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Find support and share your experiences on our Miscarriage forum.

Find support and share your experiences on our Miscarriage forum.

Miscarriage/pregnancy loss

Experiences of MVA

22 replies

brickiemum2 · 06/02/2015 07:18

I've been offered an MVA next Friday and although Google throws up a technical description of what will happen I've yet to speak to anyone who's experienced one.
Anyone here have any experience? I'm wondering what the pain level is like during the procedure, whether any form of sedation/pain relief was offered, what the recovery is like and how quickly your cycle returned.
Thanks in advance.

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Brummiegirl15 · 06/02/2015 15:57

Will you be awake for it? I've had 2 x ERPC and was asleep for both those. It's certainly an option I would absolutely recommend.

But not sure if MVA is different. Someone more experienced will be along shortly I'm sure!

brickiemum2 · 06/02/2015 16:38

MVA is a procedure done under local anaesthetic (injected into cervix) then the evacuation is done with vacuum so yes you're awake. It has a lower complication rate than erpc and you can go home straight away. It does have the same advantage of erpc in that it's all over and done quickly. I've just never spoken to someone who's actually had it done though.

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brickiemum2 · 08/02/2015 16:10

Anyone?

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Clangerwoo · 08/02/2015 16:39

Hi Brickiemum, how are you?Sorry that you find yourself in this situation-Hope you are doing ok.

Do you know why they are offering this and not an erpc or similar? I didn't have this done as such-but while in hospital during my recent miscarriage they did remove "products" from my womb in a and e- this was without an anesthetic and without explanation of what they are doing and was bloody painful and scary-however with pain relief and knowing what to expect I think it would be a totally managable procedure. I have also had local anesthetic injected into my cervix years ago in another (unrelated to pregnancy or miscariage) procedure...it hurt when the injection went it-but wasn't awful and worked straight away.

Wishing you a speedy recovery-Hope all goes as well as it can do.

Clangerwoo · 08/02/2015 16:41

Sorry-just read your post thoroughly and see you are being offered it due to low complicate rate etc. Hope my post helps a bit but Hope someone who has been through similar can advise you too.

brickiemum2 · 08/02/2015 18:21

It's partially to do with lower complication rate, partially to avoid the tiny risk of ga, partially because I can apparently leave hospital more quickly.....but MAINLY because I have huge anxiety disorder, have never had a general and just cannot bear the thought of being put to sleep. I would be convinced I would die I'm already on low dose diazepam for anxiety and am waiting for councilling.

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brickiemum2 · 08/02/2015 18:22

And thank you for replying. That must've been awful to not be forewarned about what they were doing

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janey1234 · 12/02/2015 00:15

Hi
So sorry you're going through this.
I had my second mmc at the end of November and chose an MVA simply because I have an 18 month old and got paranoid about the risks of GA.
I'm not going to lie, it was real painful for me BUT the doctor said I had an unusually strong cervix so maybe that made it worse. However it was done within 5 mins of it starting, and I walked out and went straight home.
I found out today I've had another mmc so will be having another mva next Friday. So yes it was painful, but so quick and easy it seems silly to me to choose any other option.

FWIW I felt vaguely tender afterwards but ok, and as you can tell I got pg again (although without the happy ending) on my first full cycle after.

Good luck xx

janey1234 · 12/02/2015 00:17

Oh and for me the cervix injections were utterly painless, as was the suction bit (which they warned night hurt) - it was only the opening of cervix bit... Sorry if TMI. x

DearTeddyRobinson · 12/02/2015 00:21

I had one in December It's a bit painful when they inject your cervix with the local anaesthetic but not that bad actually. The worst part, which was still totally bearable, was when the cramping started - due to the the misoprostol (?) which is to open your cervix. It's like bad period pains. But they give you decent pain relief so it's manageable. All the best x

perfectpanda · 12/02/2015 09:41

Hi, sorry you are going through this. I opted for mva a couple of years ago, mainly to avoid ga and get it over with quicker. To be honest, they led me to believe it really wouldn't hurt, which wasn't true. But although it hurt, it was manageable and the pain was over by the time they counted to 10. The one thing I would ask if I had to have it again, was for some warning for when they are about to start the procedure, as I think I would have found it much better if I was prepared and done some deep breathing. I kind of felt unprepared and that annoyed me. I would do it again as I recovered quickly, other than a bit of a crampy tummy. All the best x

brickiemum2 · 12/02/2015 10:05

Thanks for the replies ladies. I'm prepared for it to hurt during the procedure but for me that's an ok trade off to avoid the ga. Can I ask what pain relief was given and whether they offered anything for anxiety etc beforehand?

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brickiemum2 · 12/02/2015 10:06

And so sorry janey that must just be devastating to have it happen twice in such quick succession

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janey1234 · 12/02/2015 10:11

Hi brickie
They gave me some painkiller tablets to take beforehand, and put a pessary in to soften the cervix (did nothing for me though). Then the local anaesthetic injections, which as I say, I could feel but weren't painful - just like any injection. I wasn't offered anything to relax, but equally, I didn't ask for it.
The pain honestly only lasted whilst they were forcing my cervix open - the second they took whatever it was in there out, the pain had totally gone.
I will be nervous the second time but it's honestly not bad at all and I honestly think it's preferable than having to put your body through a GA...

x

brickiemum2 · 12/02/2015 19:19

I've been given ibuprofen and paracetamol to take before hand. Procedure is at 10.30 tomorrow morning. Wish me luck.

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janey1234 · 13/02/2015 21:55

Was it today brickie? How are you?

brickiemum2 · 13/02/2015 22:10

I'm home and resting. What can I say about the procedure...Well, positives: it was quick, there was no risk from ga, I could leave an hour later, it's completely gone and I'm not even bleeding now, the staff were fabulous and sensitive. Negatives: the injections weren't painless, the actual removal itself was incredibly painful, I was in considerable discomfort for around 10 minutes afterwards.
After that 10 minutes though it was like a curtain lifted and I felt absolutely fine.
When you compare it either to the cumulative pain of a natural/medical or the risks and longer day of a ga I still think it was the right decision for me BUT I wish they had been more honest about exactly what "some cramping" meant. Had it lasted another 10 seconds I might have involuntarily kicked her in the face
I would still highly recommend it. But don't take the paracetamol you're given...take decent strength cocodamol an hour before. You'll thank me.

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janey1234 · 16/02/2015 15:29

Sorry it was so painful. They warned me about cramping but I didn't have any at all, I guess it must vary a lot from person to person. Starting to get the fear about having it again on Weds, sigh.
Glad you're recovering ok and it wasn't too horrific overall. x

brickiemum2 · 16/02/2015 16:14

Thanks. Well so much for not bleeding. Since my last post it's got much heavier and I'm cramping loads...much like a heavy period. I've also experienced the hormone dive and I've been really tearful and exhausted. Every single thing just seems like so much effort and I just want to sleep or cry. janey can I ask how long you bled for afterwards and then subsequently how long it took for your cycle to kick back in again?

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janey1234 · 20/02/2015 06:41

Hey
I had light bleeding for about a week I think. Was testing positive on pg test for a while. Once that passed I started doing ov sticks. Got a positive... Then AF came three days later so was just a weird cycle. After that I had a normal cycle and got pg again...

oliversmummy26 · 02/12/2016 21:19

I know this is an old post, but I wanted to share my experience for anyone looking for some information on the MVA procedure..

Yesterday I had a scan at the EPU in Derriford hospital in Plymouth and found that my baby had stopped growing at 8 weeks (I would have been about 10 weeks at this stage) I'd been bleeding for almost 2 days and was referred by my gp.

Of the 4 options I was given (1. Wait for nature to take its course; 2. Take some drugs to hurry nature along; 3. A general anesthetic to remove the "products of conception"; 4. A local anesthetic to "remove the products of conception") the MVA was the best for me. I did t fancy waiting around for anywhere up to 6 weeks for things to sort themselves out and a GA would have meant being in hospital for most of the day which wouldn't have worked as we have a 4 year old at home and haven't wanted to tell anyone yet.

We arrived at the hospital for our appointment at 12pm, a nurse took my bloods as this hadn't been done routinely in my pregnancy yet. We then went to a room where the doctor who would be performing the procedure explained everything to us and I signed a consent form.

A nurse then gave me several oral painkillers and antibiotics, a diclofenac supository (yes up my bum) and three pills vaginally to soften my cervix.

We then had to wait 45 minutes for these to start working. Then I was taken to one of the scanning rooms where the procedure would be performed. The nurse, doctor and a consultant were in there with me.

I lay on the bed, had my blood pressure and temp taken. Then the op began, a speculum was inserted, some local anesthetic injected into my cervix, this was sharp and scratchy but very much bearable. This took about 3-4 minutes as there were several injections. Then my cervix was gently stretched open, this was a little uncomfortable but again bearable.

My womb was emptied with a kind of auction device (so my DH says, I didn't hear or see anything) towards the end it felt very crampy, I guess like bad period pains (I don't tend to have painful periods) but it was no worse than that, gas and air was offered but I didn't need it, it was the sort of pain I would take a couple of ibuprofen and a hot water bottle for. These cramps I knew meant we were almost done as the doctor had already explained this for me. The suctioning itself probably took only a couple of minutes.

After that there was a vaginal scan to check everything had been removed. I got dressed and we went back to our original room so I could lie down for 10 mins and get myself back together. I felt a little light headed and shaky but was fine after a few minites.

We were on our way home 2.5 hours after we arrived. It really wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be, everyone we dealt with was so lovely, sensitive and very professional. I hope to god we don't have to go through this again, but if I do it's what I'd choose again.

My husband was with me the entire time and an absolute rock.

I have spent the afternoon and evening relaxing on the sofa at home, have no pain and only very light bleeding. I have every intention of trying to conceive again very very soon.

I do hope this will put someone's mind at rest who is about to go through this, it really is t anywhere near as bad as your imagination makes you believe. I also feel so much better knowing that within 24 hours of finding out that our baby had sadly died it is all over and we can move on.

For me it was absolutely the right choice and I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

Hulaballoo · 17/12/2016 07:59

Thanks oliversmummy for so much detail. I'm considering all the options at the moment and your experience has really helped. Thank you xx

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