6.5 weeks pregnant, brown discharge, scan shows yolk sac but no embryo - please help!

[Clarab0w]

Hello all,

Since I've spent the past few days obsessively lurking, I thought I'd come out of hiding and seek some wisdom...

Got my BFP just over two weeks ago because I just felt somehow different, and immediately had a few symptoms (slightly swollen, tingly boobs, super strong pulse and burping weirdly). Was so excited but had a suddenly bad feeling 3 days later when I was boarding a flight, and then over the next 5 days noticed the few symptoms I had getting less until eventually boobs didn't hurt at all, and pulse had returned to normal.

I called my boyfriend from abroad in tears saying I just didn't 'feel pregnant' anymore and convinced that something had gone wrong, but he assured me I was just being anxious...

Three days later on the flight back I started bleeding really dark brown blood. I managed to get an emergency scan booked, so the following day, when I was meant to be 6w 5d, had an internal scan that showed a gestational and yolk sac but no embryo, let alone a heartbeat.

The bleeding has faded to the occasional light brown discharge, but besides the occasional pulse thing again, everything else has disappeared - not that I had many symptoms to begin with! But boobs are back to normal size and sensitivity - now all I have are headaches and feeling a bit tired (which could also be jet lag...)

I've got another scan booked in two weeks, but I feel like I just know it's over.

Has anyone else been through this? I'm sure I'm not alone but it feels it right now...I'd just like to know if I'm right to be bracing myself for the worst, so please be honest...

Sorry for the long post and thanks for any advice you can give!

[Kickedinthetits]

If you address assure of your dates, it sounds like a miscarriage unfortunately. I'm really sorry. Many many people have been there so you won't struggle to find support. There is a miscarriage board on here (in Body and Soul) and I found it so helpful to speak to people there when I was going through it. Mine was a missed miscarriage discovered by scan at 10 weeks. The pregnancy had stopped developing two weeks earlier. It was confirmed by a second scan a week later and then I miscarried at home naturally a week after than. I then had surgical management for retained tissue. If you find yourself having to look into the different management methods, there are three possibilities and the Miscarriage Association is a really great source of information.

Your scan in two weeks should be able to confirm it, although if I was you I would try and push for one earlier- say in a week. It will be just as conclusive but will mean you don't have to wait in limbo because that is definitely the hardest part.

Sorry you're going through this. Miscarriages are really really shit.

[Clarab0w]

Thanks Kickedinthetits, that's really kind of you and I appreciate the honesty. I'm so sorry you've been through this too, but thanks so much for sharing what helped - I'll definitely look into it to get prepared.

[Clarab0w]

Anyone else have any stories to share please? I thought the actual two week wait was the hardest, but this two week wait seems even longer...

[Southy84]

Hi Clara just thought Id share my story, I had a early scan at just over 5 weeks due to right sided stomach pain, they only saw a sac. I was re-booked for ten days later (the longest ten days ever) at that scan we saw a tiny baby with a heartbeat. I had on and off brown spotting for nearly two weeks (mainly when I wiped - sorry tmi) which seemed to stop. Then last weekend it started again and I had another scan this week, at the scan I was told I was 8+2 so instead of 7+4 which I thought I would be going on the previous scan, so I'd actually gone forward with dates. The baby is fine but I now have an answer to my bleeding, I have what the sonographer described as a bruise just below (not attached) to where the baby is. Apparently some people get these and it should resolve on its own and I have been told I may get more spotting. At this stage the baby is so small and maybe yours just isn't visible. Not trying to get your hopes up but sometimes brown blood isn't a sign it's all over. I'm being realistic but hoping the baby will be ok and that the bleed disappears soon. Im on another thread and seen lots of comments from ladies who see their symptoms come and go. Sadly you won't know Til your next scan for sure but I have everything crossed that it's good news for you x

[NotSoSkinnyLove]

Hi, I had similar which unfortunately turned out to be an ectopic pregnancy. It more than likely is not the case for you but just incase you get any weird pains I wanted to tell you so that you can get yourself back up for a scan. I had a scan at about 6wk due to brown spotting (having had a previous ectopic I knew what it was!) and they could see an empty sack. They told me it was a miscarriage and did a ERCP. It was only when I started getting pains a couple of weeks later and went back up they scanned me again and found the ectopic in my tube. They said it can be quite common to have an empty sack in the womb when there is a pregnancy in the tube.
On the flipside during my first healthy pg I also had spotting and the first scan they couldn't see a heartbeat. I know that doesn't help but what I'm trying to say there's a chance it'll be ok but also please don't feel pushy going back up if you start to feel any pain or anything.

[Southy84]

Sorry to hear of your experiences kicked and notso MC is such a horrible thing to go through x

[StopShoutingAtYourBrother]

I'm sorry OP to hear about your concerns but I have a positive story.

I went through something very very similar with my dd. I had a lot of bleeding early on (5 or 6 weeks) and bad cramps. I ended up having a scan as they were worried I was having an ectopic pregnancy and told me they could see an empty sac but nothing else. They weren't sure it was a viable pregnancy (and questioned if I was intact pregnant at all) and told me to expect a miscarriage. It was all fine in the end and now I have a lovely dd!

If it helps I think this scan was just so early they didn't see the embryo cos I was only just pregnant (if that makes sense) and this hadn't yet developed. So enough for symptoms but not much else. The blood (whilst a lot - I had to use a pad) was rusty red suggesting (I now know) that it was old blood rather than bright red. Bright red suggests fresh bleeding and Is more indicative of a miscarriage. I did throughout the whole thing feel pregnant so even tho everyone and everything suggested it wasn't going to end well (and the hospital staff doubted I could even be pregnant at one point) somehow I just knew it would be fine. Headaches are a common sign of early pregnancy.

I hope it works out for you op. One piece of advice I found comforting when I was in your place was that really there was nothing I could do to influence things other than try to stay calm, eat well and wait.

[Clarab0w]

Hi Southy84, god, it's scary isn't it? Must have been awful to think you're past the whole terrifying spotting business and then have it come back - so glad it's all going well for you, though, and thanks so much for the shot of confidence - even if it's not going to be good news for me next week it's great to hear a happy story. Really, really hope there are no more spotting episodes for you, sounds like you deserve a bit of easy, happy pregnancy from here on in!

NotSoSkinnyLove can't believe you've been through this twice, that must be heart wrenching. so glad you've got a beautiful DC to cuddle through it. thank you so much for the heads up about the ectopic signs - as a first-timer, i'm feeling a bit clueless, but if i feel anything's wrong(er) i'll keep your advice in mind and get to the doc's straight away.

and StopShoutingAtYourBrother (best MN name ever!) - thanks so much for sharing your happy outcome; so so glad it all worked out and you had a healthy DD at the end of it! seems every pregnancy has its terrors, hey? and so good that you trusted your body and your intuition and could just keep the faith. i think if i had symptoms i'd feel much more optimistic about things... but you're so right, i can't do anything to change the outcome now, only wait - which is totally unbearable, but unavoidable! i'll definitely focus on eating well, though - good at that bit

guys, can't thank you enough - pregnancy is such a solitary experience even when everything's going well, and when it's not - well, you all know. so thank you so much for giving me your advice, i'll take it all to heart.

huge hugs to all x

[Southy84]

It is scary, more spotting today but I just have to get my head around that this is at the moment normal for me, and unless it significantly changes I have to try to stay calm.
You're right it is very solitary, MN has been so good for me the last few months and I've had some really good advice, let us know how you get on won't you x

[Maurice169]

I had spotting and a heavy bleed in my first 12 weeks. I'm now 20 weeks.
I went for an early scan at 6 weeks, all we could see was the yolk sac but no fetal pole. I went back 2 weeks later and there was the baby, could here heart beat.
I've had 4 miscarriages in the past so was quite amazed.
I hope the news is good for you!

[Clarab0w]

Southy84 I know how much easier it is to say than to do (believe me!) but yep, keep calm and soldier on - I'm sure your body is doing exactly what it needs to do, even though it doe rattle your nerves! If nothing else, it's a great excuse to take things very easy and be gentle with yourself...I've got all my fingers crossed for a super easy ride for you!

and Maurice169 that's a lovely story! so so glad you came out the other side of the panic with a healthy little bean in there. thanks so much for the well wishes - they really do help!

still 9 excruciatingly long days to go before i have my follow-up scan (unless my body gives me a clear answer in the meantime) but i'll update as soon as I know anything xx

[StopShoutingAtYourBrother]

If it helps at all OP as well as the on-off spotting I also had really bad cramping. Normally I didn't get this with periods so this really scared me something was going wrong but I think it was just my body adjusting. Keep hanging in there - I know it's tough at this stage.

[Lottiedaydreambeliever2014]

I had bleeding from 5-7 weeks. At 5+6 I had a scan which showed the yolk sac but no baby (the doc was really nice and said there is the house but we are waiting for the person to be inside it!), at the rescan ten days later baby was there with a heartbeat. Im sure it will be a scary few days but I hope you get a positive outcome!

[Clarab0w]

Thanks ladies - it really does help in this never-ending wait for the scan to hear your stories.

StopShouting I guess I should be reassured that I haven't really had any cramping (just a feeling like my cervix is really tender if that makes sense?) but it's the lack of symptoms plus the scan plus the bleeding that's got me 95% convinced the pregnancy has come to an end somehow. Just feel really 'unpregnant' IYKWIM? It must have been really reassuring (and confusing!) to still feel like your body was doing all the right things. The spotting seems to have stopped now but not sure how positive that is given all my other worrying signs (or lack of!).

Lottiedaydreambeliever2014 that's brilliant, so happy all's well with you! That's great to hear. And your doc sounds so nice - makes such a difference when they're lovely, doesn't it? So far everyone I've seen has been really amazing. Will help a lot if I've got bad news coming next week.

I know it's frustrating to other people in the same boat not to find out what happened, so I'll come back next Tuesday whichever way it goes to let you know what's going on. In the meantime, thanks again x

[Clarab0w]

I just wanted to update for anyone (like me) searching for info about this kind of scenario - after my second scan today at 8w 6d, it's a confirmed 'silent miscarriage' - still not sure whether it's the same as a mmc but that's what the nurse called it.

After the initial few days of brown blood I had no further spotting until last night, but I also could tell that my few remaining symptoms (indigestion, lightheadedness only really) were dwindling away to almost nothing.

I don't want to worry anyone unduly, but there's such a lot of info out there saying 'brown blood is old blood, don't worry', and it's just not true, or it's certainly not true for everyone. I never had cramps or red blood - the most common (but not the only) signs of mc - so sometimes brown blood is your body trying to tell you something. My EPU sonographer told me at my first scan "It doesn't matter at all what colour it is. Blood is blood, it's always worth investigating."

If you're worried about it, or feel your symptoms disappearing, or just feel like something's not right, do talk to your GP or EPU and above all TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS! I knew something was up from three weeks ago, even before any discharge whatsoever, so don't worry about seeming like a paranoid pregnant lady!

I know many, many women have completely healthy pregnancies and babies even after spotting and bleeds and this isn't meant to cause panic at all - just gentle encouragement to listen to your body and not be afraid to get checked out. As difficult as this miscarriage is, I'm still a little grateful that I found out sooner rather than later.

Thanks again for all your support and I wish you all the best with your little beans - hope to be back on here some time soon with better news x

[ThePug]

Sorry to hear your news clara
Just wanted to say that I completely agree with what you've written about brown blood; every time I see people saying 'brown blood is old blood so you're probably fine' I want to chip in, but I know most people are looking for hope and reassurance so I keep quiet. My mc in April started with brown tinged cm, progressing to brown spotting and then brown bleeding. It was never red and I never had any cramps either.

Hope you'll be back with a sticky bfp soon clara - to give you a positive story I am currently 19+5 pregnant having got my BFP the cycle after the post-mc 'wtf' cycle.

[Southy84]

clara I'm so sorry to hear your sad news, i hope you have lots of support and are taking it easy. I have everything crossed that everything works out for you really soon. In the meantime look after yourself thank you for updating us I know that must have been hard to write xx

[lulux9]

Hi, I just need some advice and would like to know if some people are going/went through what I am going through. My LMP was last month 10th March 2017, my period is irregular, sometimes I get it after 24 days and sometimes I get it after 33 days. Did a PT on the 10th of April and came out positive. Did two blood tests aswell and everything is normal, even the doctor confirmed that it is not ectopic pregnancy.

I've been bleeding since I found out that I am pregnant - bleeding not heavy but always have pink/brown stain everytime I wipe. Sometimes there's a pink spots on my knickers too. I always go back to EPU to double check as this is getting me really worried. Today I did another TU and they told me my gestational sac has gotten bigger compared to last time. This time it is 6mm x 7mm but they still couldn't see the yolk sac. I'm worried if the baby is still there or maybe I had an early miscarriage that's why I've been bleeding (although it's light) for three weeks now. I need help please!

[Soph96]

Hi guys, just a little bit of hope for you all, I found out I was pregnant about 3 weeks ago, absolutely worried myself sick since the day I found out, I had two miscarriages last year so any ache or pain or abnormality makes me think the worst, i went to the GP with abdominal pain and brown when wiping, who referred me to EPU due to my previous pregnancies going wrong, they scanned me and could only see the sac nothing else and got told to have blood tests every two days which showed my hormone was going up as it should, they rung me a few days later asking me to go back to EPU two weeks after my last scan just for a follow up which I went to yesterday, emotional day, the scanning lady explained things could not be good but she done the abdominal scan and there was the sac, yolk sac and baby with a strong heartbeat clearly, absolutely balled my eyes out because I couldn't quite believe it but it happened, she said she doesn't want to see me anymore and she is happy and I should book with midwife now, so I know brown is worrying but it's not as worrying as red blood, I am currently 6 weeks or so and I still get pain and brown but had all positivity so far, so good luck everyone and think positive and have faith 😘

[Soph96]

Hi lulux9, just a little bit of hope for you, I found out I was pregnant about 3 weeks ago, absolutely worried myself sick since the day I found out, I had two miscarriages last year so any ache or pain or abnormality makes me think the worst, i went to the GP with abdominal pain and brown when wiping, who referred me to EPU due to my previous pregnancies going wrong, they scanned me and could only see the sac nothing else and got told to have blood tests every two days which showed my hormone was going up as it should, they rung me a few days later asking me to go back to EPU two weeks after my last scan just for a follow up which I went to yesterday, emotional day, the scanning lady explained things could not be good but she done the abdominal scan and there was the sac, yolk sac and baby with a strong heartbeat clearly, absolutely balled my eyes out because I couldn't quite believe it but it happened, she said she doesn't want to see me anymore and she is happy and I should book with midwife now, so I know brown is worrying but it's not as worrying as red blood, I am currently 6 weeks or so and I still get pain and brown but had all positivity so far, so good luck everyone and think positive and have faith 😘

[VernaFortades]

Hello everyone,

Im very happy to learn about this forum and would like to ask for some support regarding my pregnancy. I went to a follow up ultrasound yesterday. My first ultrasound was 2 weeks ago. During my first ultrasound, the doctor could see a gestational sac but no yolk sac or embryo. The doctor asked me to come back after a week, but didn't because I wanted to give my pregnancy a chance to develop. I was only 6 weeks pregnant then. However, yesterday, I had brown spotting with traces of red blood. I was forced to go back to my OB at 10 days instead of the two to 3 weeks that I planned. She performed a belly ultrasound, and it didn't even take one minute. She summarily dismissed that I had a miscarriage. When I started crying, she told me not to cry as there will be other pregnancies. I knew that in her own way she was trying to comfort me, but I couldn't help but feel that she didn't investigate thoroughly. She advised me on how to pass the pregnancy naturally and to come back after 10 days. After hours of crying, my father and my best friend encouraged me to seek for a second opinion. Although I was beginning to feel not too pregnant anymore, I followed, even just for the sake that I can tell myself that I didn't give up on my baby that fast. I went to an ER of another hospital and they performed a transvaginal ultrasound. There they found a gestational sac which is 8 weeks and they found a yolk sac which wasn't present two weeks ago. They measured my Hcg and it was around more than 2,000. They told me to come back after 3 days. I really think it's too early and that I should still wait, but I'll go back as adviced. However, I will ask for the new ob to still give my baby a chance to develop. Can you imagine, there was no yolk sac two weeks ago and now there is. I'd like to believe that my pregnancy is just a little delayed... I want to keep faith and keep on praying. Please pray for us too. Thank you.