Surgical v Medical management

[Rose85]

I recently had a missed miscarriage at 8 weeks and unfortunately it doesn't seem that letting nature take its course is going to happen any time soon.
The nurse talked me through the medical and surgical treatments, I original had decided on the medical treatment however talking through it with her this morning I'm now torn as it seems the surgical will be over very quickly with less bleeding time, however, I've never had any type of a aesthetic in the past and the thought of having a general anesthetic scares me plus I'm worried that something may go wrong and leave me infertile or something equally awful.
My main question is what did everyone else do and how did you find it?
Any advice/ opinions welcome the nurse is calling me at 6 to get my decision

Hi, so sorry to read your story. It's a tough call but after experiencing a MMC at 12 weeks which apparently then happened naturally, only to find a further 5weeks later it hadn't so had to opt for surgery anyway, I would choose surgery should this ever happen again. Medical wasn;t an option for me so I cannot comment on that.
I wanted it all to be natural but it just didn't work out. I found the waiting (because I didn't know it hadn't all gone) stretched out my emotional recovery from the experience.
Regarding surgery, make sure it is fully explained to you. Do you have family/friends to support you and be there through everything? My husband was there for me, and in hospital I had some fantastic nurses looking after me.

I was told the probablility of having a healthy pregnancy after such a procedure would be highly likely.
I had never been under general before and have only been in hospital one other time for something not even close to this so I was afraid of all the unknowns but it was ok. I was ok and recovered in the timescale they said.

Your mind and body need to recover and heal from the loss, and do not underestimate what has happened to you. Have somewhere/someone to go to talk through the feelings that come and go whatever you decide, before and after.
The very best of luck, my heart goes to you at such a tough time x

I had a surgical management, but without a GA. it's called a MVA, and not all hospital offer this but I just thought I'd let you know. I chose it so that I could get it over with, as like you I had a mmc, and waited nearly 2 weeks for conservative management. I also have a small child and couldn't risk the medical management (at home) being prolonged and interfering with me caring for him and the risk of it being incomplete and needing further treatment later on. the fact that I didn't need a GA was also an advantage as it meant that I didn't need to factor in a bigger recovery time. including waiting and recovery time I was in and out in 2.5 hours. I wont lie, it was pretty horrendous and not very dignified, I was given gas and air to help, I had no pain but awful sensations of being tugged about inside and I felt everything pass. they also numb your cervix with a local anaesthetic so if you are scared of needles then this isn't for you. I ended up shaking the whole time. I had to lie on an examination bed with my legs in stirups and the whole thing was covered in inco pads to catch the blood loss. I had some cramps for a few days and felt achy when I stood from a sitting position, I bled for nearly 3 weeks but not very heavy. even with the surgical route you will still bleed afterwards. I think your options depend on if you are ok with having the memory of the mc, or if you just to go to sleep and not have think about it.

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences ladies, Ive just read about Asherman’s syndrome so now worrying about that. :(

Have either of you gone onto have healthy pregnancies? x

hi rose im so sorry to hear of your loss. i had an mmc in november last year. it was discovered at 9wks but pregnancy had ended at 5wks. i waited 2wks for a confirmation scan then a further 2wks for it to happen naturally.

it didnt happen naturally so i was given medical management to do at home. i was petrified but did it anyway. i bled a bit and passed a few big clots and had terrible back ache which the painkillers the hospital provided sorted out. in all honesty the pain was manageable but very annoying.

anyway i wasnt sure it had worked but after speaking to the hospital they assured me it had. a couple of days later i had contractions. i wont go into gory details but something happened which made me think that was the real thing. i gave it a day and returned to work. the same thing happened again that day so i went to hospital. unfortunately there was something stuck. they manually tried to remove it numerous times with forceps and on the final try thought they had so i was allowed home.

the same thing happened again two days later. i was admitted to hospital again and this time was not allowed out until i had had the operation. honestly, the operation was a walk in the park and i wished id had it as soon as i knew about the mmc. it would have made my healing process a lot easier.

medical is fine but if u opted for that i would make sure you do it in hospital. they can monitor what you pass there and pain relief is on hand should you need it.

i was pregnant again 6 weeks after my erpc. i do however have an amniotic band / sheet in this pregnancy which i read could be linked to having an erpc. i dont know if i have that right but the hospital certainly havent linked the two things.

Hi, I've had 2 x ERPC's ( 3 mc's in total) which is the surgical option.

For me, I needed to close my eyes, wake up and it all be over. I couldn't cope with the thought of passing the baby. The pain I was in before ERPC number 1 (mc 2) was absolutely brutal and I was frightened about how much pain I might be in.

ERPC number 2 (mc 3) was due to a silent miscarriage at 9 weeks. I was given option of surgical vs medical and it was a no brainer.

You wake up and there is no pain and minimal bleeding. You go home that day and then just rest and recover from the general anaesthetic. Then the grief recovery starts but that is the same either way.

Do not worry about Ashermans. It's incredibly rare. As for the GA, believe it or not you actually spend more time being taken down to theatre, prepared, and then in the recovery room than you do asleep.

Whilst it's a huge thing for us, the reality is that this is a very simple procedure for a surgeon and you are literally in and out.

I'm now pregnant for the 4th time and fingers crossed I'm ok, but if god forbid the same thing happened again, I would not hesitate for surgical. That would be my choice every single time and I've had 2, 5 months apart.

I'm so sorry for your loss