Emergency ERPC yesterday at 5pm - when will I be a useful engine again ? warning TMI

[indignatio]

Scan on Thurs showed a miised m/c. Baby 8 +3 ish, 11 weeks since last period. Friday v heavy bleeding, ambulance, fainting, more exceptional bleeding. Whisked into theatre for emergency ERPC. Home now (my choice - don't really like hospitals). Still weak and feeble - how long (roughly) am I likely to be like this ? Trying to work out whether I will need help with ds (5) when dh goes back to work on Monday.

Sorry for the lack of emotion in this message - can't deal with that as well at the mo.

You may or may not be able to cope physically with 5 y o, but even if you are, wouldn't you like to take some time to rest and make sure? Sounds like you lost a lot of blood; I am sure some help is justified, just to be on the safe side, in case you start feeling weak or emotional a couple of hours into the day, even if at the start you thought you could manage. Hope I'm making sense here. And you won't really know how you feel on Monday till Monday, by which time the help needs already to have been arranged.

So sorry to read this.
I can't help but bumping for you.

xx

Thank you.

Agree with Elasticwoman. I would err on the side of caution and arrange something for Monday, just in case.

When i had my ERPC it was 8 years ago but i remember feeling quite ok for first few days apparently due to pain relief that hadn't worn off from hospital then had a really bad couple of days followed by a steady increase back to normality. Bleeding stopped after about 8 days and then periods resummed 5 wks later. My gran died 5 days after ERPC which didn't help emotions but otherwise recovery physically was very quick - is this kind of what you what to know?

Sympathies for what you're going through xx

i am so very sorry to hear this.

i think you should have someone with you for a few days. whether you can cope phsyically i am pretty sure you will be rather emotional for some time to come.

Thank you all - it actually helps to have typed it out.

Chattyhan - I am lucky that pain is not and has not been a problem (touch wood). It is the loss of blood and barely acceptable haemaglobin levels which I think are of concern. Oh and the general anaesthetic. I am taking strong iron tablets and resting.

I had a ERPC when baby was 9wks but lmp was 15. I was taken in at 8am, operated on at 11.30am and sent home at 3pm. I was absolutely fine the next day apart from bleeding and passing some clots. It was more emotionally draining. If you are still feeling so bad by tommorow I would maybe phone hospital and ask if it is normal.

Thank you mamazon - emotionally I am not dealing with this at all as yet - just concentrating on the physical side. No doubt the emotional side will hit me in due course and I have no way of knowing when that will be.

Thank you Nemo - all experiences are useful for me to get a better picture of "normal"

I had a missed miscarriage - baby died at around 5 weeks but no signs that I wasn't pregnant any more until I went for a neuchal fold scan at 11 weeks.

I don't remember any problems with bleeding after the ERPC, but it did take me a good 10 days to get over the anaesthetic.

So I would think it would be a good idea to arrange someone to help you out.

Hope you are feeling better soon.

I had this exact experience whilst on holiday last year, including collapsing and haemhorragging in the street in front of my boys. You will be in shock for a while, my boys kept talking about it which I found painful, but they needed. Give yourself time to build up physically and emotionally. My mmc was at 10.5 weeks, baby had died at 8 (the day after I had a scan). Take time out, I needed counselling in December, 4 months after it all happened and I found that it helped a lot
Best wishes

Very sorry to read of all of these dreadful experiences. Love to OP and all who have posted.

I found that after massive blood loss it took about 2 weeks to stop feeling dizzy and weak and my Dr confirmed that this was about normal. I too was on a high dose of iron. However, after week 1 I could function normally, just more slowly iyswim.

Agree that emotionally it hits you later. Also beware post op infection - something i experienced which made recovery very slow.

Thank you all again. DH stayed with me yesterday. Today is my first day just with ds, but I have people coming round at odd intervals during the day. I am defintely looking a better colour and feeling less shakey, so on the mend.

Sorry to hear your situation indignatio. Try to take it easy and make as much use of visitors as possible - get them making you tea and looking after ds rather than the other way round. I found general takes me about 3wks before I feel remotely normal.

If it helps, I managed to get my iron levels up again incredibly fast after 2nd erpc (long story, lost 1.5l that time and had been haemoraging for weeks)- border line needing transfusion - I ate carob which is a really good source of iron. This can be bought in healthfood shops/wholefood shops - either as bars or, probably better, as powder which can be added to things or made into drinks with milk etc - I was having a spoonful in my breakfast cereal and some in some yoghurt. My blood levels went up to a reasonable level in 1 week compared to the 3 that the Drs were expecting based on iron tablets I'd been given - and no side effects.

If it helps, I have found that my 2nd mc, post ds, has effected me much less emotionally than 1st mc prior to ds, so I hope that it won't hit you too hard. Mumsnet helps too - good to have a good comiserate and rant occasionally to let steam off.

Hope that you're feeling better soon.