To think I had a miscarriage

[teeteeb]

I posted about this yesterday in a different category but got basically no traffic except a lovely person who was very helpful. I need some more opinions. She suggested that I go to the GP so that it is on record.

Two months ago (only two months after having my son) I had a mix of positive and negative tests but mostly positive. (I'd say 10 positive and 2 or 3 negative) and then I started bleeding heavily with lots of clots. I thought I was having a miscarriage and knew there's was nothing anyone could do so just rode it out. The bleeding lasted two weeks altogether. After I'd stopped bleeding I was still getting bad abdominal pain so I made an emergency GP appointment and she made me feel so stupid. Did a pregnancy test which was negative and sent me on my way, she was very condescending and didn't even mention the word miscarriage.

I know that I had one, but I feel like I can't say that I had one - if that makes sense? Because it wasn't confirmed by a doctor? For example I went to the clinic a few weeks ago to get contraception and I didn't mention it because I kinda feel like a fraud and that it didn't happen. I feel so distraught about it though. There's surely not any point seeing the doctor now?

Hi Tee,

Really sorry to hear about the awful experience with the GP.
I do know that HCG levels can remain in your system for a while (not sure if two months later) which can show a positive result, even though you may not be pregnant.
I would say go back to the doctors and see a different GP and talk it through.
Good luck

I think it's really impossible to know, because the first period after birth can be shockingly painful and messy. But obviously it could have been a miscarriage and I don't really think anyone can tell you that it wasn't

It was a chemical pregnancy. Years ago women wouldn’t have had a clue they were pregnant at all because HPT’s didn’t exist so they’d have chalked it up to a particularly heavy period. False positives are extremely rare so the chance of getting more than one of those is next to none, definitely sounds like a very early miscarriage. There wasn’t very much the GP could have done, a scan likely wouldn’t have picked anything up as it sounds like you had a complete miscarriage.

I’m sorry you experienced this .

I had the same. But I had a scan. No trace of a baby or sac. It wasn't classed as a miscarriage. The positives tests weren't down to my hormones being all over the place.

This was about 15 years ago though. I am sorry you are feeling so down.

I'd already had my first period before this happened

Yes, you had a miscarriage, OP, I'm very sorry. Same thing happened to me with all of my miscarriages. It really annoys me when people say "years ago, you would have chalked it up to a heavy period". No you wouldn't. A miscarriage is nothing like a period. Unless your periods are usually two weeks late, incredibly painful, extremely heavy, last for weeks and are suddenly and inexplicably full of massive clots. I expect women then knew exactly what had happened to their bodies but were able to kid themselves it was a late period for self-preservation.

Thank you StepAway do you think I should go to my doctor or is there no point?

Unfortunately there's probably no point. Unless you want it recorded. They told me that although it sucked there was nothing they could do. I went for a scan for one to confirm but I didn't need to. I knew. And I wouldn't recommend it. The EPU is actually a very sad place x

Would having it recorded by the GP help you find closure? If so you could mention it and ask for it to go on your record. There's no test for a pregnancy that ends so early (perhaps a slightly thickened womb lining on ultrasound).
1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage. Many go unnoticed or mistaken for a late period, it's only since the invention of sensitive home tests that we even know conception occurred.

Before conceiving my DD I had two incidents of positive tests just before a period then a negative, I'm not sure if they were false positives or if I'd conceived and the embryo failed to implant. We're trying to conceive again now and I'm resisting the urge to test early, it's just too disappointing if it doesn't stick. With DD I was about a month past conception when I tested and we had a scan around 7 weeks to confirm the heartbeat.