How do you know if you about to have a mc?

[pie]

I have had a very bad backache for the last 2 days. Today I cannot actually stand up straight. I have had backaches all my life, but I'm obviously worried that it is actually the start of something.

I was thinking of asking my DH to go and buy a pregnancy test.

I'm hoping its just a very bad backache.

Any thoughts?

[pie]

Just a quick reminder, I'm 11 weeks today.

[oxocube]

Pie, sorry you are so worried. I'm sure you will get lots of other advice here, but I don't think buying a pg test would be your best option. I did this when I had my 1st m/c which was what is called a 'missed abortion', where the pregnancy stopped developing but without the usual signs of bleeding and pain. The test still showed positive because although I was effectively no longer pg, the test still picked up on the trace of pg hormones in my body. The doctor said these would continue to give a positive even after a few weeks.

Anyway, this is not to worry you and if you have a history of backache, could it not just be that your pg is making it worse than usual? I'm sure the ligaments do soften in pregnancy and it can be an uncomfortable time for some. Ring your g.p and see what he/she thinks. Do you have an early pg clinic they could refer you to if you are really worried?

Hope all goes well. xxx

[Ghosty]

Oh pie , I am sorry you are having this worry ... well, I can't remember backache when I had my mc (at 12 weeks) but the sign for me was bleeding ... have you had any bleeding?
I am not sure that a pg test will set your mind at rest as I did one when I started bleeding and it still said I was pg ...
If I were you I would phone your midwife ... do you have one yet? Or your nearest Early pregnancy Unit to ask for a scan to set your mind at rest ... it might be nothing but if you have a scan to check it might make you feel better than just waiting and seeing ....
Thinking of you .... Love, G XXXX

[Ghosty]

oxocube ... we crossed and said the same thing ...

[Katherine]

Agree with what the others have said about pg tests. When I had my first two losses I spent a fortune on tests to keep reassuring myself but it meant nothing - it was just hormones in my system and at the end of the day a postivie result will not convince you that you are not GOING to miscarry.

I totally understand your fears and you are not alone. Look at the pg after mc thread and see all the fears that people have gone through. As Ghosty says why not see if you can get a scan through your EPU to put your mind at rest.

Funny though - we jump at symptoms such as nausea as being positivie that all is well but although backache is probably even more common in healthy pg we worry about it. Honestly I have suffered with backpains right the way through this one. The first twinge of sciatica at 6 weeks was my first clue I was pg. Now I spent most evenings groaning on the sofa and last night spent an hour with the books trying to decide which sort of backache I had. Lower back pain is probably the sacro-illiac joints becoming unstable (!), pain in buttocks, back and legs is pressure on the sciatic nerve and then there is just the general backache associated with carrying extra weight. Take your pick but you know it is most likely a positive sign

[pie]

Thank you for the messages.

I'm not having any bleeding at all. There is an early pregnancy unit, but they discharged my from their care when I was about 7 weeks. My GP is away I really don't want to deal with a locum, and I would have to speak to a doctor to be referred back to the EPAU.

I'm 3 weeks away from my booking appointment so have no midwife.

I'm gonna make a bed on the living room floor, take a paracetamol and watch Margeret Rutherford films.

I just feel so miserable. I'm 2 weeks further on than the first m/c and beginning to feel confident. I'm so hoping this is nothing more than very bad timing on my back's part.

[Enid]

pie, go to your gp as you might have a urine infection. I had horrible backache and cramps when I was 10 weeks pg with dd2 and was worried as I have a history of m/c. It was just a UTI and went after a couple of days. Good luck x E

[Marina]

pie, are you in London by any chance? There is a self-referral early pregnancy unit at St Thomas Hospital where you do not need a letter from a GP to be seen. There may be others around the UK but as a Londoner I am afraid that is the only one I have come across.
Are you sure you were discharged from the EPU finally? I just wondered, because both the EPUs I have been a client of did say that you could ring to self-refer back to them until about 14 weeks. I think cutting off support to worried mothers before they reach their booking-in, or the end of their first trimester, is not very helpful. Surely an EPU should be there for you until you are booked in?
You have been through quite an ordeal over the past couple of weeks - if you can bear to, give the Women's Services Department where you were an in-patient a ring and throw yourself on their mercy. I can't bear to think of you waiting until after the weekend to be seen (know exactly what you mean about locums though).
Very best of luck and hoping that like Katherine (and me) you are just having a very twingesome and anxious start to your pregnancy.

[pie]

You guys are like the best...I wished I'd discovered mumsnet years ago!

I have rung the GP surgery and luckily there is one of the nicer locums who I have seen before on today so I will see her at 12.30 today.

Enid - a UTI hadn't even occured to me thank's for the suggestion.

Does anyone know how early a heartbeat can be detected using one of those monitors used by a midwife? I was hoping that maybe if they have one at the surgery then I wouln't have to wait for a scan to know if the baby is still there.

[Ghosty]

My sister heard her baby's heartbeat at 11 weeks but was told that it wasn't always possible so maybe they might be able to do that for you ... let us know how the appt went ... hugs ....

[Marina]

pie, as Ghosty says, at around 11 weeks it is possible to pick up a h/beat using a sonicaid - but often it is NOT. So please don't let that discourage you, I am sure the locum will advise you. Hope all is well and to hear from you this afternoon.
Enid is a genius, UTIs can make you feel half-dead with misery but they clear up very quickly. Amoxicillin is safe in pregnancy.

[Katherine]

Pie I am sure your EPU will still see you even without seeing your GP.I understand that Easrly Pg counts as the first trimester. Hope its not a UTI or naything horrible and that you are better soon although an afternoon on the floor watching films sounds quite attractive.....

[pie]

Well I got to see the Doctor eventually. She thought it was unlikely that I was about to m/c as I would have probably had bleeding by now. My urine sample tested positive for signs of infection, but as I have no fever she didn't want to prescibe antibiotics. Thought that I might have a virus. She has sent off the sample and they will be in touch asap. Meanwhile I'm not to lift anything heavy and drink lots of water.... If the sample comes back with a bacterial rather than viral infection I know that I will get the antibiotics straight away

Getting there and back was agony but I do feel reassured. Thanks again for all the support.

Being pregnant after a m/c is I think the most stressed I have ever felt in my life.

[Marina]

Drink cranberry juice while lying on the floor, pie! And take care. Hope that sample gets analysed promptly.

[Wills]

Aha - found you pie. Haven't had much chance to read mumsnet recently and have been worried because you seemed to disappear. Sorry to hear about the bladder infection and Marina's right about the Cranberry! Fingers crossed for you about this infection etc and it sure does feel a long slog to 14 weeks I know.

Have things improved with dh?????

[pie]

Thanks for the further messages.

Wills, actually things on the DH front seemed to have turned right around. He is being worringly nice to me. I say worringly as even when things are going well we bicker like school kids. He is truly honestly like Victor Meldrew. We don't talk about the baby, but we have certainly reached a truce.

I will try to drink cranberry but to be honest I detest the stuff!!!!

I really don't remember being pregnant with DD and thinking that it was an eternity. I seemed to fly by and I was sad that it was over!

Well they do say everyone is different.

[Wills]

Glad dh has come round. Mine too if you've read the other thread Katherine, Marina and I write on. Is this his first?

[pie]

His first, and hopefully my second. We are hoping that he will be able to adopt DD, but ex is a d**k, hasn't even seen DD for 8 months. We have been together since she was 1.

I read about you DH too, do men ever know what they are thinking?

[Wills]

NO!!! and to think they think that our thoughts are convoluted!

If its his first regardless of how he feels towards your dd I doubt he fully understands the impact that they new one will have on him. A little like my dh saying he feels trapped but spending the whole time with his hand on my bump.

[Katherine]

Pie I don't like cranberry juice on its own either - leaves a furry feeling on your teeth! But I do like Cranberry and Raspberry (Asdas was nicer than Safeways) and Cranberry and Blackcurrent. They do all sorts of combinations so its worth experimenting. The stuff really does work. Failing that a big bar of chocolate works wonders even if it doesn't shift the infection

[Lila]

Along the same lines as the title of this thread....I just wondered what a person should do if they started bleeding early on in pregnancy (

[pie]

Lila, please don't stress to much. I know it sounds harsh but if you are going to lose a baby before 12 weeks there is very little you can do, and stressing won't help!

I had a miscarriage at 9 weeks with my second pregnancy. There is nothing that a doctor can do at such an early stage. I went to see my GP a couple of days after. She simply told me what to look out for if there was an infection, which can sometimes happen if the miscarriage is incomplete.

If you get bleeding with no cramping, especially at the time a period would have been due then you really should take to you bed for a couple of days. If you have bleeding with cramping then this, I think, is the start of what is called an inevitable abortion (unlike just some bleeding which is a threatened abortion), and the chances are you will lose the baby. I think that if you go to a hospital they will probably send you home to rest, so you might as well just rest and avoid the stress of A&E.

I'm sure others will post will more through, probably better, advice. I was quite shocked when I had a miscarriage at how little medical intervention is involved, but my GP reminded me that 1 out of every 5 confirmed pregnancied will end in miscarriage. It is seen as something quite 'normal'.

Is this your first pregnancy?
Please don't worry too much, there are always the 4 out of 5 which go on.

[Lila]

Thanks pie - its my second but so many friends have had miscarriages recently and i'm in a different job to before I just think a lot about what I would do if I started bleeding while away.....
I think having information will help me not to stress as I like to be well informed before I enbark on anything !!! Thansk for your words - they are a help....just even knowing about resting/little medical intervention is great

[quackers]

Lila please don't stress. Is it bleeding when your period would have been?? Is it a one off? Is there cramps?
I have had bleeding with both of my pregnancies.
The first was my daughter. At 8 weeks (around the time of period) I started bleeding - went straight to A and E and they sent me for a scan to confirm that she was there and doing perfectly well. I had no pain.
The second time unfortunately was not the same. I was 14/15 weeks but found out tat the baby was about 8-10 weeks. I had not felt right at all for a couple of weeks. I'd had mild cramps in the night a couple of days before and when I started bleeding I knew that was it - it was bright red and I was cramping. I went straight to a and e and the scan showed it had died. Tat was 9 weeks ago.
I would say if you are bleeding either get an appointment with your GP immediately for a referral for a scan or go straight to A and E and they will send you straight there, unless of course you have an early pregnancy unit and you can call them direct. It is essential for your own peace of mind. Nothing can be done if you are going to miscarry but if everything is ok, you will at least sleep!!
Treat any bleeding in pregnancy very seriously but don't despair that it's the end because more often than not it's ok and you carry on. Miscarriage to about one in 4 pregnancies I believe but bleeding happens much much more often.
Good luck and please do let us know how you get on.
hugsxxxx