TMI. !!! WARNING *[concerns possible miscarriage, includes photo]

[ellxabellsx]

Are these photos a sign of miscarriage?

I just don't know what's happening with me, it's all new to me!! I am 3 weeks, 3 days today.

Fingers crossed @ellxabellsx but I wish you weren’t waiting that long to be seen. I appreciate they can’t see much on a scan but like it’s already been said, they should do some bloods. Are you still bleeding?

@Chica1990

Fingers crossed *@ellxabellsx* but I wish you weren’t waiting that long to be seen. I appreciate they can’t see much on a scan but like it’s already been said, they should do some bloods. Are you still bleeding?

@Chica1990 I know, it's took them this long to book me in for a scan! i don't know if they'll do blood tests, they don't seem too bothered. But yes, i am still bleeding, no pain still and no clots etc, just blood, the best way i can describe it is blood mixed with mucus lol

@ellxabellsx - I’m so sorry you are going through this. I think you should go to hospital/urgent care/epu as soon as you can. The on/off bleeding you describe can be a symptom of ectopic pregnancy and that is a medical emergency (I had one in Jan this year).

Also, can I ask, how do you know how far along you are? Reading back through the thread it sounds like you tested positive really early? Are you confident your last period was a period and not an episode of bleeding like this one? Was it an unusual period in any way? What was the first day of your last period?

If you have any doubts about your dates, say this to your Gp/epu, etc. You could be further along than you think and waiting for a scan for no reason.

@ActonBell I came off the pill first week in March so i just presumed my period was on the 15th - 20th March. I then tested a very strong positive on the 31st March.. I was thinking maybe i am just one of them that just bleed and i'm further along then everyone and myself thinks... I even took a digital test and it said 2-3 weeks and i took that on the 1st April !! My doctors don't listen to me😪

[quote ActonBell]@ellxabellsx - I’m so sorry you are going through this. I think you should go to hospital/urgent care/epu as soon as you can. The on/off bleeding you describe can be a symptom of ectopic pregnancy and that is a medical emergency (I had one in Jan this year).

Also, can I ask, how do you know how far along you are? Reading back through the thread it sounds like you tested positive really early? Are you confident your last period was a period and not an episode of bleeding like this one? Was it an unusual period in any way? What was the first day of your last period?

If you have any doubts about your dates, say this to your Gp/epu, etc. You could be further along than you think and waiting for a scan for no reason.[/quote]
@ActonBell What was your ectopic pregnancy like? What were symptoms etc??

My main symptom was bleeding from early on. I had a positive test on the day by period was due then bled later that day and for three more days but the tests were getting stronger. The bleeding stopped for a day and then returned for another couple of days. Other symptoms I don’t think were especially noticeable - I had mild nausea (normal in early pregnancy), a couple of episodes of dizziness and some mild one sided pain.

I had HcG blood tests that seemed to indicate things were okay-ish but then the bleeding started up again. That afternoon (at 6 weeks) my Fallopian tube ruptured and that was some of the worst pain I have ever had in my life. Straight to A&E and into emergency surgery overnight.

I’m not trying to scare you at all but it is best to get checked out. If they identify it early there are other options than surgery including watchful waiting to see if you miscarry naturally or medical management. These are usually easier to recover from physically than surgery though of course recovering from any loss is a huge thing to go through.

I’m really hoping this isn’t your situation and it’s statistically not the most likely explanation but with bleeding in early pregnancy it has to be checked to rule it out.

@ActonBell I've had no pain whatsoever, so i hope it's not that!! I just want time to hurry up so i can go for my scan..

Sorry to keep going on but 26th April is too long to wait if it is an ectopic. Ectopic pregnancy is life threatening for the mother.

At the very least you should have HcG levels taken 48 hours apart. One sign of an ectopic is HcG rising but by 60% rather than doubling as it should. A diagnosis can’t be made on HcG levels alone but they are an important indicator. It so happened that mine didn’t show that pattern but many women do have that pattern and that’s the first sign they need to be monitored for an ectopic.

Is 26th when you will be 6 weeks going by lmp?

@ActonBell Yes, 26th is 6 weeks

@ellxabellsx - sorry I’m really confused. If 26th April is 6 weeks then when you got a positive on 31st March that would be only 2 weeks after your period started?
I don’t think that’s possible. You’d be ovulating around 2 weeks after the first day of your period so you couldn’t have conceived that cycle but must have conceived the previous cycle.
I’m sorry if I’m misunderstanding something but this is why I’m asking whether there’s any chance you are further along than you are. If so this is information epu and your gp need to know.

What I’m asking is are you dating from the first day of your period? I.e. 26th is 6 weeks on from the first day of your last period. If so the test on the 31st makes it a virtual certainty that you conceived before that ‘period’ and that that bleed wasn’t a period.

@ActonBell I finish the pill 5th March, i then thought was a period on the 15th March - 20th March, so my doctors have based it off the 15th March which is 6 weeks on the 26th April. But even i think i conceived before that because i got my first positive which was VERY strong on the 31st March.

@ActonBell makes a good point @ellxabellsx, if you had a period 15-20th March unless you have a 14 day cycle, which is really unusual, then it would have been too early for a bfp at the end of March.

It’s similar to what happened to me. Had a period from 4th until 8th September, came off for a few days, started bleeding again on the 11th which continued until it got much heavier on the 24th which I thought was a new period and got a positive test on 27th. I dated myself at being 4 weeks on 24th, but really it would have been 4 weeks on 4th September.

Because ectopic can mean slow rising hcg and has symptoms like bleeding it can be really difficult to notice and pinpoint when things started.

I hope that make sense. Is a private blood test an option? X

@Chica1990 I might message my doctors and see if i can have a blood test, i'll just say i'm worried it might be ecoptic🤷🏼‍♀️ I'll see what he says..

I’d be really really confident that you conceived before that ‘period’. It’s almost impossible to have a period, ovulate, conceive and test positive within 2 weeks. I would strongly advise going back to the gp/epu and saying that you have had another think and are uncertain about your dates and whether what you were considering a period was a period. Some women do have period-like bleeds throughout pregnancy - it’s not super common but it does happen.

GPS and epu should be used to situations where people aren’t sure how far along they are and the first step would be bloods/scan to try to date your pregnancy urgently.

Honestly it’s ridiculous for them to make you wait to the 26th when I would say there’s a 99.9% you are further along given your positive test date. You are probably 6 weeks at least already because you’d normally get a positive test around 4 weeks after conception.

Could remembering when you dtd help?!

@ActonBell The dates below -

13,14,20,27 - February
14,20,28 - March

@ellxabellsx - that pretty much settles it doesn’t it? 28 March is obviously too late for a positive test on 31. 20 March is slim possibility but it would mean a really early positive plus ovulating 5 days after your period which I think is virtually impossible.

14 March is much more likely as you say you came off the pill on the 5th. By those dates you are approx 6 weeks right now.

I’m sorry to keep on about this but I know how dismissive doctors can be and how important it is to get help if you’re bleeding in early pregnancy. Please, please call epu and explain the situation again. I can’t see any way that you’re not already 6 weeks by those dates.

@ActonBell I spoke to my doctors, they are refusing blood tests as they are certain it's not ecoptic as i'm having no pains.

Can you call the EPU and tell them you are worried about ectopic but your doctor is ignoring you?

Do you live anywhere you could get a private scan?

See what the ectopic pregnancy trust says about prolonged bleeding, show this to your doctor

@ellxabellsx I know it’s easy to get fobbed off by the docs so if you want to get to the bottom of it you might have to ham it up a bit and tell them you’re having pains. They are very textbook and in my opinion don’t know much about gyno issues.

Even when I first called the EPU in one hospital they said to watch out for shoulder tip pain or rectum pressure - those are signs of rupturing and it shouldn’t be left to get to that point!!

@ellxabellsx but if you don’t know when you became pregnant that is enough on it’s own, even without the bleeding, to get you a scan now.
I would cut out the GP entirely and ring epu. Presumably you are booked in for a scan with them anyway. Explain that you think your dates are wrong and that you are now 6 weeks ish.
Alternatively with on/off bleeding and positive tests I would go to A and E with the NICE guidance on ectopic pregnancy in my hand. You meet the criteria for HcG tests and a scan.
It is probably not an ectopic but if it is (and I will be really scary now) you could be haemorrhaging internally without knowing it and go into shock.

Do you have pain anywhere at all? In your shoulder?

@ellxabellsx are you near London at all?

@PurpleandOrange- thanks for posting the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust guidelines. As you’ll see OP, these spell it out in no uncertain terms that you must be seen now.
When I was being treated there were posters all over the place reminding staff to investigate on/off bleeding in anyone with a positive test because of the risk of ectopic.

@ellxabellsx if you are in London St Greorges in London has a walk in epu clinic open until 11am (closed on Sunday’s):

www.stgeorges.nhs.uk/service/maternity-services/your-pregnancy/early-pregnancy/

www.stgeorges.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/AAE_EPUI_01.pdf