Bleeding since Friday night - will I get seen quicker if I go to A&E tomorrow?

[GuffSmuggler]

I'm really stressing out here, have been lightly bleeding since Friday night, is getting slightly worse but still fairly light. I'm 12 weeks and due my first scan next weds.

From what I gather, there is no point going to A&E over the weekend as they won't do anything as the sonographers don't work?

However our EPU unit doesn't open until 11.30am tomorrow, so am I better off just going to A&E first thing and then I might get seen quicker? I really don't think I can wait by the phone all morning until I can speak to someone at EPU.

Any advice much appreciated.

red blood or brown blood? Have you been having sex? It may be cervical erosion?

No def not down to sex! Seems to be a mix of brown and red, is getting redder I think...

I dont reckon you'll get seen much quicker by a and e - they might just refer you to epu, but its worth a try, or get a private scan - they can sometimes do them at short notice?
Fingers crossed for you.

Phone epu, they'll give you a time to go in saves waiting around for hrs in a & e Not a lot they can do at this stage anyway..its often a waiting game..and not necessarily bad news. You could contact your midwife, she could listen for heartbeat. Hope all goes well.

It might be worth contacting OOH. I had bleeding at 12 weeks on a weekend and rang 111 who got me into see OOH. I was diagnosed with a UTI and the bleeding stopped within a few hours of starting the antibiotics. I was booked in for a scan on the Wednesday and they couldn't fit me in any earlier (no scans on the weekend) but everything was fine (I'm now 35 weeks!).

If you ring your midwife she should beable to refer you to epu so theres no messing with a&e thats what my midwife did with me xx

Thanks all, think you're probably right, going to a&e will just mean sitting around for hours which I could do without having an older DS.

A&E is helpful in early pregnancy bleeeding if you might need admission e.g. ?ectopic pregnancy (early stages, pain, no scan as yet etc.), pain not controllable at home, signs of infection (fever, foul smell, feeling more generally unwell) bleeding heavily/being haemodynamically unstable and so needing monitoring +/- blood transfusion +/- being taken to theatre for a procedure.

Some hospitals might have access to limited weekend scanning lists but these will most likely be for inpatients only where a scan might change the short term management of theatre/discharge or not.

Otherwise, I think direct to EPU equivalents where possible is the way forward.

Dunno that going to A&E in the hours before EPU opens would make the scan any quicker if you're "stable" as the EPU will have their own policies for first-come-first-served or triage at reception that A&E won't be able to trump & waiting directly there you have a smidgen more control over things.

Hope it comes round quickly for you.

Thanks Morgan, yes I don't think I'm serious enough for what you describe in your first paragraph. Will wait it out for the EPU I think.

Is just so frustrating not being able to have any peace of mind for the whole weekend about what's happening, but I know lots of people go through simliar

Unless your losing lots of blood, in alot of pain or have actually passed something a&e is not the place. They will do nothing, they may admit you but your more likely to be sent home. I was admitted through a&e three times during past pregnancies and the only one that was speedy was when I was losing a lot of blood very fast and had been for over an hour. The others involved really bad pain and I was hanging around for hours. I was never scanned by a&e. That was done on the wards once id been admitted, passed around a bit till the right equipment and staff (trained consultant) could be found at the same time.

Considering the time now your best bet is your epu, gp or midwife first thing tomorrow morning!

Good luck, I hope it's all ok. What's happening to you now doesn't necessarily mean bad.

Thanks cupcake yes I think you're right I'm best to wait for EPU.

Appreciate the support on this thread, a lot of people in RL are going: 'You must go to a&e, of course they will do something!' but they don't realise it's not that simple...

GuffSmuggler = Is just so frustrating not being able to have any peace of mind for the whole weekend about what's happening, but I know lots of people go through simliar sad

I can only try to imagine.

On the 'something will be done!' note I've been on the other side of that a few times when A&E have referred the clinically-not-needing-to-be-admitted but hysterical/'challenging' patients who won't leave demanding that something be done & it is just a horrible situation having to explain that in the early stages the things that can be immediately 'done' are only supportive/symptomatic relief rather than actually changing what's going on or what's ultimately going to happen (e.g. giving fluids through a drip, speculum and swabbing/removing big clots/tissue, giving painkillers or taking to theatre).

The other spiel is that although a scan is important - in itself it doesn't change what's going on, only gives a snapshot of that exact moment and it may still be 'inconclusive' so sometimes scanning really early on in symptoms can be harder as you then need to wait for a repeat after a period of time & so can't pin all your hopes on the scan giving a definite answer.

But I have some happy stories from following up scans of patients where things in A&E even hadn't looked good & the pregnancies obviously continued... so it's not over till it's over.

I would say go to a&e. Are you in pain? I had this with dd1 and went to a&e, they took me straight through and immediately started tests and gave me a drip.

Everything was fine in the end but they were worried about ectopic.

My local EPAU won't take self referrals. You need to go through GP or walk in centre.

Op hope you are ok? Did you get seen today?

I called the EPU yesterday morning and they said they couldn't see me until Weds and suggested I went to a&e where they would 'definitely' scan me. So I waited at a&e for 4 hours to be told I couldn't be scanned until Weds.

So in answer to my original question, no you won't get seen any quicker at a&e and it is a waste of time going!

So I have another day of waiting and will be scanned tomorrow. Am so stressed out I actually feel ill. Still bleeding but I don't think it's got worse since Sunday, so who knows, I'm trying to keep positive.

Thanks again for the advice/support.

God that's awful :(

Can you contact another hospital? I was bleeding at 8 weeks and ran to the hospital at 7pm at night, got an examination and a scan at 9am the next morning.

Everything was fine by the way, I'm sure you will be ok too - but as you say the stress is very difficult to live with xxx

GulfSmuggler, I'm so sorry to hear you're going through this. It is immensely stressful. I went through a similar thing days before my 12 week scan. I was bleeding very heavily without pain and was turned away from my local A&E and told I was 'having a miscarriage and had to go home and get on with it'. They refused to scan me but begrudgingly gave me a referral to the EPU centre.

I spoke to EPU the next morning and they said they couldn't see me for 24 hours. I highlighted there was no way I could go another 24 hours without knowing and I was worried that the anxiety was putting undue stress upon the baby. They were wonderful and arranged to see me that morning (it was in the regular scanning unit, rather than EPU so I was surrounded by heavily pregnant ladies but I didn't care).

Thankfully the bleeding turned out to be nothing (they never gave a reason for it) I am now 36+4 weeks pregnant and have had an otherwise healthy and trouble-free pregnancy. However, my point is - call them and highlight how distressed you are and how long you have been waiting already. They must have emergency appointments and may well be able to something.

Best of luck xx

So sorry to hear about your experience- having had 2 mc's before I can really sympathise.

Unfortunately the NHS has to work on clinical need and therefore EPU's set their criteria for admission/scans accordingly.

If you really cannot wait and the anxiety is unbearable your only choice is to pay privately for a scan.

Is there another hospital you could try? The EPU where I'm due to give birth wouldn't scan me when I went there with twinges, discharge etc. But a different EPU near me did scan me. I had been there previously through A&E with a bleed so was "on their radar" so to speak. But if there's another nearby, it might just be worth giving them a call.

Good luck to you x

Thanks for all the support on this thread. Sadly I had bad news this morning, it was a MMC, a sac was there but no baby

Had been a horrendous few days of waiting for news but at least now I know.

I'll move onto the miscarriage board now. Thanks again for the support.

I'm really sorry to hear that :) be kind to yourself.