Miscarried at 5 weeks - told to let nature take it's course - is this right?

[purplegryffon]

Hi, got BFP last Sunday so only pregnant for a week. Today started bleeding like 'early period'. Went to A&E and all they did was a PG test - that said no longer PG.
We left the hospital then - too distraught to wait for the doctor. Did another clearblue digital at home which confirmed no longer pregnant.
Rang the EPU at the hospital to ask what's next & she just said to let nature take it's course and just rest for a few days.
Do I need any further investigations? Or is that it? I haven't got closure I guess - do I need a D&C? Blood tests? Or will all turn out ok if I just wait for my next period?
Any experience on this would be gratefully received. Thanks...

I'm very sorry

I had a mc at 9/10 weeks and after the scan I just let nature take its course, it was like a very heavy period. If you are bleeding already then I guess the doctors are right in their advice, I spotted for about a week before the bleeding became heavier. Keep any eye out for feeling feverish etc and if you are worried get straight to docs.

If it is your 1st mc they won't do further investigations normally I'm afraid.

Once again, I'm very very sorry, it's an awful thing.

Sorry to hear about this. Generally a miscarriage at 5 weeks will happen naturally, and you don't need any further tests. I've miscarried at 6 and 7 weeks, and haven't needed any tests as it all happened naturally.

If you start to feel unwell, or have really bad pain or bleeding, then you should contact your GP, but most likely it will all be fine and you'll have no problems. (I think I may also have miscarried at 5 weeks a few years ago but will never know for sure as I just assumed my period was later and heavier then normal. This probably happens to a lot of women).

No - the advice is right. I miscarried at 7 weeks and the advice was the same. Fine afterwards but pretty distressing at the time . Just wait for your next period, should come 4 weeks (or whatever your cycle is)after start of the bleeding. You can start trying to conceive again now if you want, I waited for one period before trying again because someone told me that they had been carrying twins and had only miscarried one and I wanted to be sure that I really wasn't pregnant any more before trying again. I didn't want to be at this point because as you mention you want closure. I conceived afterwards at the 1st month of trying and sucessfully went to term. Sorry this has happened to you, it's pretty depressing at the time but maybe for the best (most early miscarriages are due to severe foetal abnormalities). Good luck with trying again.

So sorry for your loss purplegryffon.

I m/c at 5 weeks pg and I was given the same advise. It was more dealing with the emotional side then pysical, just felt like a bad period. My dr told me that early miscarriages used go happen undetected and now there are so many pg tests, women find out earlier, he was very matter of fact about it as if there is nothing to it, I guess it wasn't him that wanted a baby. Just had my first period 6 weeks later. Usually 30 day cycle so a bit late. Dr told me not to worry and to go back if I got any severe pain or didn't get my period within a couple of months.

Rest up and give yourself time for the news to sink in.

Thank you for the advice ladies - right now we are a mess, but your words are a comfort. I have a question - how soon did you go back to work after? I don't know what to do... I'm supposed to be working tomorrow (not going in), Mon, Wed, Thu & Fri. Am a nurse - job can get quite mad. I'd like to take the week off, get my head straight and do some packing as we are moving house in 4 weeks. BUT I feel a bit of a fraud - thinking maybe I should be back on Wed - don't know what to do. Scared if go back to soon, then the house move - I may end up taking more time off cos of belated stress... Any thoughts?

I was given the same advice as you at the same stage.

All kicked off on the Friday and I had the Monday off as a holiday (didn't want to have to explain to work) but DS was ill that day anyway, it wasn't much of a day off!

However, I have a job in an office i.e. not on my feet all day, rarely would get hectic etc. Only you know what you can cope with, how you feel, how your work will be about time off/holidays etc

Take care of yourself x

I had two weeks off.

I absolutely fell to bits mentally and couldn't cope, I went back at the beginning of the second week and everyone was wittering on about a cloleague who had just announced she was pregnant, due date a week before me, I ended up sitting in my office crying so I went home and stayed home all week. I'm one of the 'bosses' anyway so have leeway and my boss and his wife had been through the same thing so he was understanding.

I'm a nurse too - took a week off, as much to get my head together as anything else.

Hi Purple, just posted on your other thread but wanted to make sure that you had found your way here.

I'm so sorry for your loss, it's such an awful thing to go through and such a shock to the system when it happens.

With regards to how much time you should take off work the answer is simply what ever feels right for you. Spend some time with your loved ones and when you feel strong enough to go back then do so. It can be hard when you are feeling emotionally fragile and no one knows why.

Luckily? my first miscarraige coincided with me being made redundant from my job of 10 years, I hated that job but god do the guy's in that office think I loved it, soooo many tears.

Take care of you and yours and don't put any pressure on yourself to react any other way than what comes naturally.

Thank you for your support... Just been to doctors - couldn't stop sobbing - felt so pathetic - but he gave me 2 weeks off... Work not too sympathetic to that news - but you and the doctor are right - I need time to grieve, relax and get my head straight to start again... So will try and do just that... Thanks again...

Don't feel pathetic Purple it is totally normal to grieve a loss and crying has got to be better for you than bottleing it up. I cried for day's and thinking about it now can still set me off. Bugger work, their right to an opinion has been vetoed.

Take care, get plenty of rest and try to eat something.

Thanks merry first time I've laughed all day... Just got to find something to 'do' now - brain happier when it's active... May go to the library and get some trashy novels and curl up in bed with hot water bottle... (just make sure that tissues are with me)...

look after yourself purple, you certaily need those two weeks off.

Trashy novels, the refuge of the "sore hearted" if that's even a phrase. I realise all of my info is slightly trite, but does come from experience so bear with me and the only other thing I would say is don't read too many threads on miscarraige on mumsnet, there is lot's of great advice but I also managed to scare myself silly.

Merry - I think you're fab - and so are the rest of you ladies... The best advice comes from those who've been there - and have come through the other end... So I really appreciate what people have said on here - it's real!
Some of my friends - who I love dearly - have come up with - 'oh well better luck next time', and 'it wasn't right then was it?' or the absolute classic one so far - 'shouldn't have got your hopes up till the 12th week' !!!
Anyway trashy novels, chocolate biscuits, cups of tea and cuddles await - until the next blow-out... Ho hum...

'shouldn't have got your hopes up till the 12th week'

God that is an awful thing to say poor you having to put up with such insensitivity

I know - that was from my brother! We had a 'race' on who could make dad a grandad first. (Sounds daft I know!) He's 25, I'm 34. Anyway he got there first and has been rubbing my nose in it ever since. When I told him I was pregnant - I got 'what took you so long?' and then this... He's a kid (in maturity, not in age), insensitive & has an arrogance you won't believe - but that's him!

Ah well, unfortunatly when people don't know what to say they say things that in retrospect they probably wish they hadn't! That comment will no doubt haunt your friend for months, don't let it do the same to you.

Cross post, didn't realise it was family, in which case I would have recommended a more physical, less tolerant response. Kick the little bugger on the ankles the next time and tell him that you always used his toothbrush when your mum made you clean the toilets!

Some men are such berks, my actual husband came up with " I feel you need to stop dwelling" 2 day's after my 2nd m/c had started.As I told him "It must be so much easier to be objective when your not BLOODY BLEEDING", volume was added for effect. Sorry if TMI.

LOL!!! ... oh merry! You've made me laugh so much! Out of curiosity - what was your husbands response to that??? Bless them - they just don't think... My DP had no concept of what it was like to have a period! I nearly showed him one day just to say 'look, it's not all fun and fecking laughter you know - having wings doesn't make it better!!' - but thought better of it in the end... Fortunately he's being lovely about this - but all the cuddling is making him horny - and I'm like 'sod off matey!' - that's so wrong isn't it? Bless him...

Sheepishness! Muppet, you do love them but sometimes I wonder if mouth and brain are connected.

The cuddling is making him horny, now that has got to be the dictionary definition of "optimistic" under the circumstances.

LOL at the wings comment, why does the women on the advert always look so happy, I think we could get them under the trade descriptions act and as for the new advert where she has flowers wafting out from under her skirt! The less said the better.

OK, I better go and do some work or tomorrows update will be rather lacking in content.

Try not to stay on mn all afternoon it does get addictive and remember the library and those trashy novels are calling. Throw on some sunglasses if the thought of being seen in public is too much.

Try not to read too many m/c threads or you'll scare yourself, remember that the reason people use these threads are to get support because they are going through this. It's easy to forget that and start thinking that it happens every time to every person, or in my case wondering how the human race ever survived.

I only work from home and I'm therefore on mn on Mondays and Fridays but I'll be thinking about you this week and I'll check in later in the week if you are still about.

Take care

Poor you. I had the same thing a few weeks ago. I found out because I repeated the pg test a week later and found it was no longer positive. It took 2 weeks for the bleeding to start.

I found I was able to be quite objective and rational about it because already have 1 child. However when I was pg with my son I was absolutely distraught by a heavy bleed at 8 weeks which I thought was a miscarriage. Maybe it will hit me in a few weeks.

Hi I have just miscarried at 6 weeks. Started bleeding on Sunday and knew straight away what was happening. Confirmed yesterday by the doc who hadnt actually confirmed the preg in the first place - am so worried as i dont know how to feel. I've taken some kind of infection so taken today off work (onnly work wed thur and fri) One minute im fine thinking oh well i had only found out a weeks before - i hadnt really started to get excited about it as such. Next minute im crying and dont know why just out of the blue as im rallying round the house trying to keep busy. What am i supposed to feel - am i supposed to grieve - is it going to hit me later - i just try not to think about it and look forward to when i can try again. Maybe its easier because i already have a two year old. Maybe im just shutting it out - im known for not showing emotions until suddenly everything is on top of me - is this going to be one fo those things? I am sad about the whole thing and cried nearly all day monday but i just feel like i need to keep myself busy and when im not i end up looking up the net and entering sites like this - maybe its hit me more than i want to realise - sorry for waffling on i just dont understand - i wanted to get preg so much, my docs had told me last year that i couldnt have any more kids as i have kidney disease and they would most likely fail (my 2 year old was born prematurely at 26 weeks) - i couldnt accept that i went to see obstetrician etc and then the renal spec. told me that my kidneys were stable so if i really wanted to take the risk i should do it now - so im kind of thinking maybe this is gods way of saying you took the risks against docs advice and this is what you get... maybe the whole thing was really selfish anyway as have the most perfect 2 year old and dont need another child - theres so many out there who cant have any and here i am taking risks with my health and obviously the unborn babies health - doc says that the m/c had nothing to do with my condition and these things happen, but what if i hadnt m/c then, maybe i would have later anyway as a result of my condition. i feel so selfish like im playing with the lives of babies and yet i really want a sibling for my daughter. Please someone tell me im not insane.