Cervical shock whilst miscarrying

[claire0605]

Hi, I've just had my 2nd miscarriage in a year. 1st miscarriage was a complete miscarriage at home and I passed all clots with fairly no problem,p and a short visit to hospital. However my 2nd miscarriage was a year to the date and almost same time as my 1st.
We went for an early scan as I had been spotting, scan showed baby had no heartbeat and we were devastated, we was given the options as per usual and I chose to take the tablet, I was advised to return in a few days to start it, however as fate would have it I started bleeding heavily at home, when I got to hosp the midwife carried out the first d&c which was horrific, I felt her detach what I thought was the baby from my uterus, and I was told that would be it, however I continued to pass very large clots, she tried another d&c and after that everything went very wrong, I felt sick, hearing loss and started uncontrollably shaking, I thought I was going to die, the midwife was shouting for help from the doctor and although I could barely hear and see I was still aware of very thing round about, they managed stabilise me with a drip and I was told that due to blood loss and clots being stuck in my cervix I had suffered cervical shock. I eventually had to have the doctor remove the rest of the pregnancy surgically, which was awful, exactly what I didn't want to happen.
I was sent home the next day, but rather than feeling the loss of our baby the trauma of going through cervical shock has surpassed that. It's been over a week now and today was the first day I managed to walk to shops with my mum and my beautiful 4yr old daughter (which we count our blessings for), but I had a funny turn and had to come home, I walked home thinking I was going to pass out. I'm so scared of cervical shock happening again, even though I know it won't because all clots have passed.
I just wanted to know if anyone else has had the same experience and to get it off my chest.
Also I am due back to work on Monday but not sure if I'll be ready physically or emotionally.

OMG you poor thing, I'm so sorry to hear this. Having a miscarriage is bad enough but to go through all of that must have been dreadful.

I have had four miscarriages - had laparoscopy with first one (suspected ectopic) and a d&c under anaesthetic for the fourth. I did feel unwell after both these procedures.

I would not go back to work for at least a fortnight, tbh. You need time to recover from such an ordeal.

claire, how horrible for you. I'm afraid I don't have much advice - I've had two miscarriages in the last 7 months though, so do send loads of sympathy to you.

I would give yourself longer off work for sure. Not only have you had a big shock, but you need time to emotionally recover, as well as physically. Your hormones will also be nose-diving so I think you really need to be kind to yourself. Hope work will be understanding.

Also, you must see your GP if you still feel physically strange early next week. Take care.

Thanks so much, I'm not sure if cervical shock is a common thing I can't seem to read much about it online and it's not something you can ask people about without sayi why,
Ifs a comfort to come on here and here other stories p, reassurance and sympathy. Today just isn't a good day, which I suppose others can relate to, wake up feeling good, positive then by afternoon take a nosedive either physically of emotionally! Not sure if seeing friends socially and getting back to work next week would give me the boost to start feeling. Or al or if I should just wallow for a while till I feel a bit more normal of my own accord.

Claire that sounds like such a horrid experience. I had a similar thing the first time I miscarried in that I was taken to hospital bleeding uncontrollably and the doctor pulled various bits out of my uterus with no anaesthetic. I didn't have the shock reaction though - that must have been very frightening.
I think 2 weeks is a fairly standard period to be signed off for after a miscarriage, even without the complications and trauma you've had, so I would ask for at least another week off.
Take your time and look after yourself.

Thanks it has been comforting reading responses and everyone else's stories, but still none about cervical shock, i wonder if it's just uncommon in miscarriages or perhaps known as something else.
But I don't know why I didn't post this last week since it's been 9 days since it happened, thinking it would have helps me these past few dark days.

I'm sorry I don't have experience of cervical shock either but I had severe pre eclampsia and it was all very sudden and scary, there was about 30minutes between diagnosis and being in hospital being told I had to deliver. It took me ages to recover mentally. I can relate to not being able to go out for fear of passing out. I think after such a sudden and unexpected health dive you become very over-sensitive to every little thing going on in your body and you start to think 'oh shit something bad is happening' when it isn't. And I totally understand feeling like it's going to happen again even though you know for sure that it isn't, I was constantly checking myself for signs of pre eclampsia even though it was a pregnancy illness and I was no longer pregnant. It might help you to talk to your GP and perhaps ask for councelling for the anxiety.

This is something that I was told to do by my therapist, during a moment when you're not feeling anxious, make some cue cards with rational, calming words written on them. So in your case you could write things such as "I can not be in cervical shock because there are no clots in my uterus anymore" and "I made it through the worst part of the experience and survived, so even IF there was something still wrong I could survive this too". Then you refer to them during a panicky moment and try and rationalise.

Another thing she told me to do was ask yourself 'why?' at all of your fearful thoughts. So when you think "I'm going to die" ask why? And when your answer is cervical shock ask why? And then you sort of realise that there is a lot in between symptom and death, including treatment, so it's not as bad as your panic would have you believe iyswim.

Thanks MisselthwaiteManor that has been a massive help and I will definitely try this. I've got such mixed emotions of being rational one minute then panic the next so i will definitely try your suggestions.
I really appreciate your advise especially since you have been through such a traumatic experience and seem to be on the road to recovery, thank you so much.xx

I hope it helps, please do see your GP too though. While you're in the middle of it it feels like it's never going to end doesn't it? But it does get better and you soon realise that you are OK, it's only been a couple of months since my experience and I feel so so different already, therapy is brilliant if you can get it.

Thanks friends and family have started to suggest therapy but it's only 9 days and think I can get myself through it, this site has definitely been a help already.

Claire my word....I am so sorry to hear of all the trauma you have experienced. You def need to take at least three weeks off to allow your body, mind and soul opp to process all that happened so quickly. Do take lotsa care and keep sharing how you are doing and feeling. We are with you sister. xx

I had my follow up at hospital yesterday and they asked me how I was. I thought it was going to be a descant I make sure everything was away, but think they just wanted a chat to see how I was feeling, so although I'm grateful to the midwives etc I didn't find it very reassuring. I wanted to be told medically that I was okay and was basically told that was it and to get on with it. So I bit the bullet and went back to work today, meant to work 9-5 but even by mid morning I felt sick, dizzy and tired. I stayed till mid afternoon then came home and have felt awful ever since. But now that's me started I'm determined to keep going and looking forward too our future and hopefully have more children.xx

I had a very similar experience last night Claire. Ended up passing clots the size of a mature placenta, every time I went to the loo I passed out and ended up with a gynae fishing bits out of my cervix on the ward at 2am, followed by four hours on IV as my BP plummeted.

Still in shock from what happened and it hasn't all sunk in yet. I had a catastrophic blood loss and now feel like I have run a marathon. My muscles are really aching.

I think it takes a while to recover from. After the birth of my first daughter I had an HB level of 6 (no transfusion given in the Portland hospital!) and was exhausted for weeks.

Take it easy xxx

I've just read your reply moreteafather, hope your doing ok? Don't rush yourself to get up and about, which I know is difficult with another child about. I have a 4yr old.
It's been a few weeks now and I still feel tired so your gonna feel weak for at least a couple of weeks. I had a lot of blood loss too and was on an iv which helped massively but not so much once ur home. Lots of chocolate, sweets and sugary drinks helped me through it. Which isn't exactly a good diet to follow but it helped me with low blood sugar level which caused shaking and dizziness especially when I was out and about.
I'm Still waiting to see doc about medication for the tiredness iron levels are probably low so need a boost, vitamins haven't been helping.
So make sure you get something to give you a boost too.
It would be good to hear back from you on how your doing.
But take it from me it definitely gets easier. You may go through mixed emotions, for me I was very traumatised by what happened in hospital, more so than losing a baby, but then when that wore off I was left with the upset of miscarrying a very much wanted baby. But my husband is just grateful I'm still here as he witnessed it all. And Im feeling more positive, keeping busy with our little girl, and making plans for holidays and nice things to look forward to.
Take care and hope to hear from you x

I have just read your story claire and sorry to hear you went through all that but also glad you seem to be on the mend.

I've never heard of cervical shock before but I think that's maybe what I expierenced when I mc in June as it's similar to what yoy described. It might help me to write it down as I still go over all the details.

At 9 weeks I was spotting, I had a scan that showed only a sac an no heart beat. I was told to wait and see in case I had my dates wrong. About a week later I begun to gush with blood like someone had turned on a tap, passing clots as big as large oranges. I panicked but called my mum to collect 2yr old ds, called my partner home from work and then the EPU. EPU were just about to close and gyne ward busy so told me to go to a&e. It was seen quickly but kept calm on the outside but really worried changing maternity size pads every 5 mins I was in a real mess. The a&e doc had no idea what to do and all gyne docs were in theatre. I was taken tobthe gyne ward and left in a waiting where a lovely nurse checked me over and urgently called theatre to get a doctor for me. She got me im striups and the doc explained that sometimes products can get stuck and you will continue to bleed to flush them out. She scraped some stuff out of my cervix and i was given a private room and had to give them my pad every hour to check The bleeding slowed and I was home for midnight.

When the tissue results came back it was inconclusive so I had to go back to hospital every 2 days for blood tests and scans once a week as I still had products left. They were worried about molar pregnancy too. It took 4 weeks for my hcg to drop to 0 and the bleeding to stop. I was off work for 5 weeks altogether, emotional, traumatised and exhausted. I felt like everything happened in such a blur that night I don't fully understand what happened.

It was comforting to read your story that other women have been through similiar. I'm still ttc four cycles on now with no luck. I often wonder if there's lasting damage.

Thanks for sharing your story too pizzaqueen. Glad you could associate with my story too, although I wouldn't wish the experience upon anyone.
I like you think it all passed in a blur and ready back it's hard to imagine it was me that wrote the story.
I haven't been told of any lasting damage but I suppose only time will tell.
I really hope your in the mend and have a happy ending come time.
Please let me know how you get on.x

Hi There, sorry to hear of your traumatizing experience I recently experienced cervical shock (early September), it sounds quite similar to your experience I have been searching for similar stories and info but there isn't much out there.

I started miscarrying at 14 weeks. My husband our little 18mth old girl and I were living in Sydney at the time I found out I was pregnant. We were planning on moving back home to new zealand shortly after we found out we were expecting another so we didn't bother planning any checkups in until we got back to Nz. A few days after we shifted back to Nz I started bleeding so booked an emergency scan, at the scan they told us baby stopped growing at 7 weeks, so baby had been sitting in there for 7 weeks(not alive)!! The following morning I bled like crazy and ended up collapsing in the hallway. Luckily my husband was home but he was at the other end of the house(in laws huge house) I had to make my way down to him but collapsing every few meters it wasn't an easy job.trying to call out to him but my voice was too weak I could barely yell. I finally got to the end of the hall way where our bedroom is and collapsed a final time, He came out of the bathroom(he was bathing our daughter) just as I collapsed. him and my father in-law carried me to the car and left our daughter with mother in-law all of whom usually work/go to school just happened to have a random day off(miracle). was rushed to hospital and was in and out of consciousness all the way there, when I was conscious I couldn't see or hear properly, I felt no pain but just a weird lifeless sick weak miserable feeling I can't explain really I just remember when I would go into unconsciousness it was such a huge relief and thinking this is lovely I'd like to stay here lol.

I got to ER my husband and father in-law wheel chaired me in and took me to the front of the line,the nurse told my husband to take me to the back of the line and wait our turn, a nurse from behind her could see I was bad so she came over to check my vitals and couldn't find a pulse so they rushed me into rehab, alarms going off and all, they hooked me up to 2 I.V's gave me an oxygen mask and performed d&c to get clots out. After this I felt fine. I had to go in to surgery about an hour or 2 later to get everything properly removed. I was sent back to the maternity ward so they could keep and eye on me but I sprung right back and felt fine after the whole ordeal I was still a bit weak but fine to go home. I was discharged later that night (really did not want to stay in hospital). It took me about a week to get my color back and feel steady and comfortable. After 2 weeks I started exercising and commited myself to a good wholefood diet and I am feeling soo much better now. I think after the whole thing I am just thankful to be alive, sad that I lost a baby but happy that I am still here on this earth for my baby girl and my husband. God was definitely watching over us that day. Hope your feeling alot better now all the best XX
Krystal
sorry about the essay

Hi
I had a miscarriage confirmed last week. I started bleeding heavily with clots when I was 5+4 and the EPU said it was a probable miscarriage and just to test in two weeks and let them know the result. I bled heavily again at 6 weeks which stopped, and then again when I was 6+3 which was the worst. I started to feel unwell so went to the EPU again. A midwife used a speculum to see what was going on and removed very large blood clots from my cervix. I still didn't feel too good so they took some bloods and I stayed there til I got the results. Every time I got up I felt dizzy, and very nauseous. I got palpitations and thought I was going to pass out. I just had to lay down the whole time.
My blood results confirmed my iron was slightly low and all my obs were fine. After 6 hours in the EPU I still didn't feel well enough to walk out to the car with my DH. It was then the midwife mentioned cervical shock. She said because I was still passing clots when I went to the loo and I felt a lot of pressure 'down there' that there may be something on my cervix that my body is trying to get expel causing the shock which would explain how I was feeling. On checking my cervix she pulled out some pregnancy tissue and confirmed a miscarriage. I was sent home after an hour or so with iron tablets and told to rest.
I felt horrendous for a couple of days and kept going dizzy. My DH had to take time off work to look after me and chaperone me around the house. I've been eating an iron rich diet and having plenty of vitamin C to help my body absorb it. I'm still not 100% but getting there.
I'm not sure how common it is but wanted to tell you my experience as I know its reassuring to hear that other people have gone through it.
Hope you all get the happy endings you deserve

Hi ladies, it definitely sounds like you have both suffered the same cervical shock symptoms as I did and must admit I have taken comfort at your stories. Krystal I definitely feel the same when you say although we are sad to have lost our babies we also feel relief at still being here because I definitely felt that I was nearly dying which was far scarier than losing a baby.
I hope you are both on the mend now and I willy wake your advice about excercise and healthy eating. Because I had felt so weak the midwife actually said eat chocolate and fizzy drinks, which I suppose 2 months on isn't really necessary now lol. So back to looking after myself and looking forward to life again.
Let's give ourselves a pat on the back for telling our stories and giving more exposure to the likes of cervical shock so other woman can read our stories and know they are not alone. Xx

woops resuss not rehab!!lol

I just ready this and obviously it's a long time since the original post but as there aren't many cervical shock sufferers I thought I'd better reply. I suffered cervical shock following a miscarriage over a year ago. fortunately was already in hosp as had been bleeding heavily. I won't go into the details as you know what it's like but you should expect a good 2-4 week recovery time physically however emotionally it will take much longer. Losing a baby combined with being seriously ill yourself if very hard bearing on your emotions, especially if you have dependents.

Like you I have young children and for a while when i was in the thick of it, I didn't think I was going to see them again. I'm not being over dramatic, that's how serious it was and it was very, very scary.

All I can say is, don't forget what happened, learn from it. If there is anything wrong in your life, put it right. Life's too short not to enjoy every second and your experience, if anything like mine, shows how quickly it can all be taken away from you.

I was in a high powered very political job, which I hated. My husband and I were workaholics. As soon as I could, I had an honest conversation about how I felt with him. I left my job, spent some time with my family and now have a much better work life balance in a new role. Life is good. It's been the only way I can make sense of what happened and come to terms with it.
Good luck xxx
PS _ I can also recommend eating chocolate, drinking hot chocolate etc to boost you back up. (ps - my gynae told me to do this!)

Like you Dinky1975, I've only come across this long after it was written, and the fact I suffered m/c with cervical shock 5 months ago, and still am searching this, goes to show how much it still plays in my head. Probably more so now I'm pregnant again. At the time I looked for information, and did not come across this. There is so little information available on cervical shock. I was told by a student nurse, that what had happened was called cervical shock, shock was certainly the word!

I only want to add to this to help show it has happened to others, and that the trauma of what happened improves with time, although is something, along with the loss, which will never go away, I'm sure. Thankfully I was already in hospital, a complete coincidence, when the actual shock occurred, because if I had been at home, I don't know what I would have done. It was scary and painful like nothing I had ever experienced I was just praying I would pass out, as I didn't feel like I could deal with it. My partner was taken out of the room, and the look on his face reminds me of the trauma and loss we both experienced. Although there were 2 dictors, ward sister and nurse in the room, they called another doctor, im guessing more experineced, who intervened and thankfully managed to clear what was blocked in the cervix. NHS staff were brilliant.

I felt the need to re-tell and re-live that story over and over in my head, and out loud to friends, as a means of dealing with the fact that it had actually happened. No one I knew had ever heard of it, and although the m/c was extremely upsetting, I couldn't believe this had happened on top of it. The memories are fading, and although we are very excited about this pregnancy, I am of course very afraid.

If you have experienced this, you are not alone, like everything, time helps, and the fact that women go on to have healthy pregnancies after things like this gives me hope. I too hope I have learned from the stress and pressure involved in my job, although I still work in the same profession, I plan to put myself and my family first.

that sounds so horrible. i'm so sorry to hear.

we found out we had lost the baby earlier this week and had surgery booked for one week later but by the weekend i was in terrible pain and bleeding quite a lot. we went to ER and while the nurses were getting me ready for drips my head became increasingly light and feeling under a strange pressure, hearing became muffled and at this stage just trying to say this to the doctor required so much focus. not long after this i was losing feeling in my hands and i had to struggle to stay awake. at this point they suspected cervical shock and had me lie flat on the bed (had been avoiding due to increased pain and discomfort), increased my rate of fluid intake from the bag which made a bit of a difference and a doctor used those pap smear prong things to remove tissue from the cervix area after which i improved significantly. due to some more serious emergencies that night i was given a d&c/suction&evac the next morning and sent home in the afternoon

I also suffered from Cervical shock. I suffered a missed miscarriage and was due to have a D&C in a couple of days. In the meantime I started to miscarry at home. I wasn't concerned as I knew what was happening. (I had, had a previous miscarriage). The bleeding was horrendous, and I was passing large clots. I decided to go to bed, and sleep, hoping it would hurry up and pass. I woke in the night needing the toilet, when I got up I passed out. My husband called an ambulance. In the ambulance I began to feel brighter but had to go to hospital to be checked over. Once there I began to feel faint again, even though I was laying down. My blood pressure dropped to 40 over 60, and I felt very week and dizzy. Doctors began to rush around and called the alarm and I was rushed to resus. After an hour of removing the blood clots, my condition stabilised, and I began to feel better. The doctors told me I was very close to going into cardiac arrest as my blood pressure was so low. Very frightening. I am extremely grateful to all of those medical professionals that looked after me that night. I was also very lucky as I have since gone on to have a little girl :-)