How long before the bleeding starts?

[vixsyn]

I had a scan last Wednesday, when I would have been just into my eighth week of pregnancy (about five and a half weeks since dtd). The midwife took a long time finding the sac with the standard u/s so asked me to go for a wee and have an internal. On the internal she initially thought the sac was empty but eventually found the baby hiding away somewhere in the back. She then said there was no heartbeat, though the sac size and baby size were all consistent with my dates so it was likely a very recent miscarriage.

I've had some on/off cramps but I've had those for several weeks and I thought it was perhaps "rounding" (if I've got that term right?) pain - it is my first pregnancy.

It's strange because I don't really feel unpregnant - that might sound silly I guess, but I've still felt the need to be more industrious around the house, still can't stand coffee after my morning wake up cup, and still have very sore boobs, this last part evidenced when one of my lovely little dogs decided to stamp on one of them this morning and I awoke with a squawk that probably started dp and dog more than me. Of course, this could all just be remaining hormones.

Anyway, I haven't bled at all, my cervix is still quite high, firm and closed. The hospital told me to get in touch with them in three weeks if I hadn't started bleeding. That still feels like such a long time off. We weren't 100% decided on continuing the pregnancy but as soon as we started the scan we knew we wouldn't be terminating. Perhaps this is one of life's less fun ironies.

I wondered if anyone could share if they've not bled following being told they had a miscarriage and what happened? No one I know has had a miscarriage (two of my sisters have a collective nine children between them!) and I don't really have anyone I can talk to about it.

[Zabzab]

Hi Vixsyn, sorry you are going through this. It's amazing how hard it is to find specific information on this, thankfully forums like these exist.
I had a similar story, discovery around 6-7 weeks that the pregnancy was not viable (no baby had developed). Like you, I still felt very pregnant for a few weeks after that as the hormones do not get the miscarriage memo immediately! It's like your body is messing with you.
The bleesing can start any time, though statistically it's most likely to happen before 14 weeks.
The worst is the wait I think. Frankly, if it drives you nuts, do go to the hospital sooner. You need to start thinking about your options (wait for it to come naturallly, operate or if available in your hospital take meds to speed things up). My hospital needed to scan me twice with one week apart (to confirm there was nothing there) so the sooner you start talking to them the sooner it may finish.
I booked myself for am operation but ended up miscarrying naturally a few days before, at 11 weeks. I was lucky as it was fairly quick and not too painful, I even continued working (but that was silly). I prepared fully, with pain meds (nurofen with codeine), hot water bottle, bumper sanitary towels and big black nickers. And I wore black just in case as soon as a hint of blood appeared.
The thread called "Practicalities for coping with a miscarriage" on this group topic (currently on page 1) was awesome. Helped me prepare, and also feel less alone in the process.
Emotionally it's hard, but it gets better with time, especially after the mc is all done.
All the best of luck to you, take it easy, and consider starting the hospital process sooner. Xxx