Miscarriage and early pregnancy scans

[Nix123]

Hi can someone help? I am in dismay that on Saturday night, I had a big bleed and passed what I think was a clot. Saw out of hours hp on Sunday who said there was a possibility of miscarriage but because it was the weekend the scanning service was not running (don't get me started on hospitals as weekends). But he was kind and said I would have a call by the end of the day to book me in for a scan either Monday or Tuesday - today. Well they did ring, but can't fit me for another 8 days!!!! Is that normal or am I right to be very upset that I might be going through miscarriage and have the agony of waiting another week before it is concluded???? (If it had been a week day, he said he would have sent me straight over, so he obviously though it was important enough). Please let me know what you think, should I be ringing my normal doctor tomorrow saying this is unfair? Thanks for reading and replying x

Have you tried going to your EPU? I had to go through A&E, but got an appointment quickly,...and on a Saturday. They would have scanned me, but I was too early to see anything anyway. I think you can just "walk in" at our local one, but I was working at the time and it takes me an hour to get to our local hospital.

Hi Nix, sorry to hear that. Tbh i was only scanned after a couple of days of hugely heavy bleeds but waiting a week seems a long time. It seems to me that the general consensus is that if u r going to mc there's nothing that can be done so maybe they think it might just be a bleed (from what i can tell on mumsnet that does happen sometimes) therefore maybe they're not seeing it as urgent? But yes, i think u should call your gp tmrw and see if they can get your scan sooner. Wishing u all the best.

Thatsofunny - thanks for this, at the hospital for the out of hours GP appointment on Sunday the EPU was closed. I don't know if they do drop in will look it up, thanks for that.

Monkeybrain10 - thanks, think I will ring. It's the emotional rollacoster that starts that at the moment is harder than the physical side. I just want to know either way so I can start to get my head around what might be happening. Working this week is definitely hard going, nobody apart from husband knows what's happening, so thank you so much for listening.

It is hard nix. Just remember that your health is more important than work. Hope u get on ok tmrw.

Hi nix hope you are doing ok. I don't think waiting a week for a scan when you are worried is reasonable. Most EPUs operate on a drop in basis (mon-fri) though you often need a GP to fax a referral request. You may have to sit in the corridor of doom and wait for a while, but you should be able to get a scan and some clarity the same day. There is nothing anyone can do to change the outcome in a threatened first trimester miscarriage, but the way it is handled can make a big difference to how you cope with it. I think medics over massively underestimate how tough it is mentally/emotionally to be in limbo, worrying what is happening.

Hey. Hope you're ok. And no, that's not on AT ALL. As others have said, phone EPU/EPAC direct. At my local, you can't just turn up, but if you ring with something like this they'll see you. ED would also have EPAC see you if you turned up with bleeding (at my local anyway), so there's a couple of options. Tbh, I think the 'sit and wait' mentality in these situations is horrific. I know it made my situation much worse. Take care.

Well I spoke to doctor, he said they may have wanted to delay the scan as its so early, only 6 weeks. (Guy at hospital had said they couldn't fit me in before then) so at the moment we are still waiting for Mon. Only thing he did say was that I could ring the epu to see if there was a cancellation, so will try that tomorrow, would be nice not to have the weekend again. No more bleeding, and home test said still positive, but doc said not to assume that means everything's ok, will have to wait and see. Thanks for all your messages.

Well today was the day, thankfully we were one of the lucky ones. The bleed was an implantation bleed (just a very big one). They found a heartbeat x x x thanks for your help though, it really did help to be able to talk to people. Take care x x

Oh that must be such a relief. So glad its OK.