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Miscarriage/pregnancy loss

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I’m miscarrying but have been told I’m not pregnant

13 replies

buniscooking · 10/07/2018 14:25

I’m really struggling. This is (was) my fifth pregnancy and for a week before I did a pregnancy test, I had all my usual early symptoms - sore boobs, tiredness, nausea, slight breathlessness. I did a couple of tests which showed negative. By the following week, I was also having strange food cravings and bought some more tests of different brands which were positive. I was over the moon. The night before last I started bleeding heavily. My periods always start light for a couple of days and then go heavy for a few days and then light again for the last day or two. Having had two miscarriages before, I knew I was flushing my baby down the toilet, but went to hospital yesterday to get checked and hoped I was wrong, or that there might be a surviving twin or any of the straws we cling to. The early pregnancy unit wouldn’t see me unless I’d been referred from a and e. I sat in A and E for hours bleeding away my baby and was asked to provide a sample. The triage nurse said the test was negative and I could never have been pregnant as it would show a positive test for 21 days. I’ve never heard this. I told them I’d done a number of tests that had shown positive, that I’d had pregnancy symptoms and that this felt like other miscarriages. They asked why I’d done multiple tests if I was certain. I know I was pregnant. I’m gutted I lost the baby and it feels worse being told he/she never existed as though I just invented it and wanted to spend the day in casualty crying my eyes out. Has anyone else heard this 21 day thing?

OP posts:
Yacka · 10/07/2018 14:29

Sorry for your loss Flowers

Not too sure about 21 days but after my very early miscarriage they took bloods every 48hrs until it dropped below 10.

Maybe request a hgc bloods from your doctor. That would show if you definately were pregnant and you can get the support you need. X

DamnItPatrice · 10/07/2018 14:31

Yes that happened to me I had taken home tests that were positive and then started heavy bleeding and clots and went to the hospital. The pregnancy test they did was negative. I was very confused and still am.

honeybeeq · 10/07/2018 14:45

Unfortunately I had this. My home pregnancy tests were very positive, had a lot of pain so went to A&E and had to provide 2 pregnancy tests- both very negative. The tests they used in A&E were not as strong as the first response ones, I went home and waited a few days then took another test it was positive before I'd finished peeing on it.

Still had pain and refused to leave A&E with my wee on a stick, they eventually relented and scanned me despite having 2 more negative tests in A&E the second visit and sent me to the epu who found an ectopic pregnancy, all the tests in A&E and that batch number in the hospital were faulty and it caused mayhem because a lot of women who had had pre assessment pregnancy tests before surgery had to be recalled because the tests just would not pick up pregnancy at all. Very rare but very very concerning!

honeybeeq · 10/07/2018 14:46

Also I've worked in A&E before and some of the tests just aren't as sensitive as the home tests. Tend to buy cheap and unfortunately cheap doesn't always mean good!

LisaSimpsonsbff · 10/07/2018 14:53

The triage nurse said the test was negative and I could never have been pregnant as it would show a positive test for 21 days.

This is absolute nonsense - it's not the advice they give when you have a confirmed miscarriage, when they say to call them if you're still getting positive tests two weeks later. I had a confirmed missed miscarriage (they could see a far too small gestational sac in my uterus) and they tested my HCG every few days after I started bleeding - it was down to 19 (so too little for a cheap test to pick up) within a week, having been about 600 at its height.

buniscooking · 10/07/2018 14:57

Sorry for your losses. Honeybee, that is frightening. For a previous miscarriage, they did blood tests. At what point should the pregnancy test show negative?

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buniscooking · 10/07/2018 15:01

Lisasimpson - I’ve never heard this 21 day thing, but they were so adamant and dismissive.

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Neolara · 10/07/2018 15:08

Pregnancy hormones keep being produced until a pregnancy ends and then the hormones drop slowly. The amount of time they stay in your system depends on how far along the pregnancy got to. So if you miscarry in week 5, the hormones will disappear in a few days. If you miscarry at 12 weeks, hormones can stay in your system for over a month.

Sorry for your losses.

LisaSimpsonsbff · 10/07/2018 15:22

I'm really sorry they spoke to you like that. It's horrible enough having a loss without being made to feel like you're making it up Flowers

NorthEndGal · 10/07/2018 15:25

When a loved one recently had an early loss, she had to keep having tests every few days to make sure her hormones were going down. The nurse said the horomones remain in your system a week or two at least

53rdWay · 10/07/2018 15:28

Really sorry for your loss. Flowers

It’s nonsense to say you could never have been pregnant. I had a very early miscarriage at 4.5 weeks - tests were positive then faded to negative before the bleeding started. With my later miscarriages I was getting positive tests for a while after the loss, but not the v early one.

LisaSimpsonsbff · 10/07/2018 15:28

Pregnancy hormones keep being produced until a pregnancy ends and then the hormones drop slowly.

Just to add that this is true, but a pregnancy can end - and so the hormones be dropping - for a while before there's any sign, like bleeding. My hormones were dropping for a while before I started bleeding.

buniscooking · 10/07/2018 17:53

I was only six weeks, so maybe I miscarried before the bleeding. The last test I did was on Friday and that was positive (previous miscarriages made me want to test frequently to make sure I was still pregnant). Tested on a home test today but was negative. That still seems pretty quick to me. Feel very confused.

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