Hi everyone,
Recently, I have had a missed miscarriage and chose to go down the surgical management route with a local anaesthetic. Like lots of people, I spent hours googling & trying to find anyone who had shared their experience to help prepare myself for the procedure. I thought I would take time to share my experience in the hope that it one day helps someone else.
The day before my surgery I visited my local EPU who took bloods, explained the procedure and the risks involved & gave me medication to take before I went for the surgery. 2 tablets were to be taken 3 hours before the procedure to soften the cervix and I was also given 2x cocodomol & 4x ibruprofen as painkillers and was told to take them 1 hour before the procedure. I had had no bleeding of any sort prior to this but did notice that about an hour after taking the first 2 tablets some light spotting had started.
When I got to the hospital the dr talked through the procedure with me again and a lovely nurse took me to a room to get changed into a gown. The Dr did say that if I really insisted, my husband could stay with me, however she added that they often prefer when it’s just the patient so that they can give their sole attention to them. I chose to do it alone eventhough I was determined driving to the hospital that I needed him there.
To start the procedure my dr took an internal scan to see where the pregnancy was. She then inserted a speculum, similar to a smear test. After this she injected my cervix with the local anaesthetic, it was uncomfortable but manageable. Unfortunately for me, the first two tablets had not started to dilate my cervix which meant the dr had to do an additional step to dilate which was uncomfortable. The removal of the pregnancy is actually completed within a matter of minutes with the preparation taking about 10 minutes total. I won’t lie and said that I did not find it painful, I did, but it was definitely manageable. The lovely nurse held my hand throughout and I was offered gas and air, which I declined as I felt I could cope.
Once the procedure was finished my Dr finished with another internal scan to confirm that the pregnancy had passed. Which, for someone like me who suffers badly from health anxiety, I found very helpful.
Once the procedure was finished I was taken to a room and given tea and biscuits and about 30 minutes later a nurse came to check my bleeding and I was allowed home straight away.
I haven’t had to take any additional painkillers since and my bleeding is minimal at present. I do have stomach cramps but nothing unbearable.
If you have come across this post whilst researching, I am so sorry you are going through this. Please reach out if you want more information or to chat.