Support thread for those experiencing or recently experienced a MC/MMC - Thread 5. ALL welcome!

[Sunbird24]

Previous thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/miscarriage/4190003-Support-thread-for-those-experiencing-or-recently-experienced-a-MC-MMC-Thread-4-ALL-welcome

Hi @Sunbird24,
Thanks so much for your message. At the least it's been so helpful to hear from people who have experienced the same thing (like all those on this chat) and it's been so healthy for her. The burning sensation seems to have abated now, but we'll be sure to use 111 if it comes back. I think after two weeks from the scan date we'll be contacted and recommended to take a pregnancy test, but that's very helpful to hear that your body didn't really start things off until two weeks following your scan. I'm so sorry for your loss.
She's begun to have more regular, but only small amounts of bleeding - we're just hoping that this means her body is getting to grips with what has happened and beginning what needs to occur as part of a menstrual cycle. Thank you so much for taking the time to reply.xx

Hello everyone. I have just had a miscarriage at 10 weeks - I am so certain it was triggered by my having COVID and wondered if anyone else experienced something similar?

I contracted COVID last Wednesday, my strong pregnancy nausea/headaches/painful boobs continued. On Friday and Saturday severe coughing and convulsive sneezing started, just constantly. I was doubled over coughing and I have mild asthma so this may have been why I had that so badly. Bleeding started on Sunday night, Monday went to A&E on midwife recommendation, they sent me home as they wouldn’t scan overnight. I knew it was all over and passed the pregnancy over Tuesday. Scan on Wednesday confirmed that my uterus was almost empty.

I spoke to the COVID management service (they’ve been calling to check on me - I guess as I was pregnant?) and informed them of the miscarriage. I asked them if there was evidence of Covid triggering early miscarriages and the doctor said there simply wasn’t enough data yet to be sure.

If we are not supposed to do any strong abdominal crunches during pregnancy, then how can it not be the case that the severe diaphragm contractions of coughing wouldn’t have an effect on a pregnancy? Especially at the crucial stage at 10 weeks when the placenta starts to attach?

I am so heartbroken. I am 35 and we had tried for 9 months, we were due to have our first fertility clinic appointment 2 weeks after I had my positive test. We were so excited, I’d dared to imagine what this little being might be like. All those dreams to end up down the toilet.

I am so sorry to anyone else who is going through or has gone through something similar.

I’m sorry also for the long post, I just wondered if anyone else has had ant confirmation that their early miscarriage was caused by COVID?

Hi @twinDesill im so sorry for your loss. I’ve not had covid so couldn’t comment on any link there, but it’s definitely normal to look for a cause in our own minds.

Hello @twinDesill so sorry to hear about your loss.

I miscarried at 11 weeks and I had contracted covid just prior to it. I had also thought could it be a coincidence and toyed with the idea that covid was the reason I lost my baby.

I was ok for the most part through covid but did have a very deep cough and coughing fits which now looking back makes me sad to think that could have caused it.

Ultimately I guess we will never know. I’m 7 weeks post mc but it stills all feels raw and I wish I had answers. X

Sorry for all your loses. 💐
Can I join please?
Found out last week at 11 weeks having a MMC, baby was measuring 7 weeks. I have just started bleeding, red blood but not huge amounts at the moment.

I have a d&c booked in for Wednesday but I don't know whether it's worth delaying and waiting to see if it happens naturally now I have started bleeding or if that may take a long time?

What are other people's experience of natural miscarriages after a MMC? Not sure what to do. 🙁
I have fertility issues so just a bit worried about the surgical route in that respect.

@MooBugz I’m so sorry for your loss. I know that COVID could have just been a contributing factor, but for me I think I would find it reassuring to at least know that these apparent coincidences between COVID and early miscarriage are being investigated, or that the data is even being collected to use in further studies. In my area there’s still a covid management service that called me several times while I was isolating, and I hope that this data has been collected that way.

Not knowing, and questioning the possible reasons feels so hard, I agree.

@FlapJackered I found out I had a MMC at the end of February. Although I passed the sac naturally at the beginning of March, I continued to bleed for a further six or seven weeks. I’m due to have a D&C on Tuesday as the latest scan shows that there is still the smallest bit of retained product that refuses to budge. I’d rather wait a few more weeks to see if it’ll pass on its own, but the EPU have recommended surgical intervention as it shows no real sign of doing… anything. Still testing positive too.

I would hope your experience of a natural miscarriage would be much quicker than mine. I’m really worried about the risks of the D&C too. At least with a D&C there’s a clear endpoint?

I haven’t really been able to find any conclusive info on the dangers of incomplete miscarriage. Surely it has to pass on its own eventually?

Hi @FlapJackered sorry for your loss.

I had a miscarriage at 11 weeks, baby measured 7/8 weeks. I had red bleeding and that’s how I found out on a Thursday. Booked a procedure for the Tuesday but unfortunately passed it all naturally the following day (Friday) so mine was really quick within 3 hours but the worst 3 hours of my life.

I found it really traumatic and was not mentally prepared for it but if you feel like you can do it I would just be sure to be ready for the bleeding, contractions etc they were like the real deal which I was not expecting.

Sorry again for your loss it’s a lose lose situation having to decide which method to take..

@MooBugz I am so sorry for your loss, you're right it's just a choice of which horrible solution to go with.
I would definitely have preferred the op, I just worry about the future fertility side of things so in a way I hope it happens naturally before Wednesday.
I just want it to be over so I can start focusing on picking myself up and trying again.

@DragonflyPool I am so sorry you're going through that. It's hard enough miscarrying without it going on for so long. That must be so tough.
That is good you have the d&c booked and that will be a definitive end.
That is partly why I would prefer the d&c because then I know it is over and I can start to move on.

i think the abdominal crunches is more to do with risk of diastasis recti rather than harm to baby.

feeling sad tonight.
last monday (6 days ago), i had my miscarriage confirmed. I'd had brown spotting for 2 weeks, then 6 days bright red bleeding but few clots and only small. by the time i had it confirmed (what a horrendous battle, gave up in the end and had a private scan), it was essentially resolved.
i feel a little traumatised by the process (away from home + bank holiday + overloaded nhs = no one cared). i had just started to really feel the pregnancy was real, although the spotting made me more hesitant.
not exactly grieving the 'baby'. but wish i were pregnant again and could forget this ever happened. i feel... changed. i don't know how to explain it more.

@ZoeQ90 Time is a healer and I can totally relate when you say that you feel changed.. personally I haven’t been able to look in the mirror the same since and feel really deflated and have lost my confidence through it. It’s not something you know how to deal with and comes with a lot of trauma both physically and mentally.

Sending you hugs ❤️

Agree about feeling ‘changed’. This was my first pregnancy. I was completely aware of miscarriage risks and I know a lot of people say ‘I never thought it would happen to me’ but I actually never felt like that, I was very paranoid and had a ‘gut feeling’ that something was going to go wrong. Despite that I still wasn’t prepared and there’s been a massive shift in the way I view pregnancy, my body and who I am in general. It’s weird. Before it was a ‘oh this could happen’ and now it’s like okay this actually happened to me and I’ve lost a huge sense of optimism about my future & future fertility.
I also feel much more desperate. I’m fairly young and we were actually going to wait a few years to try for a baby but thought ‘why not now’ - now we can never go back to that mindset because I feel desperate ‘make sure’ I can actually have children if that makes sense. Not only that but as soon as I fell pregnant I realised nothing else in my life really mattered to me as my future child & now I just feel broodier than ever

Sorry if this offends anyone but just needed to get that off my chest

@boringperson123 - totally feel the same in terms of knowing and acknowledging the risk of miscarriage and yet being somehow caught out by it. I'd only told two people, purely for practical reasons and specifically said to both that it was early days and this wasn't an exciting announcement yet as things could change.
I really didn't know how drawn out and uncertain a miscarriage could be. Finding out your pregnant is so simple, quick and black+white. Confirming I was not was much more difficult.

Just checking in to see how everyone’s doing…

Went for my follow up scan yesterday. My medical miscarriage mostly worked but is 2cm of retained tissue or blood clot still there.

the wanted me to wait and see and said it would come out with my period which I wasn’t keen on. As could take forever. So have had to opt for Medical management and tablets again to try clear that retained tissue. And another rescan next week.

has anyone had to do to the tablets again for retained products? I’m not very keen on surgery and they said as it’s a small piece they don’t like to do it for that.

just praying this next set works

@Indianna2006 I had come retained products surgically removed last month after a surgery in January missed a few little bits (totalled 3cm). We did try medical first but it didn’t work for me, I’m quite comfortable with surgery now though as I’ve had to do it several times.
Have they given you the tablets?

@Sunbird24 it’s so hard to know what options to take isn’t it. As I know like you said surgery isn’t foolproof and people can have retained product after that like you did.

they seems to not want to do any surgery. Suggested it really wasn’t big enough and should come away on its own. Or help with tablets.
yes they have given me to tablets. Took the first one and rest to take tomorrow again.

they said it’s 95% done. Just this tiny bit of tissue holding on. Got another scan in a week.

but if it’s still there dunno if I should just request surgery anyway. I wanted to avoid it. But don’t want to keep dragging it all on.

Fingers crossed it works for you, I do suspect my body is just weird sometimes! All I got was uncontrollable shivers about 2hrs after the first lot and nothing after the second. For me it was also never going to come away with a period as the pregnancy tests were still showing a faint positive - if yours are negative then that could be a possibility like they say.

@Sunbird24 well it’s only been a week since first medical management so my tests are very much still positive. But I don’t really want to wait it out.

the tablets seems to work well for me. I lost a lot of tissue and product. So hoping this next set clears whatever that piece is left.

it’s so horrible how long it goes on for doesnt it. And just waiting for a negative test.

It sounds like you’re well on top of everything, I had my surgery in early Jan then didn’t do another test until my period hadn’t shown up 6 weeks later! 🤦‍♀️ Probably would have helped if the EPU had done a scan either straight after the surgery or a week later though…

@Sunbird24 my EPU seems quite good as they have been scanning me every week and will do until they confirm the retained product has gone. Because I’m having more tablets.

the watch and wait approach seems pointless. And if in 10 days my tests were still positive they wanted me back even if I did choose to wait.

so they seem quite on the ball. It’s just so frustrating to wait.

ive mc naturally before and it was much more straight forward

This site has been amazing and what a difference it makes having people that know just how devastating and traumatic a mc can be.

Definitely hard to see the light when you are going through and I had days I thought that's me I'm never getting over this but best advice I have is be kind to yourself it's a major trauma that has happened and it's ok not to be ok for a while.

@MooBugz you're so right, and those little chinks of light come through so gradually that you don’t even notice to start with don’t they? Or maybe it’s your eyes that adjust, but either way, you do somehow start being able to see your way through.

And right on cue, my noisy neighbours have covered my garden in little bits of paper from the gender reveal party for their 4th. I have got to move house.