Retained product after medical management

[Holly0609]

Hi everyone
I’m 2 weeks post medical management and as I’m still bleeding (not very often at all, small amounts of dark / old blood occasionally) and testing positive, they got me in for a scan this morning.
I have a really small amount (17mm) of blood/retained product left.
The nurse said if it was her she would wait coz hopefully it’ll all come out in a few days?
Or I have the option of medical management again.

Does anyone have experience of this?
I so desperately want to have everything gone so I can start trying again 😢. Feel like I’m in complete limbo and can’t even try to “move on” if that’s possible.
I’d be happy to wait a few days for it all to pass but I know it can take weeks for some people (from what I’ve read online) so really unsure what to do 😔 x

Very sorry for your loss. I had retained products after a MMC in May. After 3 weeks, I passed a small lump of tissue naturally and the bleeding stopped instantly. Most of the time I think your body will pass it naturally but if it doesn’t after 3 weeks, I would have a scan.

@KatieJ345 thank you for your reply!
I ended up choosing to do medical management again… had it yesterday and sadly it didn’t work ☹️. Haven’t had a drop of blood since yesterday morning!
went back today and the dr wanted to check my hcg to see how high / low it is. If it’s low he wants me to just wait it out as it was such a small amount on the ultrasound.
My only worry is, I haven’t bled at all for nearly 2 days? I was bleeding small amounts for the last week so it’s weird it’s just stopped.
I hate this 😭

@Holly0609 I had retained products of a similar size, after passing most of i the miscarriage naturally. I had pretty much stopped bleeding by the time I had a follow up scan which showed the retained tissue was still there so I knew it was unlikely to pass until my next period.

I was offered to wait, have medical management or surgical management. I decided to have an MVA under local as I couldn't bear the uncertainty of waiting any longer (HCG was still showing faintly positive). I just wanted to get back to TTC as quickly as possible and I couldn't bear going back to EPU for more follow ups and potentially having to have surgery to remove it anyway.

One thing I would highlight is that surgery will reset your cycle, so this can push back being able to TTC again if you want to wait for a period first, but surgery can be a more effective to remove it.

In my case, I may have only had to wait 1-2 more weeks for my period and may have passed it then. With opting for the MVA this meant I was back at CD1 and had to wait for my period before TTC again. The MVA was bearable as a procedure for me.

I think you have to do what feels right for you in the moment. Perhaps I could have waited a couple of weeks, but at the time I felt this was too difficult to deal with and I just needed to be able to move on. Whatever you decide, know that it was the right thing for you at the time you decided.

@13lucy thank you for you reply ❤️
my HCG was 327, so dr said it’s obviously pregnancy tissue (he was hoping it was really low and could’ve just been clots on the scan).
An on call dr rang me yesterday and gave me the choice of a third dose of medical management or to book in for surgery which would be this coming week (but I’ll be on the emergency list, so they said if something comes in that’s more important I’ll get cancelled).
I decided to have medical management again as it was the weekend and if it didn’t work she said to call Monday and they’ll book me in for surgery. I wish I’d just got them to book me in yesterday, because it hasn’t worked again 💔.
I have had zero bleeding for 4 days now and same as you, still testing positive.
I forgot to ask what the procedure was called when she was talking about surgery, but she said it’s under general anaesthetic using suction?! She said it’s not like the “old style D&C” so unsure what procedure she’s talking about? She didn’t give me the option of an MVA under local, just talked about this one procedure.

Oh how I wish I opted for surgery 2 weeks ago!
I’m so, so scared of the risks though. But I know they are rare, and that so many people opt for surgery. Also scared to have general anaesthetic 🥺.

How long did it take you to ovulate / have your period after your op? Xx

@Holly0609 that sounds so frustrating! Especially when you just want to be able to move on from it all. It feels so unfair and there's so much waiting. I really feel for you.

Sounds like they are offering MVA under general. Mine said they don't usually do it under local unless you've given birth before as it can be painful, but the consultant was happy to do it and it wasn't bad at all, just uncomfortable. It also meant they could do it the next day rather than having to wait for day surgery. MVA is also less risky than D&C I believe.

My HCG was negative a week after the MVA and i ovulated 12 days later. I got my period yesterday which was a few days early (24 day cycle) but it has been very light so far.

In hindsight it was probably the right choice for me, however it does feel strange resetting my cycle in an unnatural way. I just needed thing to be finalised as quickly as possible for the sake of my mental health, although I just ended up worrying about the next thing!

Happy to help if you have any other questions, or feel free to DM me.

OP I'd go for surgical management.

I always seem to be reading about women whose medical management didn't work.

I'm very sorry that you lost your baby.

@13lucy I had the surgery on Monday. And I really wish I’d gone for it 3 weeks ago. I’ve had 3 weeks of hell 😢.
But I’m glad it’s finally “over” now.
They said the procedure was called surgical evacuation or something 🤷🏽‍♀️
It was literally just suction they said!

I bled after the op, and a little bit for the rest of the day but haven’t bled since - praying that’s normal. He said he doesn’t want me to have a follow up coz he’s confident he got it all. Said I don’t even need to do a pregnancy test in a week or 2 but I will anyway for peace of mind.

Did you do ovulation sticks to test when you were ovulating, or did you go by symptoms?
I’m praying my body will quickly get back to normal now.
I do want to TTC before I get my period 🥺 I’m desperate but I do know I’m probably putting too much pressure on myself.

I hope we both get our rainbow babies soon 💗

@TheShellBeach I had it on Monday! And I wish I’d had it 3 weeks ago rather than go through the 3 failed medical managements.
I’ve also read so many people go through the same thing - I wish the drs would tell you how common it is to not work properly 😩

Thank you 😔💔 xx

Well I'm glad it's over for you now, but I'm sure you're still feeling extremely sad and grief stricken.

I must have ovulated two weeks after my ERPC because I was pregnant again immediately. They told me that the day of the surgery counted as day one of my cycle.

I wish you all the best in the future. Miscarriages are horrible things.

@TheShellBeach
I am.. the day I came home from my surgery I felt relief and I felt “ok”. But the last 2 days I feel sad and empty 😔.
I’m hoping in the next week to two I will feel a bit better.. I’m meant to be going back to work on Monday but think I’m going to take another week or two off ☹️

Oh that is amazing that you got pregnant straight away 🥺🩷
not sure how long ago you miscarried and got pregnant, but congratulations!
I have read a lot of stories of people getting pregnant straight after, I’m praying I’m one of those lucky ones 💕

Thank you xx

@Holly0609 so glad you got it sorted! It's a big decision having surgery so try not to be hard on yourself for not going down that route sooner.

I started doing ovulation tests as soon as I tested negative for HCG which was about a week after the surgery. I then ovulated just under a week after that (CD13) confirmed with BBT spike and got my period 11 days later (CD24). So my cycle was a lot shorter than normal and my period was only 3 days and very light.

The consultant said to wait until after a period in order to try again to make sure my body is functioning properly but I did have problems with not having periods earlier in the year.

It was difficult to wait with a positive test looking back at me but kind of glad I waited given that my cycle wasn't normal. I'm now due to ovulate at some point this week, fingers crossed! So hopefully will be back on our TTC journey! Have you been told not to try again until after a period or can you try straight away?

I totally know how it feels to feel desperate to try again! My advice is to try and take each day as it comes and to do what feels right for you.