Chemical pregnany or weird period after MC? Long...

[chocadoodle]

I have 1 DS (2.3) and had no previous MCs before becoming pg with him. I became pg for 2nd time in November last year. I MCd in December at 6 weeks and became pg again straight away, with no AF in between, but MCd again at end of Jan, again at 6 weeks.

I then had a normal period exactly 28 days after 2nd MC at end of Feb and then began TTC again. My cycle has been 28 days since I was 14, I'm now 30, so AF was due on Saturday (the one just gone). All of last week I had familiar early pregnancy symptoms (having been pg twice already in the last 5 months I have become more in tune with my body) and was fully expecting to get a BFP Saturday morning. My boobss were sore and I could feel my muscles pulling in my uterus, neither of which I've ever had with AF and only with pregnancy.

Wednesday night I started spotting brown blood which I've never had before with AF. I thought this must be implantation bleeding. But by Friday morning it had become lots of fresh red blood which has continued all weekend. On Saturday I passed 3 very large clots while in the shower (sorry if TMI) and after that the bleeding eased off, but still lightly bleeding now.

I know I was convinced of being pg but I'm now wondering if my mind was playing tricks because of everything I've been through lately and if it was just AF? If it was AF it was different to any other I've had before, but could this be because maybe my periods just haven't had chance to return to normal yet?

If this was a chemical pg is there any way of finding out afterwards? Is my GP likely to count this as a 3rd MC and refer me for tests if I don't know for sure? I'm driving myself mad . I called to make an appointment with my GP this morning but he's on hols til Weds.

There's no way to know for sure unfortunately. If you had tested as it was starting you might have got a positive, or you might not have done. My cycle was not as it had always been after m/c and it took a few months to be properly regular again, so it might be one of those things. It's easy for your mind to play tricks on you, I've imagined symptoms every month. If it a chemical pregnancy then I'm not sure if the GP would treat it the same as a miscarriage or not, so you will have to ask when you go.
Sorry that you are having such a rough time - wishing you a change of luck very soon

Thanks for taking the time to reply Kat. I'll see what my GP suggests tomorrow.

Hi there
I had a very similar scenario after both of my m/cs. A few months after the first, I was convinced I'd had a chemical pregnancy but the doctor dismissed it as a 'funny period'. I never spot before AF, nor did I used to bloat or get weird uterus stretching so I never really believed it, but I didn't want to seem like I was going crazy. Anyway, I fell pregnant again the month after the 'funny period/chemical preg and unfortunately had a mmc. Once things appeared to return to normal and I'd taken some time out we've started trying again. I had exactly the same this month, I thought I was pregnant, I mean absolutely convinced on the basis of the physical symptoms but then AF turned up early (which never happens). Again I had the very obvious bloating and stretching, the weird spotting for two days and then what seemed to be a proper period, although the pain was different to normal - very high up and in both ovaries.

I have read somewhere that it's very common to feel like you're pregnant the first month or so after a m/c, I'm not sure if that was psychological or physiological or what, but it's definitely happend to me twice now. Who knows whether this is what my AF will be like forever more or whether things take a while to settle down.

I hope your GP is helpful but from my experience, they might be quite dismissive, I guess there isn't a lot they can say in the scenario but I completely understand how confusing it all is. I now have no faith in my own ability to determine what's going on in my body and feel like if I ever get pregnant again, my body is going to have to proove it to me before I believe it!

Best wishes

Hi dooscooby and thanks for replying. I'll never know now if it was another miscarriage or just a strange period. Seems really unfair of our bodies to trick us like this and I certainly won't be convincing myself I'm pg in future before I've done a test.

My GP is usually very supportive, but his hands are tied really with this one. If I'd done a test a day earlier and got a BFP he'd be referring me now but as I can't say for sure whether I was pg or not there's not really anything he can do. Which is what I was expecting. Back to square one again.

I hope things work out for you soon.

Hi chocadoodle,
After my 2nd confirmed m/c the GP was sympathetic but still said she couldn't refer me for tests until mc no.3. I was however referred to the women's health counsellor at the hosp by the EPU. I went to see the counsellor and at the first appointment when I told her the story she actually said that she was sure the recurrent m/c clinic would see me, I was completely suprised as I was not expecting that at all and was all geared up to face the prospect of possibly having a 3rd m/c before any tests. Anyway, I had the first round of tests and they found a blood disorder, so I'm now on aspirin.

I know it probably depends on where you live, but there is a chance that you might be able to get seen for tests. Do you think you could ask the EPU or another GP?

Good luck

That's worth knowing, thanks for that. I will ask if they can offer anything like that for me.

My GP referred me for some basic blood tests after my 2nd MC, but they all came back normal. I wasn't expecting anything to be picked up as what he was testing for I'm sure I'd have been aware of before the MCs anyway. Thyroid problems, Diabetes and Anaemia.

My gut feeling is that I may have some hormonal imbalance. It took me over a year to conceive DS and I was undergoing the first stages of fertility testing when I got pg. But those blood tests showed I had low levels of progesterone at the time so I'm now wondering if that's still the case. It really is a minefield when you start reading up on all the possible reasons for MC, it's incredible really anyone manages to have a healthy baby at all.

Will you now have to take Asprin all the time? Or is it just until after you've got passed 12 weeks of pregnancy?

Hi there
I'm not sure how long I've got to take the aspirin for tbh, was told to start from ttc and then call the consultant as soon as I fall pregnant. I guess they'll probably run some more bloods to see if they need to up the dose etc. The most positive thing for me is coming under the consultants care, as lots of research suggests tlc is really important in post mc pregnancies and even if it doesn't work out I feel really supported to be able to call the consultant anytime! Just need to get pregnant now!

I've also wondered about hormone imbalances. Both previous pregnancies only tested positive late on and that's made me a bit paranoid that there is something not quite right. I know exactly what you mean about wondering how anyone ever manages to have a healthy baby, I find myself lookingat every woman with kids and asking them how they managed it cos it's such a minefield!