Is a chemical considered a miscarriage?

[Ladameauxyeuxbruns]

I think I might be going through a chemical pregnancy and I'm just trying to get my head around things.

I tested positive (faint lines) on 12dpo with 4 separate tests, 3 of the same brand (easy@home) and 1 Clear Blue, all with FMU.
Yesterday at 13dpo (AF 1 day late) I tested positive again (easy@home) with FMU, but the lines were slightly more faint and I had brown discharge in the afternoon.
This morning at 14dpo I tested positive again (FMU), but the line is fainter still, had more brown discharge with one gush of what I assume to be period blood (albeit a bit brown) but has slowed down now although still there.

We've been TTC for 8 months, no previous pregnancies. I'm not really sure what I should be doing now, if I should consider this a miscarriage or not, if it actually is a chemical, if I'm actually definitely pregnant. Just a bit lost and quite upset.

I've contacted my doctor but haven't yet heard back. Does anyone have any advice for me, please?

A chemical Pregnancy is when the loss happens before 5 weeks before heart beat, I have had 2 previously and I personally class them as miscarriage as its still a loss.
I had positives right up to 17 dpo and then they began to fade.. a day or two later I began bleeding. Messed with my next cycle a little but went back to normal.
Sorry your going through this. It's horrible 😞

Ttc is a minefield.. Counting a chemical pregnancy as a mc won't do your mh any good. If you hadn't tested early you would never have known. GP won't be interested ime. Memo to self never test early and enjoy the ttc journey...

I class them as a MC and tbh it helped me more thinking of it that way. It is still a loss.

GP will put it on your records, may offer a blood test otherwise nothing they can do unless you have 3.

Sorry your going through this

Yes it is. The NHS won’t count it as they focus on cost cutting measures mostly (women with pre-12 week miscarriages don’t always qualify for fertility referrals) but in a private clinic where early scans are available they absolutely do count. Keep track of them. I had 30 (one at 11 weeks) before the consultant identified the problem and then the very next pregnancy resulted in DD.

Thank you, I'm not really sure where my mental health is at right now, I feel quite numb and quite sad but haven't really had time to sit with it just yet. It's definitely a kick in the gut.

Re classing it as a MC or not, it's mainly in regard to talking to the doctor as I understand you get more help if you've had 3 MC. I'm not in the UK so the process is a little bit different.

I didn't think I tested too early as it was the day before my period, 12dpo, but perhaps you're right and in future I should wait a little bit longer.

At this point, I think I'm just waiting to see what my body does as the bleed has so far been a bit on and off, very light, and despite the lines being very faint, they're still there.

I think in my heart I'm considering this to be a loss, but holding out a tiny bit of hope and will test again in the morning in case my body is just being strange. I really didn't expect so many ups and downs when TTC despite reading MN for years before even trying, it's all a bit heartbreaking, isn't it.

Sorry you’re going through this! I had a MMC at 9 weeks in December and a CP last month. I’m not counting my CP as a MC as it would feel like too much of a blow. I try and think of it in a more pragmatic way, but that’s partly because I blame myself for testing too early (at 8&9 DPO).

If I wasn’t so Bloody desperate and just waited for my missed period to test, I wouldn’t have caught the CP. A negative test is gutting but false hope is more gutting- I can’t miss what I don’t know! Going forward I am not testing until the day of AF.
Everyone is different though, I can see why it helps some people to consider it a MC. Wishing you luck with your next cycle 💐

I think you need to wait at least a week after your period is due before you test, otherwise you're putting yourself through an awful lot of stress for no benefit at all.

Just because you can test so early doesn't mean you should or that they will be accurate.

I had a miscarriage at about 8 weeks.

I was testing from a few days before my period and then once every couple of days after my first positive because looking at the line gave me such joy.

However, about two weeks after my initial test, I took another one and the line was fainter than usual, and then over the next few days it continued to get fainter.

I spoke to my GP a few days later who said I had very likely miscarried and then the bleeding started a few days after that. It was awful, so much blood, so many clots and so much pain 😢

I think most people have their own definition of what is a miscarriage and what is a chemical pregnancy.

To be honest, I’ve never understood the use of the term chemical pregnancy - I see it if a woman is producing HCG then she’s pregnant, albeit in its very early stages.

I have always tested early because I think it’s good to know that you have conceived even if the early pregnancy couldn’t continue.

If a woman was a week late for example and didn’t test until then, it could be that she had conceived but it just hadn’t stuck and so she got a negative result on her test and then put the eventual bleeding down to simply being a late period.

There’s a big difference between:

1. A woman thinking she’s not able to conceive and thinks that she’s having her periods as normal (or a bit late).

2. A woman who knows she is able to conceive but then loses the baby very quickly (in a chemical pregnancy term) I.e she’s getting early positive tests 4-6 days before her period but then her period still arriving.

The only sure way to know that conception can occur is by taking tests prior to a period being due and getting a positive.

The term chemical pregnancy is a misnomer. There's no such thing. You are either pregnant and losing a baby or you aren't pregnant. However the medical profession are unlikely to count it.
I had a very early loss in my fifth pregnancy (only my second one had resulted in a baby at that point) and my GP, when I asked for testing, said "oh you aren't counting that one are you?". He wouldn't send me for tests till I had another loss. Which I did. And the scan picture of that baby showed a perfect little one with nothing wrong with it. I had to lose that baby, which would have lived had my blood clotting disorder been diagnosed, because of that dismissive GP.
I never forgave him and never saw him again.
That was long, but yes, you have lost a baby and I'm so sorry.

Thank you, everyone, for your responses. I think that it feels like a loss but I don't regret testing early. As we've been trying for 8 months I was going down the rabbit hole of thinking there was something wrong with me and that I couldn't conceive, so knowing that I can actually get pregnant is a relief right now and gives me hope for my next cycle.

I'm not sure whether I will test early again next month, I need to see how I feel about it when the time comes, but it's certainly something I'll be speaking to my doctor about.

I guess I now need to wait until my period has passed and until the tests don't have a faint line on them anymore.

It's difficult because you read stories of women having it far worse than you, so my immediate reaction is to think "Don't complain, other people have it worse", but the sadness is still there and I think I just need to sit with it for a little while and understand that just because some people, unfortunately, have it worse, it doesn't diminish what I'm feeling.

I also agree with you, @Lemonbell that it's helpful to at least know what's going on as it's definitely possible I would've missed my next ovulation had I not caught this. The more information the better, I think.

It really means a lot to me that so many of you have responded to my post, truly. It's so difficult when it's too early to tell any loved ones and you can easily end up feeling like you're going through it alone. I've been debating talking to my mum about all of this for a while, I've never been great at talking to her, so it feels comforting knowing that people are out there willing to hold my hand. Thank you all.

Tonight will be a calm one at home catching up on some TV, probably with a bar of chocolate and cuddles from DH.

I’m so sorry OP, look after yourself.

I had exactly this a couple of weeks ago, had a positive test and positive clearblue but then the lines got lighter and I had a lot of bleeding and pain a couple of days later. I think it counts as a miscarriage, thats how I’m choosing to see it. Just because it was early doesn’t make it less difficult.

I couldn’t find threads at the time to compare as they were all about later losses. I totally get you though in having some relief knowing you can get pregnant.

Hopefully the next ones are sticky ones for us both!

@Ladameauxyeuxbruns A friend once said something that really resonated with me when I had the same attitude of ‘others have it worse than me.’

“Would you not be happy because someone else is has it better, or is happier than you?”

Your feelings of sadness and frustration are very valid.
The TTC community here are very helpful I’ve found. Best of luck :)

Always call your GP to record on your file and log that you had a chemical pregnancy. Hopefully you won't have any more loses, but if you do and you end up needing a little help from the NHS, they'll only offer support after 3 losses and a chemical pregnancy counts as a MC to that end.

Personal experience!

You're also more fertile after a loss so if your MH is up to it, get cracking back on TTC straight away.

Good luck OP

@Wenfy oh my goodness you had 30? What was the issue that got resolved? So glad you’ve got your baby now 💕

@Ladameauxyeuxbruns I absolutely count them as a loss. I’ve just had my second one that’s almost identical to your story. Now showing negative today.

I have a short luteal phase of 8 days and I’m confident low progesterone is my issue x

@Ladameauxyeuxbruns

It's so difficult when it's too early to tell any loved ones and you can easily end up feeling like you're going through it alone.

There is no reason to go through it alone though, there is no rules about telling loved ones or not and when to tell them. You might be surprised by the number of people who have experienced losses.

I won't deny that I felt the same initially though and only opened up after my first loss when I struggled with a friend announcing their pregnancy. Then in response my 90yo grandmother confessed she'd had a loss too in between having my mum and aunt (8yr gap between them) - my mum never knew! And 5 or so friends also opened up too.

It doesn't have to be lonely. But it's a totally personal thing.

Sorry to hear what you're going through OP, I had 3 chemicals back to back and I completely agree that you feel very alone as you haven't told anyone yet. It took me a while to deal with them as it felt like such a huge loss even though you've only known about it for a few days?!

My sadness didn't match up with the facts if that makes sense.

My advice would be to definitely record the pregnancy with your gp as if further down the line you need fertility treatment* as I did you need to have had 3 losses to qualify for this (I think this may have just changed however).

Tell people about your experience when you're ready if you like - I confided in a couple of close friends and found it very comforting.

And take comfort in the fact that you can GET pregnant which is a very very good sign and this was just the practice run.

Good luck and sending hugs x

*in the end I didn't need it and am now 12 weeks with my first

@PizzaPartyForOne Thank you. I also sought out threads but couldn't find any that were earlier losses, so this thread has been a real help. I'm crossing my fingers for you and this next cycle xxxx

@Lilpop90 Yes, that quote is entirely correct, it's so silly to feel that you don't deserve to be sad. It really puts it in perspective. I saw something this morning about how you didn't lose the soul of your baby, it's just waiting for a better body to come and meet you. That really comforted me.

@Toddler101 I've read about the higher fertility after loss. I couldn't find any conclusive evidence, but then again, I never can with anything do with conceiving as everything has disclaimers of "but all bodies are different!!", so I'm going to choose to believe it and we'll be getting right back on that horse. I've also read that 150mg of aspirin a day can help, so I think I'm going to give that a try and keep up the daily vitamins. You're also right about more people going through it than we realise. A friend of mine suffered many miscarriages over the years and another friend of mine had one before having her healthy baby, so I might lean on them a little bit as well as my mum.

@LacedBouquet I'm so sorry to hear you've had the same experience, it just simply really sucks. Wishing you the best for the next cycle xxxx

@Mary1986 "My sadness didn't match up with the facts if that makes sense." This really resonates with me at the moment, but trying hard to remember that it doesn't matter and that my feelings are ok. I'm also taking huge comfort in knowing that at least I can get pregnant, that was a real worry I had for quite a while and couldn't really deal with, thank you.

@Mary1986 Oh, and congratulations on your pregnancy! I'm happy for you 😊