To think my GP thought a mistake had been made?

[UnlawfulBananaPeeler]

Last year I suffered a miscarriage after taking the morning after pill and getting a shot of Depo (same day) I came back with a positive test week later, whole shocked and upset (two DC under two) i accepted this was supposed to happen. But clearly it was not.

I have recently been back to the GP after suffering horrible periods causing anemia and terrible pain ect and been back and two on deciding to have the depo shot again. I decided against it because I just have such as memories attached and have decided to go for a coil.
In passing I mentioned the morning after pill and injection consultation.
She looked visibly shocked and said ‘On the same day? did we do that here!?’ And hurriedly looked through my notes and said ‘I’m sorry’ and nothing else of it.
It was only after I left did I think it was a bit strange , do you think she realised the mistake that could have potentially caused the loss? Or am I seeing something’s that isn’t there?

Sorry, not sure from your OP what was going on - do you mean that you took the morning after pill but it didn't work and you fell pregnant and then subsequently had a miscarriage? And you're wondering if the MAP / depo combination caused the miscarriage?

Sorry if I'm not following, just wanted to make sure I have it right

I'm also not following, are you saying you were pregnant on the day you took the map; and also had a depo shot same day?

Sorry yes I think I must have already been pregnant and not realised , but the night before we’d used a condom that failed and I went straight in for the MAP and to ask about longer acting contraception when she offered Depo in the same appointment. So had the injection, went home and took the MAP and then a week after got the positive test.

So I’m wondering if the combination caused the miscarriage and that my GP has only just realised because I mentioned it but just not said anything about it as it was another doctor that did it.

The surgery should have done a pregnancy test before depo is given. Was this not the case ask to see your records or speak to the practice manager or if you can get an appointment the doctor.

Well if you took the morning after pill and then bled (as is intended) it is usually a pre-implanted fertilised ovum, if anything fertilised at all. MAP is contraceptive not an abortifacient per se. The implant is also a contraceptive not a method of terminating a pregnancy.
I don’t understand why you think you ‘miscarried’ when you took measures to prevent pregnancy knowing that the MAP would cause bleeding.
It would be perfectly usual for a health service to offer long acting contraception at the same time as prescribing MAP. ToP clinics actually get funded according to the number of women given long acting contraception on same day as termination.

don’t understand why you think you ‘miscarried’ when you took measures to prevent pregnancy knowing that the MAP would cause bleeding.

Because of the positive test afterwards. The MAP prevents pregnancy, it doesn't terminate.

I had lots of positive tests because I bought a lot to make sure even a digital one that said 3+ weeks or whatever they say, so I’m assuming I’d got pregnant before the day of gbe failed contraception and never realised. No pregnancy test offered by the GP at the MAP appointment. Then late period prompted me to take a test. VERY obviously miscarried and continiged to get postive test some weeks later until my next period . And had a scan to check for retained products due to ongoing bleeding. So it wasn’t a bleed caused by the morning after pill. All in wondering is could that combination have caused a miscarriage and had the GP realised this in my recent appointment ?

For clarity my period was due two days after the MAP appointment but know they can sometimes delay a bleed hence why I left it a week to test.
It does seem highly likely I was pregnant before the appointment and the GP failed to test for pregnancy. I didn’t do for a termination I went for a prevention.

I know my gp always makes me do a pregnancy test before changing contraception - I had assumed that this was because of potential harm to a baby but thinking about it a bit more, maybe it was just to see if contraception was necessary.

I've only ever taken the MAP once and iirc I had to abstain from sex without barrier methods and not take my newly prescribed pill for around a week or so (it was a while ago).

Are you upset about the miscarriage OP? I can’t understand the feeling behind your post

you "miscarried" at 3 weeks, 1 week after the MAP, so no, you weren't pregnant before hand, you concieved the day before the MAP ( so you were 2 weeks pregnant on that day) and the MAP did the job you took it for

OP it does sound possible that the GP should waited to be sure the MAP hadn’t failed then given you a pregnancy test before the depo shot and the more recent GP realised when you mentioned it and she looked at your notes. YANBU to see that as a possibility from the details you’ve posted.

But Clairetree is right about the timing - the number of weeks of pregnancy is counted from the last period you had, not the point at which the egg implants. So even if the Dr should have given you a pregnancy test first, the 3 week pregnancy test is not a good indication you were pregnant before you had the failed condom.

The only way you are going to find out is to talk to them and get hold of your records. Do you think you’ll find this helpful? If it turns out the Dr should have given you the pregnancy test and the later miscarriage can possibly be attributed to the depo shot (not sure they’d ever be able to give you a certain answer, since all sorts of things frequently go wrong that early in pregnancy), what then?

It’s been a year so my feelings have filled somewhat but at the time yes I wasn’t very much so. I was in a bad place with PND as welland it’s taken a long time to talk about it . I clearly didn’t want to go into how terrible it all was due to the potential trigger for other people and I didn’t put a warning in the title (stupidly) but the appointment yesterday has just raised more questions because I’ve just thought it was my body failing.

I didn’t ‘miscarry’ I miscarried . As much has been confirmed by a medical professional. I was pregnant after the MAP the test was postitive a week AFTER taking the MAP pill in my experience a pregnancy wouldn’t show up on a normal home test until at least 4 weeks pregnant. I’m not querying if I was pregnant I’m querying whether it was my body failing or something to do with the combination of the MAP and Depo. Hence why my GP seem s surprised when I said I had them together

Both the morning after pill and the depo injection are progesterone based, and one of the ways that they act are by tricking the body into thinking you are already pregnant. I'm not aware of any evidence that a surge in progesterone would cause a miscarriage, it wouldn't make sense.

The injection shouldn't have been given because they should have waited until you knew you were not pregnant. It's definitely not normal for it to be given at the same time as the MAP, which is entirely different from a termination.

I'd make an appointment to have a chat with your GP about how the drugs affect your reproductive system, just to set your mind at rest. If you felt uncomfortable a pharmacist would also be able to answer your questions.

I'm sorry for your loss. Whether it was planned or not it has clearly had an effect on you and it is what you feel that matters.

BoomBoomsCousin I’m not sure what then . I think its put me back right into the middle of what happened and wondering if my actions caused it . I guess sometimes you just want a reason if there isn’t one

I feel like it’s entirely plausible I could have been pregnant before I took the MAP seeing as I had been sexually active before then too and pregnancy is risk every time you have intercourse is it not?
We had used the withdrawal method before hand in the weeks before the failed condom (which worked for several years but I’ll prepare to flamed)

I think you took the map to end the conception, and the MAP ended the conception. It might have been dead some time before it was detected, it can still implant, it can still give positive pregnancy tests, but its already ended.

I'm sorry you have had a hard time, its miserable,

Even if it wasn’t down to the Depo, early miscarriage isn’t a sign of your body failing.

I don’t want the next bit to sound horrible, but I can’t think of a gentle way to put it that doesn’t obfuscate the reality - Early miscarriage is a natural part of reproduction, evolved to ensure your body doesn’t waste resources on nonviable fetuses so that you have the resources for the children that will need them to survive. It’s essential to your health and the health of the children you do have.

BoomBoomsCousin suppose that elequently put considering the subject . Thankyou

It’s just hard to understand when I’ve had two fairly easy and normal pregnancies one unplanned and one planned so it’s always been I’ve got a positive test and gone on to have the baby at the end which is very lucky I know.

I’m on the depo. The thing is it takes a bit of time to take effect at the beginning, so it may not have necessarily caused the miscarriage.

Before I began taking the depo, I wasn’t asked to take a pregnancy test either. I was just asked about my last period and my previous birth control etc. So I think that aspect is normal? However I might have been on my period which is why I didn’t have a test (can’t remember as this wasn’t years ago)

I think you were already pregnant (due to a different contraception failure) prior to taking the MAP. You’ll never know how far along you were. Had they tested prior to giving you the MAP it would have been +ve. Sadly that pregnancy probably wasn’t to be. And the MAP and depo had nothing to do with it.

Women miscarry all the time. Most of them have previous successful pregnancies and / or go on to do so. Most of these miscarriages are due to abnormalities with the embryo. Nothing to do with the mother. It’s still crap. And can be upsetting years later.

I think you should talk to your doctor about your concerns to put your mind at rest. From what I have read - although its not advised to take depo while pregnant - this is because they think it can in some cases affect the development of the genitals of a fetus. But it seems lots of babies whose mothers had a depo injection where also born normally and healthy. I get the impression the concern is this genital problem - not the issue of abortion. But you have a right to feel comfortable about what happened to you so I hope you speak to the doctor. Just for your information -as someone else mentioned - depo is progesterone and that's what you get given in IVF clinics to help you keep the baby/ies. I gave myself daily progesterone injections for 3 months when pregnant. I'm guessing the depo is a much higher dose.

Hi
Your GP looked suprised as a Depo isnt recomended as a "quickstart" contraception. Practioners can quickstart contraception even if they can't reliably exlcude the risk of a pregnacy but ongoing contraception is wanted and needed, usually a progesterone only pill, Combined pill or Implant.

On the day you went for emergency contraception obviously a pregnacy could not be ruled out untill 3 weeks after taking the pill. The Depo isnt recomended as a quickstart option as once its in it cant be stopped or removed like an implant or pill, if you went onto test positive 3 weeks after taking the emergency contraception (clinical guidance time) and decided you wanted to continue with the pregancy, stopping a pill removing an implant is possible where as stopping the injection working is not, that being said there is little evidence to suggest that progesterone has a negative effect on a pregnacy. Ideally you have been given a pill or implant then returned 3 weeks later for a preg test if that was neagtive then yep start a depo at that point.

Its in faculty guidance FRSH online which you can look at. x

@OP I have a good understanding of the science behind reproduction - studying it to degree level as part of my genetics degree.
Previous posters have explained it fairly well, so won't repeat it.

I'm trying to understand the question tho.

You didn't want more children and were actively taking steps to avoid pregnancy.
However, I understand that doesn't make a miscarriage any less upsetting.

You still dont want more kids, as you've gotten the coil. Which one part of it's action is to prevent fertilised eggs from implanting. Which could have been what happened when you took MAP.

It's coincidental. Rather than causative. You might have been very very early stage of pregnancy but unfortunately that pregnancy was lo

It's an unfortunate byproduct of modern days, compared to olden times. Women generations ago would have had as many early miscarriages amd just never have really known. Today we can test so early and get a positive tesr result, even if that pregnancy isnt viable which can be for lots of reasons. Perhaps for women generations ago, ignorance was indeed bliss. As you seem upset by this knowledge (understandably). However, it's not your fault or the injections, as it was most like not-meant-to-be.

Yes it doesn’t make it easier that I hadn’t planned that baby just then. It’s not like it was ‘for the better’ so to speak. It was still what would have been my child.
I’m glad the MAP and injection didn’t cause it. I think I’d have felt even more guilty if that was the case.
I still think about it every day and have flashbacks of it so vivid it’s almost like it’s happening again. It’s put me off trying for another just yet.

Thankyou everybody that’s contributed