Anyone else feel exhausted and weak after a miscarriage?

[Jingles85]

Hi everyone. I was diagnosed with a MMC this time last week. Spotted for a few days then actually miscarried on Friday the 8th (VE Day).

I woke up with strong contraction like pains that lasted from 4:30am to 8am then the floodgates opened and bled insanely heavily, so much so I passed out and got taken to hospital at lunchtime in an ambulance. Low blood pressure and fainting spells continued til they stabilised me, Bleeding totally calmed by 8pm, sent home the next day.

The bleeding is barely there now (a tiny bit when I wipe, thats all) and no pain either. The only lasting thing is an elevated heart rate and just generally feeling weak and exhausted. If I try and do anything like laundry or walk up the stairs I feel whoosy and my heart rate increases.

The gynaecologist at the hospital and the EPU advised only come in for a scan (to check for retained products) if either my bleeding or pain kicked back up or if my pregnancy test in a few weeks was positive.

I spoke to my GP today about the heart rate thing and she sent me for a blood test. results came back at 5pm and my haemoglobin is a little low but not worryingly so and no markers for infection or anything untoward.

GP offered I try and get a scan at EPU just incase there are retained products but I declined because there are no symptoms to suggest that and honestly I find the EPU really distressing. This was my 2nd pregnancy, both IVF. Last one ended up as ectopic (mega traumatic) and MMC at 10 weeks with this one. Both diagnosed at the EPU.

Agreed to monitor heart rate and temp for now and see what happens. Also another blood test tomorrow.

Long story I know! But has anyone else felt this way after a miscarriage? I really feel its just my body's reaction to the trauma and blood loss but my GP is making me worry.

Poor you @jingles85 that sounds horrible :(

Think of everything your body has been through and all the stress as well - take it easy! It’s hopefully nothing unusual. If it makes you feel better I stayed in bed and sofa for several days after I miscarried, I can’t tell you how I’d have felt after doing laundry or anything because I literally didn’t feel up to doing anything.

Hope you feel better soon and the tests bring some reassurance

@Jingles85 so sorry 😔 mmc confirmed here wednesday 6th and medical management yesterday. I haven't been able to do much but attempted to brush the kitchen floor this afternoon and felt faint. We have to remember how much our bodies have gone through in a short time. I hope you're feeling better soon 💕

Am v sorry.

Yes, I experienced similar. Rest up.

Hi OP, I feel like you’re telling my story of when I had my MC in December also at 10weeks. It was an IVF pregnancy too.

I was rushed to hospital after heavily bleeding and I kept passing out. My blood pressure was so up and down and my heart rate was really fast so my body wasn’t able to keep up. Paramedics were really worried and had me admitted to hospital. After I passed the sac I felt much better and my vitals were levelling out so I was able to go home.
I felt very weak for a couple of weeks after. My iron levels were really low so my GP prescribed me iron tablets and I took time off work to recover as just walking up the stairs I would be out of breath and dizzy. I also had restless leg syndrome (I had no idea that was even a thing!) so bought a magnesium spray for my legs which helped so much.

I hope you get better soon, sending virtual hugs x

Thank you @Poppy10121*@Stabal @Dozer* for your replies xx

@ChaiTea1 thank your for your post too - weirdly comforting to hear you had a similar experience after an IVF pregnancy. (im so sorry you had to go through it though!).

Do you know what your iron levels were? Im finding it confusing what is considered normal and what isnt.

Funny you mention restless leg syndrome- I get it when im on all the IVF drugs and it gets worse if I get pregnant. Apparently the oestrogen tablets make it worse but the biggest culprit is stress which I definitely am when pregnant. Those 10 weeks were awful from start to finish. Infertility takes away the innocent joy of finding out your pregnant and if you've had a loss before youre on pins arent you! My early scans were so non reassuring- measured a week behind with a really faint heartbeat. My ectopic pregnancy was only discovered at my 7 week viability scan (hadn't had any pain, just some spotting that the clinic weren't worried about) and that poor little embryo despite growing in the stump of my removed Fallopian tube, restricted in size because of space etc, had a perfect heart beat!! It was really obvious and strong. That set the bar in my head really- and when I saw this last embryos heartbeat was so faint I knew it wouldn't end well.

Was it your first IVF pregnancy? Ive had 4 failed FET transfers, then success finally last year but that ended in an Ectopic followed by this. its so hard to keep going. We have one low grade embryo left and the possibility of another round on the NHS but im finding it so hard to know what to do next.

Gosh, it really sounds like you’ve been through a lot as well.
I’m not sure of the exact levels, but I had all the visible symptoms - feeling tired, breathless, increased heart rate. It might be worth taking normal over the counter iron supplements and also getting a blood test to check your levels. As I lost a lot of blood it was to be expected for iron levels to be low.

The restless leg symptoms was a new one for me, I struggled to relax and go to sleep! I know what you mean when you say the stress is the hardest. I struggled to get pregnant so had to have IVF. I had one failed transfer before my miscarriage. So this was my 2nd FET, I had the worst morning sickness but I also had a lot of bleeding too which was due to a Haematoma bleed so I was on bed rest.

It sounds like you’ve been through quite a lot, might be worth taking sometime out to yourself for a bit? The day after my miscarriage all I wanted was to be pregnant again and I wanted to do another transfer. I was told I had to wait for a few months and then Covid happened so I had to wait a little longer and I’m actually glad I did. I’ve allowed to get myself back into a healthy state too - mentally and physically. I’m hoping to have a transfer done soon (I have a few more embryos left) but I think if this one fails then I’m not sure what my next steps would be.
x

You’ve been through the mill, huh?

I found fertility stuff very, very hard mental health wise.

I also had - and still get - restless legs! So weird and annoying.

@Jingles85 that sounds really rough. I hope you are feeling better
I suspect I had an early MC last night. Woke up at 4am with horrible contractions (that reminded me of labour) and went to the kitchen to get some drugs. Had to lie down on the floor there and then for a good half hour because I was so weak I thought I was going to pass out. Today I feel like I've been run over by a train. It has never happened to me before so I have no idea if that's what it was though.

Hi,
I had a similar miscarriage 4 weeks ago with uncontrollable bleeding which caused me to pass out and get taken to A&E then admitted for an overnight stay.
I’ve felt ok since but had some bleeding continue until Sunday where I again began to loose a huge amount of blood and again got taken to A&E, this time I only stayed in about 4hrs before being allowed home. They said this second bout of bleeding was either a super heavy period or caused by an infection.
I now feel totally wiped out and my heart rate shoots up when I do anything. I had a miscarriage a few years ago but don’t remember feeling this bad after it, I think it just depends how much blood you loose.
Sorry we’re all in this situation, it’s shit.

I’m so sorry for your loss OP and everyone else that has commented. I had a MMC this time last year. Heavy blood loss at home, fainting, A&E visit.

I felt awful for about a week with dizzy spells. I took one of the liquid iron supplements and tried to get as much sleep as I could. Also a slow return to exercise as I felt really weak. I wasn’t expecting to feel so rubbish so it was a bit of a shock.

I hope you are ok and start to feel better soon

Thanks @MrsLully sorry you had to go through that. How was your bleeding during all of that? I hope youre feeling ok now xx

@HAB86 gosh sorry you had to go through that twice in a row!! my bleeding has totally stopped now apart from a small amount of spotting but I feel really apprehensive about my next period. I keep having "flashbacks" about the heavy bleeding and how it felt with everything coming out - sorry if its thats tmi! it just feels so horrible and unnatural even though it is natural I guess! Had you had any symptoms that suggested infection on the lead up to the second bout of bleeding??

@Keeponmovin123 & @ChaiTea1 I got some iron tablets yesterday and hope they will help. My GP wasn't willing to give me any because my iron levels weren't quite low enough. However I spoke to my friend who is also a GP and she thought perhaps my "normal" iron levels might be on the higher side to begin with, so although my drop in iron levels wasn't enough to be prescribed anything, my body might be feeling the drop even more because they were high to start with, if that makes sense! Makes perfect sense to me! I have all the symptoms of anemia!

@Dozer Yes infertility does a number on your mental health!

@Jingles85 thank you very much. The bleeding is twice as much as I've ever had with any period, and the overall feeling of tiredness is also pretty overwhelming. That being said I'm already bleeding less than yesterday.
I'm really lucky that my husband happened to be off work this week and has been doing the running around after our toddler. How are you feeling? xx

Hi there I am so sorry to read your messages of what you have experienced, it is such an awful thing to go through!
Can I ask roughly how far along people were?

I just found out on Monday I am pregnant (well it still isn't clear) I had cramping pains to both sides on and off and all over my abdomen from last Friday to Monday. I was unaware I was pregnant and thought this was ovulation pain. My husband and I had sex twice on Sunday where I had some spotting after then on Monday I had some bleeding. It wasn't loads it was a light red pinkish colour not enough to go onto my underwear but to wipe. I thin took a test and it was positive. I went to A&E they took bloods which showed hcg of 75 but nothing on my urine. They have told me to prepare for possible miscarriage and not to retest until next week. I haven't had the will power and have taken quite a few tests. Clearblue says I am one to two weeks pregnant. Today my line seemed more faint 😢 but I know it can depend on the concentration of urine etc. My head is all over the place I don't know if it was implantation that was happening or miscarriage. I'm getting myself upset over it on and off. It's not even a baby yet. Has anyone here miscarried this early?

@MrsLully im feeling a bit more human today. Still hugely fatigued but heart rate seems to settling which is good. I think the emotional stuff is sort of rising up now- still feel like I cant fully go there in my head yet though. feel like I need to feel better physically first. I know I need a good cry but I also know it will make me feel terrible so holding off.

@DanniC29 I was almost 11 weeks when the miscarriage properly kicked off. MMC discovered at at 10 week scan. Baby got to about 7 weeks. At an 8 week scan it was declared "viable" by the EPU but was measuring a week behind. They think now it stopped growing shortly after that scan. When the MMC was discovered it was only measuring 6 weeks so it had shrunk a bit. Not a nice thought.

Im sorry to hear what youre going through. has the hospital suggested a scan or anything to check? were you trying? Did you know when you ovulated etc? I know with natural pregnancies doctors are more lenient over letting you wait to see what happens before saying its all over, I guess because there is more flexibility with dates on when you would have concieved/implanted. IVF pregnancies are alot more regimented because you know the dates perfectly. At my first scan at 6 weeks things were measuring behind so I expected things to go wrong really even though medical staff were trying to be encouraging. I think it was partly pessimism and a gut feel.

Does the 1-2 weeks pregnant (so 4 weeks technically) line up with when you think you might have conceived/your LMP? xx

So sorry for everyone's losses. I had a MMC in 2018 at 12 weeks. The nurse I had in EPU was lovely, she advised taking a liquid iron supplement. She said even though a blood test would show your iron levels are ok, the stress and trauma your body goes through can really deplete your iron stores. I took feroglobin. They do tablet or liquid, the liquid gets into your system quicker, take it with a glass of orange juice (it doesn't taste great) but it did start to help after a week or so.

And make sure you take enough time out to properly heal and digest everything. I definitely went back to work and back to 'normal' too soon, I really wish I'd had another couple of weeks off.

@Florencenotflo I bought some Feroglobin tablets yesterday. I honestly feel like they are making a difference to me already.

I have taken this week off and plan to go back to work next week... I am self employed so its not too full on to go back but I am lacking the motivation to go back. I few clients have emailed me and ive had to explain im taking time off "due to a bereavement" which I think they assume means someone has died from Covid! They're all very apologetic and lovely, but I do feel under pressure to go back for their sake. I will evaluate how I feel on Sunday. I am the boss after all- I can take more time if I feel I need it I guess...

Just had a good cry in front of my husband. Im really starting to feel deep sadness now. Sadness over what could have been. I would have been 12 weeks this Sunday. All I wanted was to reach that so I could tell more people and just feel "safer". :(

@Jingle85 it sounds like you need to mourn for a bit. Don't be so hard on yourself, it's ok to feel sad. Have a good cry and lots of ice cream and cuddles. It will happen for you!