Miscarriage experiences (9 weeks, measuring 5-6 with empty sac)

[SimplyDiana]

Morning all,

I should be about 9 weeks pregnant now. On Friday I started bleeding and attended my local EPU. My scan showed an empty sac measuring around 5-6 weeks. I’m fairly certain of my dates and so I’m sure this is a miscarriage (as was the nurse).

Could anyone share their experiences with me? My cramping is fairly continuous but not too painful. The bleeding is also minimal — I expected a lot more.

Im being scanned again this Friday, and the nurse said we can discuss further options from there. Does this usually mean medical management?

Hi @SimplyDiana, really sorry to hear what you are going through. It sounds like your situation is quite similar to mine - I miscarried last month and found out at 9 weeks (I had seen the fetal pole and heartbeat at an earlier private scan but was measuring smaller than expected). I started with light bleeding a couple of days before my scan, which never really got any worse and actually stopped completely before I had my second confirmatory scan.

The options they will offer you (other than just waiting to see if things progress naturally) are either medical management or surgical management. There is really good and clear information on the Miscarriage Association about these different options if you would like to read up on them - personally I found it really helpful to work through my options and go into my second scan knowing what I wanted to do.

I opted for surgical management as I wanted to know it was over and I didn't want to pass the pregnancy at home with lots of pain/bleeding. I had my surgery the day after my scan - it was done under general anaesthetic but some hospitals do offer MVA done under local anaesthetic (my hospital offers it but both of the consultants were away on leave so I opted for GA to get it done quicker).

Take care of yourself and I am happy to answer any questions about my experience if there's anything that you would like to know. 💐

Thanks for sharing @CluelessInLondon and I’m sorry you’ve had to go through this too. Did your recovery from surgery take long? The nature of my partner’s job means that he’ll be away on Friday for six days and it’s unavoidable. I’m hoping that (if surgery is an option) I can wait until he’s back and has a period of leave so I’m not on my own.

@SimplyDiana I had a very quick recovery from surgery - minimal bleeding (I was told it would be like a period but it was actually lighter than that), a bit of cramping in the few hours after the surgery but manageable with painkillers and a hot water bottle. I rested up when I got home but was up and about fairly normally the next day, although I waited just over a week before I started to do things like going back to the gym. My surgery was on a Friday so I went back to work on the Monday although I worked from home for that week. I had a negative pregnancy test after 3 weeks (tried after 2 but was still getting a faint positive), I'm now 4 and a half weeks on from surgery and waiting to see when my period comes back.

One thing which does happen afterwards is a really big hormone crash about 48 hours after the surgery - it's helpful to know in advance that it will happen but there isn't really much you can do to prepare for it, so I found days 2 and 3 after the surgery really tough emotionally. I would definitely recommend booking your surgery for when your partner is around if you can, as I would have definitely struggled during that time if I had been on my own.

Sorry this is happening to you. I previously had a blighted ovum (empty sac) which was a MMC.
I chose the surgery as nothing was happening by itself but glad I did as was all over very quickly . Recovery was fine and I was able to move on.
Bleeding very minimal and no pain at all to be honest.

sorry again x

Thank you both for your kind words! It really has helped. I’ll ask the medical team about having the surgery (if that’s what they suggest) while my partner is at home. It’s reassuring that I’ll be back to normal quickly x