. I chose a D&C because I wasn't showing any signs of miscarrying on my own. I also don't think I would've been able to wait. The 3 days I had to wait in between finding out our LO's heartbeat had stopped and the D&C were excruciating emotionally.
The procdure itself is pretty simple and painless. You may have some cramping afterwords, but usually you get sent home with some pain meds.
GL with your decision.
TTCAL buddy to LMichelleG - Praying for a miracle
PgALbuddy to CanonMom & BriAZ - Congrats on your beautiful little girls Labor Buddy to Luvsbunny
Hi. We've had 2 losses - 1 natural and 1 medically managed. With the medically managed, I used 4 tablets of misoprostal inserted vaginally.
I've posted about it often. It was a good option for me. I'd recommend it to others. If you choose that route and would like to know more, please feel free to PM me. I'll give you any details you want.
My Blog
Hi Eri,
First, I want to say I am so sorry for your loss. When I was about 9 1/2 weeks I went in for my first u/s to see the heartbeat, and just like you, we found out we had lost the baby at 8w and 3d. I chose to have a d&c for mine. I has no signs of loosing the baby on my own. That was the "easiest" part for me. I am sorry and GL with what ever you choose.
Julia
Erin, I am so sorry for your loss. I also had a medically managed miscarriage and it was a good option for me. You avoid the risk of developing scar tissue. It is rare for this to happen I understand, but it does occassionally happen and I know there was someone on here just the other day that experienced it. I just started consulting with an RE as well, and she said that that is what she would have recommended to me for this same reason.
The downside is you are a lot more involved with the m/c since you are awake for the whole thing and the cramps can get to be intense, but a heating pad and prescription pain killers will help.
GL with whatever you decide and again, I am so sorry.
So sorry for your loss.
It's a very personal decision. I originally chose to go with medical management since I was not having any spotting/cramping at all, and I wanted to avoid the risks of a procedure and have everything happen at home. When medicine didn't work, I went with D&C because emotionally I just needed the physical part of things to be over with. In retrospect, I almost wish I had gone with D&C to start with since the limbo period between diagnosis and D&C was really hard emotionally since I still had pg symptoms but knew the baby was gone. I still wish the medicine had worked, but if god forbid this happens again, I'll opt to go straight for D&C.
I found it really hard to decide because it's choosing between three options you don't want. GL and sorry.
Sorry for your loss. I had the "no heartbeat US" last Thursday. I was already 12 weeks along, but embryo stopped growth at 7-8 weeks. Since I had not had any real signs/symptoms of passing tissue on my own, I opted for the D&C on Friday. I have the good fortune of working with a practice where the US/fetal medicine facility is in the same building as my OB. Once we had the US, we spoke to our geneticist immediately and were then ushered upstairs to speak to my OB. All within a very short amount of time.
I am 41 and trying to conceive again within the shortest amount of time possible is of concern for us, that is a huge reason we opted for suction D&C. This is a scenario that was already considered and decided, if it ever arose.
Hi Erin,
sorry for your loss. i went through a similar situation about two weeks ago. i was 10 weeks and the heartbeat had stopped. i was also spotting a bit, which i had been for 3 weeks (while there was a heartbeat, too). the ultrasound was monday night. my FIL who is an OB told me that going natural is the best but also the hardest to deal with emotionally, but i decided i was going to do what was best for my body, and i was scared about complications from the procedure.
tuesday morning i started to spot more heavily and by tuesday night i was bleeding. spent all day wednesday bleeding and cramping, wednesday night was in a LOT of pain, with contractions and cramps and constant heavy bleeding. i only took tylenol and a little valium to relax. they say it is similar to early labor (i've never been in labor so i don't know) i passed all of the tissue when i got up thursday morning, it was quite graphic and shocking to see the whole sac. but i'm glad i did.
i bled for another 3-4 days and spotted until this last saturday. i am glad my body passed it all (had an ultrasound thursday after passing the sac, showed only a thickened uterine lining). i have another follow up tomorrow.
good luck with your decision. you will know what is right for you. i am so sorry again for your loss. it will get better, i promise, just be patient and take it day by day. lean on DH, that will help you. you are in my thoughts and meditations.
Hi Erin, I'm an Erin too. I'm so sorry for your loss and for this difficult decision.
When we had the no heartbeat ultrasound, the baby measured right on track but I was spotting like you are. I chose to wait it out for a natural miscarriage, but after 5 days I couldn't stand it anymore and scheduled a D & C. It was torture not knowing when it would start, and every time I went to the bathroom it was an emotional ordeal because I was so scared.
Then I miscarried naturally the night before the D & C anyway. The pain was horrible. I had no painkillers for it and no pain management techniques and it was so hard to get through.
In the end, I'm glad I miscarried naturally because it restored some faith in my body. However, God forbid I face this decision again, I will schedule the D & C from the start. It was not worth the emotional and physical pain I had to go through.
Good luck with your decision, it is very personal and you will do the right thing for you.
I wanted to revisit this and say that if you do use medical management for your miscarriage, I would advise you to get percocet and take advil as well. My loss was at 10w5d (our dx of fetal demise came at 8w3d too, but we waited and waited and waited for a natural miscarriage).
My experience went really well, but I used percocet, advil, and a heating pad to manage the pain during the worst contractions.
I wish you luck - it's a tough choice to make. And frankly, it feels like there's no *good* option, just a bunch of crappy ones. Sorry for your loss.
My Blog
Hi Everyone,
Thanks so much for all of your help and support. Even though it's a situation none of us want to be in, it really helps to hear from people who have been through this. After talking with our doc, DH and I decided to schedule a D&C--it's tomorrow. There was no HB yesterday (8w3d) but it looks like the fetus stopped growing at least a week ago, and I don't think I can emotionally handle waiting any longer. I realize that it's a very personal decision and the same thing isn't right for everyone, but I think this will give us the closure we need.
Thanks again for all of your support,
Erin