Should a miscarriage be this slow?

[HomeIsWhereTheGinisNow]

Long story short, I'm miscarrying at eight and a half weeks. Sadly it was expected, early scans saw a slow heartbeat and a baby that was two weeks too small. I'm bleeding, some tiny clots but nothing major, basically walking around normally with a pad that's almost empty rather that stuck in the bathroom. Is that normal? The NHS miscarriage webpage doesn't have a huge amount of information about how long this should take and I was rather expecting it to be overwhelming amounts of blood rather than the lightest period ever...?

[Lucinda15]

I'm so sorry you are going through this op. I think miscarriages can really vary. I've had 3 at 5 weeks, 8 weeks and 11 weeks. The earliest one was like a heavy period, the last two were quite a bit heavier. They both started with very light bleeding, over about 48 hrs. Some tiny red blood clots. A smear of blood on tissue, etc etc. But then by the 2nd-3rd day I felt strong painful cramping and the blood flow got increasingly heavy, and blood clots larger. The one at 8 weeks lasted perhaps a few days longer than my normal periods, and I managed it at home with extra large pads etc. I needed pain relief perhaps 2-3 days. Took a couple days off work.

So in my experience it did start incredibly light, and then got quite a bit heavier but was manageable and over fairly quickly. But I have heard stories where bleeding can continue for some time although I don't have first hand experience of that.

I would say, as u may have already been advised, that you should go to a&e if you begin to bleed very heavily, pass large clots and need to change your pads every hour. And if that's the case, call an ambulance - it's not being dramatic, and they will see you straight away when u get there so u won't have to spend hours in a waiting room before being seen!

Take very good care, don't push urself and rest up. Thinking of you xx

[bonzo77]

Sorry for your loss. I had one, it started very slow (brown smudges) then a bit of darker / thicker brown mucus. Then stopped. For days. Then several hours of contractions and huge clots 8 days after the first bit of brown blood. (like the size of my hand). Then it all stopped for a few days. Then started again. It did this for over 2 weeks (in fact it started 18/12/11, the huge clots Boxing Day, and I had an ERPC on 5/1/12). Then light bleeding for a few days after the ERPC. And I remember the dates because... 5/1 the following year was my EDD for my next baby. 18/12 was meant to be the date of my planned section!

[LeSquigh]

I'm sorry for your loss. I had a missed miscarriage and am still bleeding and cramping now, a month after having initial treatment. It stops, then it starts, and less than a week ago I was passing blood like I was peeing it out. I am getting huge down about it now as you can imagine. I've had two medical managements which didn't work properly and now I've just been left to "see what happens". I am MORE than fed up.

[tiggykate]

Sorry to hear you're going through this. Mine was also like you describe - once the tiny clots started it took a day or two and then I started passing bigger clots and then that night I had a full on (but incomplete) miscarriage. Once you start to pass clots bigger than a strawberry I'd recommend staying home near the loo.

[ToInfinity]

So sorry.
My last miscarriage took 6 weeks to pass completely (was 6 weeks pregnant).
Sounds quite similar to yours, no heavier than a normal period (but much more clotty) and not much more painful either as well.
Very different to my first, which took one week and was super heavy and painful!
So I think there can be a lot of variation. Are you having regular scans?
Try to rest and give yourself some time to process what is happening. It will get better!

[HomeIsWhereTheGinisNow]

Thanks everyone. I ended up in a&e last night with tissue stuck in my cervix (pain was atrocious) so currently waiting to go into theatre for a erpc. Thank you for your advice!

[bonzo77]

Oh. Hope it went ok and you're tucked up at home in bed recovering. My recovery was very easy, hope yours is too.