Spotting for 5 days

[Jsh125]

I'm not really sure what I'm hoping to find out from this post, maybe just to see what other peoples experiences have been.
I'm currently 5 weeks pregnant, have been spotting brown / red for the last 5 days. Mainly when I wipe so only a small amount, today it's changed from brown to more red but still tiny amounts. Haven't really got any pain aside from a little niggle every so often, nothing like a period pain though.

I had an internal scan yesterday to check if the pregnancy was in the right place but they couldn't see anything at all (I was exactly 5 weeks according to LMP) now sac, no nothing.

I have to go back in a week for a rescan but I'm just wondering if anyone experience a miscarriage where they spotted for several days before bleeding increased, or anyone who's had this but the pregnancy continued.

I know only time will tell but while I impatiently wait I'd love to hear other peoples experiences. Thanks so much

Hi Jsh125 I also had some spotting at 5 weeks, no pain. I couldn’t get a scan as they said it was too early. When I had more spotting at 7 weeks they finally gave me a scan at 8 weeks and unfortunately it was a missed miscarriage and the baby had stopped growing at 6 weeks. So it had actually continued to grow after the first spotting.
I hope everything is ok for you. I spoke to a few doctors who said spotting can be fine, but it also might not be, and unfortunately sometimes only multiple scans will tell. I agree the waiting was horrible though.

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply and sorry to hear you had a miscarriage a few weeks later.

It's now day 6 & still spotting, it's now more red than brown but not really increased in quantity. The wondering & not knowing is what's driving me mad - I just want it to either stop or get worse so at least I know either way.

The fact there was nothing seen on the scan & the bleeding makes me think a miscarriage is likely, but also it's been going on nearly a week & still none the wiser either way.

I took a pregnancy test this morning (not sure why, guess it's the only thing that might give me an idea of what's going on!) and the line came up instantly, as dark as the control line immediately. I sort of thought if it was a miscarriage & I'd been spotting for this long the line might be looking a bit more feint by now.

Thanks so much for sharing your story

Hi @Jsh125 sorry you are going through such an uncertain time.

Last month I had spotting for 2 days at 7 weeks, had a scan and saw a heartbeat. A week later I had spotting lasting 9 days (very dark brown coffee granule type spotting) but was told not to worry as it wasn’t red. I then pretended it was red, had an EPU scan and they confirmed the heartbeat stopped just after 7 weeks and it was a missed miscarriage.

I was told over and over again spotting is nothing to worry about. And it definitely can be nothing to worry about, so I really hope for you this is the case. I googled it so much when it was happening and there are genuinely lots of positive stories after early bleeding.

On the test front, I sadly still tested positive 2 weeks after I had medical management for the miscarriage, the hormones can stick with you for a long time, which is so cruel.
Sending love and positive thoughts ✨

Thanks so much for replying & sorry you've been through this too and that it ended with a miscarriage, hope you're doing ok.

The bleeding has gone from brown to red but still not much more than when I wipe. I think I've kind of accepted it's very unlikely to be a viable pregnancy but I just want to know for certain! This is the 7th day of bleeding now so I'd have thought it would have ramped up - can miscarriages even take this long without significant bleeding having started!

I have a scan on Thursday morning which should give a definitive answer hopefully, I'd be 6 weeks by then so I'd assume there should definitely be something to see at that point if all was well. I suppose if the bleeding increases I'll just phone & see if I still need to go.

If you don't mind me asking, when you bled for 9 days & a scan confirmed a miscarriage- was the bleeding period like in that time or was it still spotting? After you'd had the scan did they have to do anything to complete the miscarriage or did it happen naturally. Please don't answer if you'd prefer not to.

Thanks for being so supportive while I count down the days!

No problem at all @Jsh125 , hopefully your experience won’t end like mine but when it was happening to me I was desperate to hear from others with similar experiences.

Mine stayed as spotting the whole time, and never turned red it was brown the whole time. They said as I was 9 weeks the miscarriage was unlikely to pass naturally so offered me medical management (tablets) or surgical removal. I went for the tablets and to be honest given other stories I have read, my experience could’ve been so much worse. I had no sickness or nausea and stopped bleeding completely within 5 days. Everything passed and I didn’t need to have further treatment, which lots of ladies seem to.

if you really are worried before your scan, please do go to a&e. They can refer you to the EPU (that’s what I did as I knew something was off). It’s horrible being stuck in limbo.

Definitely, this forum has been an absolute lifesaver for me going through this, so the least we can do is support each other. Keep us updated and I’m keeping everything crossed for you 🤞🏼X

Thanks so much @Cdoc for sharing your experience, so sorry things turned out to be a miscarriage.

Not much to report here - bleeding still red, possibly a little more than there has been but no need for a pad or anything like that, nothing on underwear (but I do feel like I'm in the toilet every 5 minutes wiping to see what's there!)

Not sure if I should do anything about it or just wait until Thursday morning to see. Definitely wouldn't say bleeding has ramped up, maybe increased a little but guess it's quite different to how it started which was start / stop brown. Now it's red & pretty much there every time I wipe.

This is exhausting! I just want to know either way.

Hi Jsh125
Sorry to hear you are still bleeding and no resolution. I hope it goes well for you on Thursday. Just to add I also took a pregnancy test whilst it was going on and was a full positive - I don’t think it’s a good way of checking unfortunately!
I also took the tablets for the miscarriage and didn’t find them too bad - no nausea and very little pain. There was some retained tissue though and I continued to bleed 3 weeks afterwards. The nurse said this is could have been because my body was still trying to expel the tissue, although unsuccessfully. I’ve spoken to the EPU a lot and it seems that any kind of light bleeding can happen for long periods of time for various reasons. I’ve now been light bleeding for 6 weeks (following tablets and surgery) and it’s so frustrating so I feel your pain and worry.

Hi love sorry you are going through this. I recently experienced some light spotting (brown) for a couple of days and went to the EPU for a scan (I was 7 weeks and 2 days) and there was nothing in the womb but a "mass" outside (an ectopic pregnancy). I'm by no means diagnosing you, however bearing in mind your last scan I'd read up on what the symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy are just in case as it can be serious if missed.

Other than my experience, I know of lots of women who bled lightly in the first trimester or even throughout pregnancy who were completely fine. I hope all goes well for you with your next scan!

Thanks for your lovely messages. The bleeding has definitely ramped up today but still not quite enough for a pad.

I phoned EPU this morning who said they thought I needed to be seen but unfortunately there was no one available to scan today. They've made me an appointment for tomorrow so at least I've managed to get an earlier appointment, albeit by not much but every hour helps at this point!!
They said none of my symptoms sounded alarming but if they changed to go to a&e. So hopefully I'll be closer to finding out what's what tomorrow. I really can't see this ending in a viable pregnancy but I guess I might still be surprised with good news.

I'll update tomorrow either way - hate it when you find a post where someone has the exact same problem as you & you never find out how it ended.

Thanks for all the support 😊

I've got everything crossed for you! X

Just to update you all as promised. Had a scan today at what should be 6 weeks exactly & could see my womb lining was thickened but no pregnancy seen. No sign of ectopic either.

They did my bloods & hcg was over 2,000 but progesterone was under 10 so most likely miscarrying as should be over 10. Have to go back in a couple of days to get them rechecked & make sure all is falling as expected.

I feel much better having a more concrete idea of what's happening. As awful as it sounds I think if it had been good news I'd have been so paranoid after all this bleeding that I'd have found it so stressful. I feel incredibly grateful to have 2 amazing children already & we were still working out how we truly felt about a 3rd yet - I guess nature has intervened & now wasn't the right time.

Thanks for all the support, I really appreciate it.

I'm sorry it wasn't better news! Look after yourself ❤️