Help me to understand what happened to me...

[googleisnotadoctor]

Let me start by saying I know that the only way I can get a definite answer is to speak to my GP or request hospital notes (which I think I will probably do)

I just wondered if anyone knows or has experienced similar?

A few years ago I had a missed miscarriage. I opted to let it happen naturally. I thought it was all finished but I didn’t stop bleeding for quite a while. I noticed a foul smell which I was hoping would go away (it didn’t) and one evening I started cramping (similar to contractions so very painful). It was so painful that I took myself to hospital and was kept in and put on a drip immediately. I was disorientated and on my own so can’t remember much about it. I was allowed home the following day.

I know it was some sort of post miscarriage infection most likely caused by retained product (I assume). I’ve been reading up about it today and I came across ‘Sepsis’ a few times. I do remember the consultant telling me I was very lucky I came to hospital when I did as the outcome could have been a lot worse. Does it sound like a simple infection or was I septic? Any ideas from what I’ve described? I just want to understand what happened to me.

Will likely request my notes to be sure.

When he asked why he wasn't told at the time he was informed that on the wards they 'Don't like to use that word

That could explain it thanks Hashi, wondered if I was sounding all conspiracy theory-ish.

Sepsis is when an infection localised to one part of the body (so in your case the uterus) goes beyond the infected area (via the blood stream) and can affect other organs often including heart, meninges etc. Effectively your whole body is fighting the infection at once and the massive immune response/inflammation can cause serious consequences/rapid organ shutdown and blood clotting changes etc. They worry particularly about pregnant women as the immune tolerance your body develops to sustain pregnancy can mean that a lot of the signals/signs of sepsis aren't shown or can be missed. It sounds like you had a nasty infection that required prompt antibiotic therapy, but thankfully it sounds like it was caught early enough to prevent sepsis.