funky-smelling blood 6 weeks after CS and 2 weeks after D&C

[mandasand]

Gave birth to twins by c-section six weeks ago today and two weeks ago I had a D&C for retained bits of placenta (unusual with a c-section, I understand) so, technically I should have stopped bleeding: docs said six weeks after the c-section and two weeks after D&C.

The first week it was moderate to light but funky smelling. During the second week I got put on two courses of antibiotics. The day after the antibiotics stopped I started passing fresh red blood and clots and the bleeding got severe after a week. Following the D&C the bleeding was and remains light or moderate, and it's dark-ish red and a bit like egg-white, but it still smells funky, as it did after the c-section.

The smell is concerning me more than the continued bleeding, to be honest. Menstrual blood does not smell as distinctive as my blood does now if I insert a clean finger into my vagina during a shower: the blood should not have reached the air and should not, therefore, have developed a smell, right?

I do mention it to anyone (midwives, health visitors, doctors) who will give me the time of day (as I did with the excessive bleeding pre-D&C) but everyone just says 'Oh, it's normal' (as they did in the week before the D&C, before I woke up in a veritable puddle of blood and clots and needed taking to the hospital in an ambulance!)

Any thoughts or similar experiences would be appreciated!

Not sure I'm about to be helpful as I'm not going to be reassuring - I had similar. A scheduled CS where the obs left in huge lumps of placenta, emergency D& C due to blood loss, the doc who did the D&C was horrified at what he found, accused the ob of negligance and the two of them had a huge row over my bedside as I was recovering from the D&C anaesthetic. More entertaining than hospital tv..

Anyhow, bled horribly til the D&C, then stopped for a day or two then started again. Went back to doc who said it was normal to take a few days to settle down again. Like you, it was smelly but they'd said the D&C had shown a bad infection had settled in my womb and I was on a harsh combo of antibiotics. Upshot was it continued to smell,( and look odd) I was poorly and succumbing to UTIs and ended up on antibiotics for about 80% of the 7 months following DD's birth. I'd have antib's, get better and then it would start again. With hindsight I would say trust your instincts and demand tests - you know what your period smells like usually, if you think it smells infected you could well be right. I would ask for a test to check the blood for infection so that you can be sure that if there is an infection then it is treated with the correct drugs. I shudder to think how many random antibiotics I was treated with but I was too weak and worn out to deal with the docs properly I think - hindsight is a wonderful thing.

If you've lost a lot of blood and feel under par I would also demand a blood count or iron supplements. I was so tired that I was terrified I'd pass out or doze off holding DD and drop her - docs ignored this until they ran a blood count then they prescribed enough iron to floor a horse!

KindleMum, actually it is really helpful to hear about your (horrendous!) experience. As you say, you know your own body. You poor thing.

When I got taken into hospital for the D&C they flushed me with IV antibiotics for 48hrs, and I came home with a week's worth, now finished. They didn't mention infection - it seemed to be a just in case measure. But I am on ferrous sulphate, thank goodness.

Can I ask whether you bled continuously after the D&C for all those months? And what was it, do you think, that fixed you in the end - getting on the correct antibiotics for the infection?

I think it is standard procedure to send away the tissue from a D&C to the lab to confirm that it is placenta and not a miscarriage/tumour etc. IME they don't tell you the results of those tests automatically as they don't see the need - they've already treated you. But if you ask your doc, the chances are it was tested and also tested for infection.

I bled continuously til the D&C, at the point where I had to change ST every hour and was bleeding onto beds, sofas, car seat etc I was still being told it was normal after-birth. It was my second CS and it so clearly wasn't normal!

After the D&C I still bled badly for about 3 weeks. after that it wasn't continuous but it kept coming back and it was more frequent than a period and as you say it smelt and looked wrong. I also blamed the infection for the UTIs though the doc said it wasn't related.

I'm not really sure what fixed it, whether they finally got the right ABs or whether they just eventually gave me enough that the bug succumbed. But it took far too long and there was an element of denial among the medics about dealing with the fact that they'd screwed up - I think they just hoped I'd go away because I was a reminder that this was someone's fault rather than just one of those things. I know that with hindsight, I'd have demanded a test of the discharge for infection and a standard blood test to see my white cell count.

Sorry you're feeling like this, it is horrible.

Thanks again, KindleMum. This is really good to read. I've got my 6-week check-up next week (a week late) with my own doc so I'll bear all this in mind and ask for new vaginal swab. Better to be safe, I think.

Sorry you had such a time of it, but thanks for sharing your experience.

Best of luck with your checkup and yes, query anything you're not happy with. You know what your period smells like usually. And as they'll be poking about anyway :) it's really not a major deal for them to take a swab for testing at the same time.

Some people find lochia STINKS! A bit like gone off meat.

If you google it you will find 50% of websites say its normal but you should seek medical advice if you develop temperature or pain, and the other 50% (or so) seem to suggest the smell should only be like a normal period.

My experience (and that of other's I know) is that Lochia smelt much worse than a normal menstrual bleed, which only smelt of metal if anything at all. I had no known infection or retained placenta etc, so I can only imagine it was 'normal' for me. However, if you feel ill, temperature or in pain, then do seek advice urgently, and maybe routinely mention it to your next routine visitor (midwife or health visitor?) for peace of mind.

Hello, I know this thread was started a few months ago, but I have the same problem as the OP!
I had twins via csection. Bled for over 2 months. Had a D&C a month ago and they found a small portion of placenta.
I started bleeding 5 days after D&C. Light bleeding, then in the period of two -three weeks gradually drifted to yellow discharge.
All of the sudden, a month after the D&C, I started bleeding very very heavily. It's been 13 days of bright red bleeding and it has a foul odor to it. Almost smells like eggs?
What happened in your case? Any info would be appreciated! :-)))