Extreme fatigue weeks after early miscarriage - anyone else?

[HJBeans]

I had my second early mc (6 weeks) nearly two weeks ago and everything passed naturally without much pain or bleeding. Had a follow up scan to be sure the mc was complete the next day. I was travelling at the time, so couldn't really rest much, but felt ok if a bit drained. Went back to work three days later when I got back to the UK, but have since been in and out due to increasingly severe fatigue / dizziness.

Has anyone else felt absolutely flattened by fatigue nearly two weeks after an uncomplicated early miscarriage?

Had a screen for UTIs at the GPs which came back positive for white blood cells, but need to wait a week to see if there is an infection - have had no fever or pain as you'd expect for kidney / bladder infection. Clutching at straws, but want an explanation / cure for this utter exhaustion.

Finding it much more depressing dealing with the mc while sitting in bed feeling unwell, and just want to get back to work / friends / etc.

And should add I didn't have a bit of this with my first mc at ~5 weeks, so more concerned that something else is wrong.

Hi, sorry to hear you are feeling like this and definitely a good idea to get checked out at the doctors in case there is an infection lurking. Do you think you could be low on iron?

I miscarried at 7 weeks and it took approximately a week to 10 days from the first signs things were going wrong until I had completely stopped bleeding. The week following that I was completely and absolutely wiped out. I have never felt so exhausted in my whole life.

I vaugely remember reading somewhere (could have been the Miscarriage Association website) that exhaustion isn't uncommon after a miscarriage. Sometimes I think it can partly be psychological/emotional response too.

I hope your energy levels soon start to lift.

Same here, after one at 12 weeks in Nov and one at 8.5 weeks last month. In my case it is partly due to anaemia, which is common during/ after pregnancy and a major cause of fatigue. It's worth seeing your doctor for a blood test because s/he will put you on iron tablets to rectify it (which -tmi warning- can cause constipation and very dark stools, but which so give you your energy back).

I'm really sorry for your second loss

Hi, sorry to hear about your loss, it's such a difficult time. A first miscarriage is devastating and to go on to have a second just compounds all the feelings.
I had my first miscarriage at 11weeks at the end of March, had first AF ,ttc, got pregnant immediately and had miscarriage again last week at 6 weeks.
Both miscarriages passed naturally without intervention but I have found after this one I'm exhausted, having dizzy spells and several times have felt very faint ,symptoms I didn't have last time even though I was further on when I lost the pregnancy. I've had to take some time off work again too.
We hadn't told people about this pregnancy so aren't telling many people about the miscarriage, mainly to save the kids/rest of family from further heartache but it is a bit of a struggle to try to keep going as normal.
My bloods didn't show any anaemia and I was already taking pregnacare preconception supplement.
I suppose our bodies have been though a lot of physical/hormonal/mental turmoil and it takes it's toll.
I'm just trying to rest when I can and try to focus on the kids and stay
positive (though a lot of the time I am an emotional wreck !)
Hope you get though this ,thinking of you.
x

Hi IMB

Sorry not to reply any earlier, have been off MN for a bit due to lots of work and continuing exhaustion. So sorry to hear you've had to go through mc twice in very quick succession and that you're feeling exhausted. It's comforting to know I'm not the only one, but sorry you have to go through it too.

I've been out of work again this week after being back last week and then pushing it too far in terms of stamina. I have rhuematoid arthritis and suspect this latest wave of exhaustion is a bit of a flare as my joints are swelling as well - my rheumatologist told me to expect this after delivery so perhaps it's a bit of a cruel after-effect to non-delivery as well.

It is dreadful having to try to go on like normal and not feel comfortable explaining to all and sundry the reason for physical and emotional slump post-mc. Hope you're feeling a bit better by now and, belatedly, thinking of you, too.

One thought I had reading your OP was whether you had post-partum thyroiditis. Sadly it can occur even after a miscarriage at 6 weeks, so it probably makes sense that a flare of RA could occur just the same. My other thought would be whether the tiredness could be a symptom of depression, which would a completely understandable reaction to everything that's happened recently.

Hope it all settles soon for you.

Dear HJBeans,
I've experienced almost the same thing with you. 2 miscarriages, first at 10 weeks, second at 5 weeks and I feel extreme fatigue, physically worn out this time, which started 5 days after my miscarriage bleeding started. Could you learn the reason for yours? I went to the GP, and they just said it's normal...

hi thenesli ,have just seen that this thread has been refreshed. Sorry you're going through this at the moment.
I actually conceived again just after my last post here in June, I ovulated 14 days after bleeding started .Unfortunately despite a few scans showing a heartbeat and normal growth I found out at a 10 week scan the baby had died at 8w6d and I went on to miscarry naturally at 12 weeks at the beginning of September.
Once again I felt drained,faint,exhausted but that did pass over the following weeks and now a few months on I feel physically back to normal, my last cycle was a normal length too.
Emotionally and mentally it's still difficult at times.
So the tiredness etc you're feeling can be normal and will hopefully pass, I would take some form of vitamin /mineral supplement, don't expect too much of yourself,take it easy if you can and if you are concerned and feel like something's not right go back to your GP/EPU.
Have you any check up appointments scheduled?

irishmammybread - just saw your post and wanted to say how sorry i am to read it. It must be absolutely shattering to have seen such healthy signs on your scans and then have to cope with another m/c. All best wishes to you. Xx

thenesli, I've responded to your DM - short answer is no, never got any explanation for the fatigue, but lifted after three months or so. Think it was partly needing to process things emotionally and partly just needing a proper rest. Be as gentle to yourself as you can be and I hope you'll be feeling better soon.

hjbeans, I just stumbled across this thread (realise it was started in June)
Your post sounds like I wrote it. 2 weeks ago I finished medical management or mmc at 7 weeks an I've been so utterly exhausted ever since. I also have RA and its been glaring like nothing else the last week. I'm seeing the rheumatologist next week but since we are going to ttc again after my scan in a few days I can't go back on my meds.

I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone in experiencing this- something which has come as a bit of comfort to me as I was starting to feel like I wa being a wimp not getting up and getting on (as has been implied by certain people in RL )
I hope you get some happier news soon

Sorry that's meant to say flaring not glaring. Sadly it affects my hands too hence the crap typing

Hi witch - so sorry to hear of your loss and that you're now coping with huge RA flares and exhaustion as well as unsympathetic folks in RL.

I can't imagine the additional ttc stress of having to stay off medication which controls flares - I really feel for you. (I'm lucky in that my RA is extremely well controlled with a low dose of sulfasalazine, which is apparently ok in pregnancy.)

If it helps any, my exhaustion did slowly improve over two months or so and I'm now knackered again only because I'm pg again. I really hope you see some better days very soon. Xx

@hjbeans and @ipswichwitch I know this post is really old now, but I'm curious about your RA. I had an early miscarriage (5 weeks) and have been extremely fatigued in the last week. a month or so before this pregnancy my endocrinologist wanted to have me tested for Addisons disease, I was unable to get tested because there was a chance I might be pregnant. I'm wondering if it's possible that others in this forum might have issues with Addisons disease. One of the symptoms is joint pain, extreme fatigue is an additional symptom. Problems with fertility is also a symptom, which I know is different from issues with loss of pregnancy, but I don't know if it might also contribute to that. I have the ok to get tested for it once my hcg goes back to normal, but I'm curious if any of you might have experience with this.

Linden1
My extreme fatigue post m/c is also accompanied by collapsing. The first m/c had me slightly anemic but this didn't account for the unusual symptoms. I was tested for many things but not Addison's. My hormones appear to be normal. Apparently my response to the lower and higher ranges is not normal. I've been using an estrogen (estrodiol) patch to stabilize hormonal balance. This keeps me in my feet more often but I still have a lot of extra tiredness. No doctor has given me a diagnosis, they tell me it's an unusual problem. I have done IVF treatment to conceive both times but I have no known fertility problems, the issues are all 'male factor.'. I did however have a very hard time taking Lupron for the IVF treatments. I hear there have been major issues with this medication and I question if it may have done something long lasting to my hormone receptor sites.

Hello,

I know this thread has been unused for sometime but I feel the need to share my own story anyway, and this seems an appropriate place to do that.

Throughout pregnancy I was wiped out with fatigue. It started 6 weeks in: sleeping 16 hours a day. At 8 weeks I had to stop going to work because the fatigue meant I couldn't get out of bed - no household chores, no short walks. Thankfully, I could still make it to the bathroom. My mother came to care for me while my husband was at work. Tests were done at hospital: thyroid, iron levels, blood count etc. All came back normal. In the 11th week the fatigue was so intense that there were episodes where I couldn't move, not even to lift my head. At this point, after being repeatedly told by health professionals that fatigue was 'normal', doctors admitted that the extremity of my experience was 'very unusual' and offered to admit me to hospital, though I declined since they did not have any suggested course of treatment. In week 12 a scan identified a silent miscarriage. The pregnancy was also diagnosed as suspected 'partial molar'. I then had an ERPC, in part so that tissue analysis could be done.

The following day I was encouraged to find that the horrid 'round the clock nausea and vomiting had ceased. (This had been unpleasant but never as disabling as the fatigue.) I assumed my fatigue would also lift shortly. It's now a month since the ERPC and, although there has been a lot of improvement, I still can't manage more than a 15 minute walk on a good day; my activities are very limited (mostly still watching movies and playing computer games from bed); and I am still off work.

Testing for hormonal levels will shortly be underway as part of the treatment for partial molar pregnancy. However, I've been repeatedly told that the partial molar does not account for the fatigue. I've been proud of myself throughout for remaining pretty grounded, but I'm beginning to feel helpless as it drags on and on. 2 months in bed and 3 months of exhaustion is starting to take its toll on me emotionally, and it makes me really scared at the prospect of ever trying again. This was my first. It feels good to share, if only to summarise my own experience.

I feel for everyone going through these experiences so much. Wishing you all better things.

Hi I know this is old but when did you get better how are you doing now x

Hi

I second this, how long did it take people to physically feel stronger?
I started miscarrying on Tuesday and passed the empty sac on Wednesday. Still bleeding. Lightly-Moderately. Tissue has been passed.
I was 7 weeks. I feel like Dracula has come along and sucked the life out of me. I have no energy. After doing some basic things, i am ready for bed.
I work with babies and families and hoping to be back at work next Friday. Not sure if i am emotionally ready to be surrounded by babies but.... I need my strength back.

Sorry for your loss butterfurlong1. This is a few weeks old but just wondering how you’re getting on and how you found the return to work? I’ve had a miscarriage this week and work with parents (primarily mums) and babies. I’m off for a couple of weeks but am anxious about how the return to work will be. How did you manage it?

Hi Buttercup. Thank you. I am so sorry for your loss. My energy took 3/4 weeks to return. I started to feel more energised once my period returned. However i made sure that i was eating sensibly and getting out for walks. Initially though all i wanted to do was hibernate and eat McDonald's. I think i went back to work too soon. I could have done with another week. I had so many visits to catch up on. I remember my first day back everyone was so supportive, however i felt exhausted, not present and numb. I then remember waking up full of energy a week later. I have somehow blocked it out when i am work and in a way work is a good coping mechanism. Work were very supportive, i didn't see the new born babies until i was ready. Take your time im returning. I hope you have a supportive manager and team as thar really helps. Lot's of Love xx

Thank you for replying. I have definitely just been pigging out and not moving this week, though don’t want to get stuck in the cycle of having no energy and then having even less energy because I’m eating foods that don’t help so I’m trying to be a bit more mindful.

My manager/s are being really supportive, telling me not to go back until I’m ready, it’s just hard to know how I’ll know when I’m ready. The issue is a few of the mums allocated to me have just given birth so not sure how that’ll work. But I’m thinking of asking about a phased return and see how I go.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. It sounds like it takes a good few weeks to recover. I hope you’re doing well now. Lots of love back to you xx