Still testing positive after miscarriage

[SummerSkies1]

Hi everyone,

I’m posting about my ongoing experience following a missed miscarriage in the hopes that someone out there has experienced something similar and has come out the other side of it, or if anyone has some advice!

Like many women on here, I learned that I a missed miscarriage the end of April while attending my first scan at 12 weeks. It was my first pregnancy and I had no idea anything was wrong as there was no bleeding or cramping. The fetus measured 7 weeks and 5 days so was obvious when I went for the scan it had stopped growing a few weeks before.

I was seen by the EPU on the 5th of May and given the medical management option. I took the mifepristone at the EPU on the 5th and the 4 misoprostal tablets on Saturday the 7th as directed. I bled heavily for a few hours and passed the fetus and other tissue. I continued to bleed lightly for about a week after that and took the low sensitivity pregnancy test as directed two weeks later on the 21st of May. The test showed negative (designed to pick up high hcg levels only) so everything seemed to have gone ok.

A couple of weeks later I still hadn’t had my period so I took a Clearblue pregnancy test which said I was 2-3 weeks pregnant. A week and a half after that I took another test and it said I was 1-2 weeks pregnant so it looked like hcg levels were still in my system and coming down.

I went back to the EPU who took bloods over two days, on the first day (20 June) my hcg levels were 33 and on the second day (22nd June) they were 31. Following this I had a scan on the 28th of June which didn’t show any obvious signs of RPOC and my endometrium lining was measuring at 11mm. The Doctor advised anything under 15mm and the miscarriage is considered complete so she didn’t see the need for surgery. She gave me 4 more misoprostal tablets to take that day. Nothing really happened after I took the tablets, no bleeding or tissue came out. The next day I did notice a small clump of jelly like muscus on the tissue paper, which looked like a mucus plug, but nothing else. I was told to take another pregnancy test a week after taking the tablets which I did and it is still showing positive 1-2 weeks pregnant! I’m due to go back to the EPU next Wednesday to speak to the doctor but don’t know what to expect or if I should be pushing for surgery to try resolve this.

If anyone has any advice or had a similar experience I would be so grateful to hear it. It’s been almost 9 weeks since the first round of tablets, still testing positive and no sign of a period which is very frustrating as we are keen to try again for another pregnancy!

Hi @SummerSkies1
I’m sorry to hear about your experiences. I’m afraid I don’t have anything helpful to tell you, just wanted to empathise with you as I’m in a similar situation - diagnosed missed miscarriage early May and still getting positive pregnancy tests. However mine is due to retained tissue I assume (after two lots of misoprostal and an MVA).
I’m like you, waiting for my period to come so I can try again. The hospital say my period should clear the remaining tissue but my body still thinks I’m pregnant (presumably due to the tissue) so I’m not going to ovulate to get a period. It’s a never ending wait. I have another appointment next Monday so will see what they suggest. I’ve not had any bloods done yet so I will ask for that.

Sorry that you are going through this as well.

Thanks @Natpat81 - I’m so sorry to hear you’re going through something very similar at the moment. I really appreciate your reply and hope this will be over for us both soon so we can put this all behind us hopefully! It is hard though to see past this when we’re stuck in this awful middle phase of still testing positive but I hope your looking after yourself throughout this ordeal!

Did a scan show retained product for you? My scan didn’t have obvious signs of RPOC but they gave me the misoprostal again in case there was anything small along the endometrial lining that wasn’t obvious from the scan so I’m thinking there must be something there seeing as there is still hcg in my blood and I’m still testing positive! Was the MVA painful or was it more uncomfortable? I haven’t had that but wonder will they offer that as a possible next step for me!

Best of luck to you on Monday with your next appointment, I’d be interested in hearing how it goes if you didn’t mind letting me know! Take care x

Yes the hardest part is that there is no end in sight so I can’t move on.

Yes I had 2 scans after the 1st and 2nd times taking the misoprostal and both showed retained product of about 12mm (2nd time didn’t work, nothing happened) so I had the MVA and they told me I should stop bleeding after a week and to take a pregnancy test after 3 weeks which should be negative if everything is ok. 2 weeks after the MVA they refused to scan me despite me telling them I was still bleeding and was going on holiday. (Although I have read on here that some people get scans 1 or 2 weeks after). So no surprise at 3 weeks when the pregnancy test was still positive. They told me to go to a hospital in France and the scan here showed some blood which may or may not be retained tissue but I assume is.

I found the MVA very painful so I wouldn’t do it again. I am also not sure if they offer it for small pieces of retained tissue (which may be the case for you), but it may be dependent on the individual.

Its good that you have an appointment, I also would be interested to hear what they suggest to you as I don’t know what they will suggest next for me.

I hope you are doing ok

I took 10 weeks. Had ERPC surgery and then a scan at 6 weeks after - no retained product. Unfortunately my body just loved holding onto hcg

@TheDaydreamBelievers thank you so much for sharing your experience, it’s much appreciated, though I’m very sorry that you went through that.

I don’t know why, but I actually just assumed that because I had still hcg in my system after all this time then there must be RPOC, so that’s good to know that the two aren’t linked.

Do you mind me asking, was it that you got your period after 10 weeks or that you tested negative after 10 weeks? If it was that you tested negative, how long after you tested negative did you get your period?

@Natpat81 oh that sounds so stressful having to get a scan while on holidays! I hope you still managed to relax and enjoy the break.

The MVA sounds like it was awful- I haven’t heard or read much on it so it’s good to hear your experience. It’s awful that after the two rounds of medication and the MVA that you’re still waiting for your body to return to its pre-pregnancy state, it’s a lot to go through.

I’d be happy to keep you updated on how my appointment goes on Wednesday, hopefully this will be all behind us soon!

@SummerSkies1 hope your appointment goes ok tomorrow and you can get some help.

Thanks @Natpat81 went in this morning, had another scan and now they think there might be some retained tissue approx 2cm. From the scan they think I ovulated recently but couldn’t say when. Seeing as I haven’t had any period or bleeding since the first round of tablets, they gave me 3 options- 3rd round of misoprostal, d&c surgery or MVA. I’m going with the MVA on Tuesday. 🙈 I don’t think the tablets will work and they didn’t recommend the surgery for such a small amount of tissue, I could continue to wait for a period but they said they don’t know how long I would be waiting for! Afraid to get my hopes up that this will be the solution but trying to stay positive (no pun intended!) Hope you are doing ok xx

Hi @SummerSkies1
Sorry to hear you have retained tissue but it’s good that at least you have an answer. Hope it goes well for you next Tuesday and that resolves everything.

I guess had I not been bleeding the whole time my situation would have been the same as yours - just waiting for a period not coming and not knowing why. Whilst the constant bleeding is horrendous it does at least tell me something is still wrong.

I’m a bit worried about my options on Monday, assuming they still see retained tissue. Last time it was 12mm so assuming it’s now smaller than that they may not offer surgery (with good reason) and like you, I don’t think another dose of misoprostal will do anything. However I will have to wait and see.

Just to update following my latest scan, it showed no retained product, and I finally stopped bleeding on Friday and had a negative test this morning.
So 3 months after the first spotting and after 2 lots of misoprostal, an MVA and 8.5 weeks of non stop bleeding it is (hopefully) finally over for me and I can move on.
Just wanted to give hope to anybody else out there who feels like the miscarriage is never ending and let you know you are not alone.
@SummerSkies1 I hope your surgery goes well tomorrow, please let me know how you get on

@Natpat81 I am so so happy that you are finally out the other side of this! I can feel the relief from your post- you must be delighted! It definitely gives me hope that I will be able to put this behind me soon as well! I’m not looking forward to the procedure tomorrow but hopeful it will put me right. I’ll post an update afterwards in case someone stumbles across this post in the future and finds it useful to know how it all went for me. Best of luck and good health to you going forward xx

Hi @SummerSkies1 just wanted to check everything went fine with your MVA and you’re doing ok?
It was such a relief on Monday after so long - my partner was in tears that this part is finally over and we can try again.
Hopefully you recover quickly and can put it all behind you. Good luck to you too, and thanks for your messages, it is always reassuring to know you are not alone.

Hi @Natpat81 thanks for checking in 😊 The MVA went well thankfully! I wasn’t sure if I would need it because I had some heavy cramping and light spotting on Monday which turned into bleeding yesterday morning and passed some clots. I phoned the hospital to tell them and they told me to come in as planned. The bleeding got heavier once I took the misoprostal tablets as directed before the procedure and part of me thought I passed the tissue, so I wasn’t actually all that nervous heading in which helped! 😅they scanned me in there and said the tissue was still there but that it had moved down so the procedure would be much easier. The procedure itself was very quick and I didn’t feel much pain or cramping, just a small bit of discomfort but the staff were amazing at keeping me calm and relaxed which made all the difference! They were pretty happy that they got it all and scanned me twice to be sure so looks promising! I will have to wait to take a pregnancy test in two weeks so will be hoping to finally get my negative result then! I’m just ecstatic to be bleeding again, which I never thought I would say, but hopefully it’s a sign that body is returning to its pre pregnancy state at long last and we can try again soon!

I’m so happy for you and your partner and that you’ll be able to try again now - wishing you best of luck with it all and thank you for your messages on here, it’s not an easy thing to go through but being able to share your experience and help me and others going through something similar does make some good come out of it! Xx

@SummerSkies1 yay I’m glad it all went well. Typical that after so long you started bleeding just before!
Your post also made me smile the fact that you’re ecstatic about bleeding again whereas I’m ecstatic that I am not bleeding anymore!
Hopefully neither of us have to go through this again.

Hi
hope someone can advise.

I miscarried on the 5th July 2023. Lost a lot of blood and blood clots came out.
doctor advised me to either wait for 2 weeks or do the D&C surgery or take tablet.

I was in severe pain for the next few days and decided to go ahead with the D&C surgery 5 days later.

I felt so much better and the bleeding stopped.

I was advised that my period should come on the 31st July and to take a pregnancy test to ensure Hcg level is gone down.

I had spotting/ light bleeding for 3 days (25/07-28/07) which was not the same as my usual period and I was getting a positive pregnancy test showing between 2-3 weeks.

I called EPAU and told them it’s still positive and no sign of period just had few days of spotting. They asked me to test again the following week.

I tested again, and it was still showing positive.

I requested for a scan and blood test at EPAU on the 11/08/2023.

my Hcg level was 27.9 and the scan showed that a remaining tissue was seen on the scan which was about 20mm in size on top of my cervix. They asked me to test again in the next 2 weeks.

A week later I had my period on the 18th Aug for about 6 days, a lot of blood clots came out, so thought it all cleared out.

3 weeks later on the 5th Sept 2023 - I took another pregnancy test and it’s now showing positive 1-2.

I have made an appointment with the EPAU hope they can advise what can be done or if I should wait for my next period.

This is giving me stress as I can’t move on and prepare my body to try again.

Has anyone experienced something similar ?

Can anyone help please ! 26th feb found out I was pregnant again after miscarriage in January this year had a scan on the 20th March yok was found on my cervix but I was told I’d had a missed miscarriage as my dates was everywhere as I hadn’t of had a period since October 2023 I had also miscarriage in December of 23 then had to go back for a second scan on the 10 April this time found pole inside yok but still told I’d had a missed miscarriage as it was still on my cervix , I wanted to go natural with what ever happened in this time iv only had 1 bleed which was Sunday 5 th may nothing has happened no cramps nothing come away , im due for another scan next week Tuesday to see what’s going on , im sorry if this is bit long winded but has anyone else experienced this x