Thought I'd miscarried - still bleeding but pregnancy test positive??

[Sarahx2005]

Hi,
I'm new here and just wanted a bit of advice. I'm in early pregnancy and started bleeding on Tuesday which was at around 6 weeks. I bled a fair amount, started off as dark blood but turned to red. It's not pouring out but there is a fair amount like a period, felt a bit crampy on the first day but that's all. I just resigned myself to the fact that it's a miscarraige, then yesterday (Thursday) the bleeding slowed right down and then in the evening I suddenly felt I might still be pregnant, just a feeling and peeing quite a lot. Well today (Fri) I've done a pregnancy test which is still positive (but I've heard they can be for a while after pregnancy loss) so now I'm not sure, I'm still bleeding today. I have to speak to the doc again on Mon with regard to either a preg test (she doesn't know i've done this one today) or an early scan.
I didn't plan on being pregnant at all, infact it was a complete shock and still not sure how it happened as we were very careful. I have had four children already, eldest daughter is 12 1/2, son is 10, we lost our second gorgeous son when he was four (2002) from a brain tumour, and we have a beautiful 10 month old baby girl.
I'm quite chilled about it as at 38!! I've been round the block a few times.
I miscarried in 2003 when we were trying for a baby, but didn't know until my 12 week scan when there was no heartbeat, I'd had a bit of spotting earlier that week but nothing significant.
Anyway that's enough from me - any advice??
Sarah xx

[NotQuiteCockney]

I'm afraid it does sound like a miscarriage. Pregnancy tests can continue to come up positive for a while after a miscarriage - this happened to me as well.

You should still have a scan to be sure you've miscarried everything (otherwise you need a D+C, which I gather isn't nice). Also, they generally ask you to keep doing pregnancy tests, in a week or so, to make sure you get a negative one, as that means things have sorted themselves.

I'm sorry to hear about your loss, but it sounds like you're reasonably ok with it, which has to help.

Welcome to Mumsnet, anyway! It must be interesting raising a 10-month-old, with two much older siblings. Are they much help?

[Twiglett]

what a horrible time for you

I'm afraid that it could be either way .. it could've been implantation bleeding or a miscarriage and the only way to know is to have an EPU

if the bleeding was heavy and you were crampy I think a miscarriage might be more likely but not necessarily so

the HCG hormone will stay in your system though so you would get a positive

If I were you I would call Doc now and get an EPU scan (early pregnancy) arranged .. be aware this is an internal scan

Good luck

[amynnixmum]

No advice really but {{{hugs}}}
My sister in law bled really badly with her dd in the early weeks. They told her at the hospital that there was no way her baby could survive with the amount of blood she lost and yet she went on to have a normal pregnancy and a beautiful baby girl so these things can have a happy ending.
Welcome to mn Sarah - really hope things work out for you xx

[Marina]

OK, well...I'm afraid it could be that your pregnancy hormone levels are still high enough in your body to give a positive result. If you are miscarrying, then those levels will fall quite soon. But the fact you still feel pregnant is promising...
Or it could be that you originally had a twin pregnancy and sadly you have miscarried one of the babies at an early stage (apparently this is commoner than one might think)
Or you could be one of those lucky women (like me and loads of other Mumsnetters) who have scary, annoying minor bleeds every month for the first half of their pregnancy roughly when their period would have been due.
So you are in a waiting game, I guess Sarah. Really hope for a positive resolution for you all.
Welcome to Mumsnet! And very, very sorry to hear that your second son died in 2002

[biglips]

sarah - thinking of you (((((hugs))))))

[Prettybird]

Sarahx2005 - does your maternity hospital have an Early Pregnancy Uit? You can usually self refer yourself to these to get that early scan, especially given that you had an earlier miscarriage - might be better than waiting all weekend.

{{{{hugs}}}}

[Sarahx2005]

Hi all,
Thanks for your replies.
I'm just gonna wait it out, whatever I do or don't do can't affect the outcome and I don't want to drag 3 kids to the hospital, will speak to my doctor on Monday and if she recommends a scan I will go for one (kids back at school next week).
As for being 'reasonably ok' with losing my son - nothing could be further from the truth, it's not ok and never will be - I just learn to live with it day by day and thank God for my other children. I'm just so glad that I didn't tell them I was pregnant - they've been through enough. So for now it's just a waiting game although the bleeding has stopped now.
I'm not sure what I expected a miscarraige to be like, but I thought it would be more bleeding than I've had and very painful, except for feeling a bit 'draggy' on the first day of bleeding I've not had any pain at all.
Speak soon, Sarah xx

[lilsmum]

sarah, i think notquitecockney meant your pregnancy (as in loss) not your little boy, nobody could ever be ok with losing a child to something so awful

good luck with docs and i hope everything works out for you

[Sarahx2005]

Hi,
The bleeding seems to have stopped for now and it wasn't as much yesterday either. I've lost some 'clotty' bits, like thick stringy red bits but nothing of any significant size, I did bleed with my last baby from 9 weeks for about a month but not this much.
Thanks for your kind words, I wasn't sure whether Notquitecockney meant my son or my loss, I did actually write that in an earlier email, but forgot to sign in and lost it!
Thanks guys, Sarah x

[Sarahx2005]

I did have a d&c with my 'missed miscarraige' in 2003, it wasn't too bad actually. I decided to get it 'sorted' sooner rather than later, didn't want to go home and just wait around for 'nature to take it's course'.
Sarah x

[amynnixmum]

Don't blame you sarah, I did the same. Just couldn't bear to go home knowing my baby was dead inside me. Waited 10 hours in the end to get an op and ended up having to stay in which I didn't want because I wanted to be with DH but staff were really nice. Thinking of you at this horrible time.{{{big hugs}}} Sian xxx

[Sarahx2005]

Hi,
Just had a thought - I may be clutching at straws here, but I had a traumatic emergency section last April - do you think that could be anything to do with the bleeding??
Sarah x

[fisil]

Sarahx2005, big hugs, you've been through a lot and this must be really scary for you.

My Mum went to the Dr with what she thought was the menopause at 42, only to be told that it was actually a pregnancy! A few days later she miscarried, and went back to the Dr. He did another test, which was still positive and told her she was still pregnant - and my gorgeous gorgeous brother was born 7 months later perfectly healthy! She thinks that she miscarried a twin, although I've always bled a lot in pregnancy so now she wonders.

[Sarahx2005]

Hi all,
I've done another test this morning and it was still positive, exactly the same as the test on friday, no darker and no fainter.
Will see what the doc says tomorrow and let you all know.
Sarah xx

[Steppy1]

Hi Sarah

Hope you don't mind me adding my details to the list. I experienced bleeding with my first pregnancy at 6 weeks, which had stopped by 8 then started really heavily at 12 weeks and continued until 20 weeks. My hospital were great though every time I was admitted (we have an early pregnancy unit) they thought that I had miscarried (the bleeds always happened at night) though when scanned in the morning baby was always quite happy and moving as normal. As quickly as the bleeding started, it did stop at 20 weeks and though it was awful and like an emotional rollercoaster at the time it all worked out fine in the end (DS is now 4 and fine) they did find that my plaenta was lying low though because it was early on didn;'t diagnose me as having placenta praevia. Hope your news is good news !

[HappyMumof2]

Message withdrawn

[Sarahx2005]

Hi,
Thanks for the good wishes. It's hard to say if I still feel pregnant, I felt and was so sick all the way through when I was having baby number four (only last year!), I feel sicky on occasion, but the main thing is I still seem to be peeing lots.
I just thought that a 7 week pregnancy might produce quite a strong test result, although it was quite obviously positive it was not that strong really.
Well time will tell!
Sarah xx

[Sarahx2005]

Hi all,
I've spoken to the doctor this morning and she wants me to go and have a scan. She said if the test was positive then it's very likely I'm still pregnant, I'm not convinced but I'm keeping an open mind. She said she just wants to know what's going on and the best way to do that is to have a scan, then I will know for sure if the pregnancy is continuing like it should, or if I have miscarried the scan will tell if there is anything left in there that shouldn't be.
They will phone me later today to let me know when the scan will be - so as soon as I find out I will let you know.
Sarah xx
ps Feeling crap today with a bad head and tonsilitis

[Marina]

Good luck Sarah, you could do without the tonsillitis

[HappyMumof2]

Message withdrawn

[lovinit]

Good luck with the scan Sarah. I am now almost 20 wks and went through a very similar experience to yours. I had a scan at 7 wks too, and it confirmed that despite the bleeding, that I was indeed pregnant. I had apparently had a small clot and the bleeding was the result of that clot leaving the body. Dr is not sure why it was there, but it is now gone.

Hope all goes well !

[Sarahx2005]

Hi,
Im not still bleeding haven't really bled for a few days now.
I had bleeding with my 10 month old, I had a clot too behind the placenta, but I didn't bleed as much as I did last week and I bled on and off for a month, but I had already seen a heartbeat before the bleeding started.
I'm no holding my breath this time
Sarah x

[NotQuiteCockney]

You're close to seven weeks now, I think? Which means you can have an internal scan to see what's going on ... Any EPAU will do this for you ...

And yes, as lilsmum said, I did mean you were "reasonably ok" with this (potential) loss. I totally understand that you could have thought I meant the loss of your son. I can't even begin to imagine what that must have been like ... I'm so sorry for you.