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Miscarriage/Pregnancy Loss
Description of First Time Miscarriage (Warning: TMI)
Hello, everyone!
I miscarried for the first time last night, and though I have plenty to say about how I am feeling emotionally, I wanted to make a post for any other Bumpies who might be going through the same and wondering what to expect physically. Obviously this will be different for everyone, but I wanted to share my experience because I found myself caught woefully off-guard. If you don't want to read a graphic description, stop now.
When I went in for an ultrasound during my sixth week, they saw a yolk sac and a fetus, so small that they couldn't tell if it had a heartbeat or not. When I went in almost two weeks later to check its progression, the fetus had disappeared (likely reabsorbed, they said) and the yolk sac was visibly smaller. I opted to go for a natural miscarriage, because the whole D&C process was more invasive than I was willing to deal with and had a possibility of scarring the uterus. My doctor warned me that I would begin bleeding, cramping, and passing tissue, and I went home to wait it out.
Two days later (last night) it began. I had heard that most people experience cramping that is only a bit worse that that which they experience during a heavy period. That may be true for most people, but for me it was not. Within an hour, the pain escalated from merely aching to an overwhelming pain that I had never begun to imagine. My hands and feet went numb, presumably because all of my blood was rushing to the scene of the crime to try to help out, and the pain in my lower abdominal area and the small of my back got so bad that I began to vomit. I am not a pain wimp, and I am not exaggerating. It was excruciating.
At this point, husband and I agreed that I needed drugs far beyond the Midol I had taken at the onset. We called the women's care center at the hospital that we had been seeing (this was after about an hour of un-abating pain and vomiting and crying) and the OBGYN immediately called in a prescription for Vicodin. Apparently, this was not unusual at all, and although she was sympathetic, she said there was no real danger unless I began bleeding profusely. She said it sounded like I was beginning to pass the tissue. Unfortunately for us, we live in an area where the only 24 hour drugstore is half an hour away, so I had to be alone for an hour while my husband went to go pick it up. If you decide to miscarry naturally, I STRONGLY recommend getting a pain prescription in advance. If your pain never gets bad enough to use it, that's wonderful, but if you need it as I did, you can make your experience a million times less horrific by having it on hand.
The Vicodin kicked in almost immediately. Although I did vomit again, I managed to wait long enough that most of it had already dissolved. The pain in my joints and lower back practically disappeared, and I was left with only the uterine pain which came sharply for about ten minutes at a time and then would leave for a couple of minutes before beginning again. I checked my cervix to see if it was at least opening and was surprised to find that about an inch of tissue, about the diameter of a nickel, had already come through. The pain up above had been so intense that I hadn't even felt what was happening below. I managed to uncurl and hobble into the bedroom, and I cannot tell you the relief it was to lie in my bed. Around 4 hours after the process had started, I stopped having contractions. I still got cramps, but they were manageable, and I fell asleep, completely exhausted.
This morning, The pain seemed almost completely gone, so I went back into the bathroom. The tissue was just the same as the night before, so I started pushing as hard as I could, but it wasn't budging. I know this is gross, but I took two fingers and began to gently pull at the tissue at my cervix each time I pushed. Ten minutes later, I had removed a piece of tissue that looked like some kind of organ (but was in fact my intact uterine lining, unless I am mistaken) that was about ten inches long. I immediately began bleeding, but only at the level of a heavy period. I am assuming that the worst is now over.
In summation, I am so, so sorry to everyone else that is experiencing this. It is so very hard, on so many levels, and I pray for comfort, for you and for me. My hope is that anyone who reads this will be better equipped that I was, and better prepared. Take precautions! I am not trying to scare you away from natural miscarriage- I was immensely thankful for the privacy of my own home and the support of my husband and the dignity of not having to share the experience with a hospital room full of strangers. Had I known exactly how intense it would be, however, I would have had prescription medication from the beginning to help me manage.
May your experience be far less frightening and painful than mine, and once again, I'm so sorry if you're going through this!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Description of First Time Miscarriage (Warning: TMI)
BFP1: DD1 born April 2011 at 34w1d via unplanned c/s due to HELLP, DVT 1 week PP
BFP3: DD2 born Feb 2013 at 38w4d via unplanned RCS due to uterine dehiscence
I am so sorry that your experience was so painful and so frightening. My pain was luckily manageable with ibuprofen also, but nonetheless, the actual episodes were uncomfortable, and it made me feel really panicky. I can't imagine having gone through that with far greater pain, like you did.
But as panicked as I was, I also found the process pretty fascinating. My body knew exactly what it needed to do, and it was kind of like rain cleansing the surface of the earth. And I agree with you that there was something I liked having gone through this at the privacy of my home. Thank you for sharing your story, and I wish you a quick recovery.
PCOS and Endo
Ovarian drilling and endo removed 1/3/12
BFP - 3/27/12
Beta's 11, 14, 57, 637, 2800
Sono showed no baby and teeny tiny sac. Waiting to M/C naturally.
Thank you for sharing this. I'm waiting to miscarry naturally from a blighted ovum. I'm afraid of how painful it might be, but I'm glad to read experiences like this so at least I might be prepared.
I'm sorry for your loss and for the physical and emotional pain you went through.
The pain I had was also very strong. It was mostly in my back, and was nearly unbearable. I took tylenol and a heating pad did WONDERS to help the back pain. I didn't even think about calling the dr for pain medication. I wish I would have. It was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. I'm assuming I now have at least a slight knowledge of what "back labor" feels like. It was awful.
For those who are waiting, I really suggest getting a heating pad if you don't already have one. We had to call my mom at 2am and she went and got one because we didn't have one, and I didn't want to be alone.
Missing our little turkey.
Estimated Due Date 11/13/12 | Natural Miscarriage 4/17/12
I'm not the OP, but I'll just say that I probably could have physically gone back after 1 day. But, it is different for everyone. I was still very sore... like muscle sore. And I was still bleeding pretty heavily (and did so for about 6 days). I'd say the bleeding was about twice as heavy as "normal period" bleeding. And I passed 2 more clots after the "main event" throughout the week. So just be prepared for that to happen while you're at work, because it might. It might not, but it might. Also, be sure to take it easy and don't over do it, physically. Your body needs to rest.
Missing our little turkey.
Estimated Due Date 11/13/12 | Natural Miscarriage 4/17/12