Help! Retained products after medical abortion

[J94512]

Hi,

I had a medical abortion (pills by post) just over 3 weeks ago. Bleeding continued, symptoms remained (although not so bad) & pregnancy test still positive.

Had a scan yesterday which showed some retained products - not sure how much but she said it wasn’t terrible! I’m booked in for surgery next week with a scan first incase it has changed.

I'm bleeding still but it’s very light. Has anyone had similar & did it resolve itself rather than needing surgery? I’ve not had clots but how do you know what retained products look like?

I really don’t mind if I need surgery, to be honest it would probably be a relief to draw a line under it, but the waiting & uncertainty is really getting to me.

does anyone have any experience they can share? How long did it take for you and did it happen naturally?

thanks so much 😊

Hello, I had this & I was offered the 4 pills to take again. They said there was only a small amount of tissue and it could come out as clots or as just a heavy bleed.

Unfortunately for me despite two extremely heavy bleeds it didn't pass so I ended up having the surgery and it was absolutely fine- really quick and I had no pain and minimal bleeding afterwards. Plus the peace of mind that it was all out rather than the anxiety of waiting for another heavy bleed was helpful.

Thanks so much for replying 😊. Did you ever do a pregnancy test while you were waiting to see if it came out by itself? My test has been dark for a week or so but had noticeably lightened today (last did one on Monday & then again today). It’s the second guessing that’s driving me mad, does that mean it’s resolving itself or does it mean nothing at all? Monday was the day I had the scan which showed retained products.

I wasn’t offered pills, just to come back next week & have another scan to see if it’s resolved & if not they’ll do surgery, sounds mad but I kind of hope nothing has changed & they do the surgery so I can leave there knowing it’s all done & I can move on.

bleeding has tailed off again & not sure I saw anything much over the last few days to know if the products may have come out by themselves. I’m so grateful to be well looked after & not have to wait too long but the days are really dragging.

did you have a lot of retained tissue do you know?

Hi!

Please let me know how you get on. I'm in exact same position. My bleeding stopped and then started again on week 3 and strong positive test on Wednesday.

But I really don't want surgery 😢 will do a test tomorrow in the hope it gets lighter.x

Hi @Lou1989 sorry to hear you're in the same position. Have you had any follow up appointment at all to see what's happening? I'll let you know what happens but hope you're ok.

No I have to wait until Wednesday to see what test says. I might buy some today though and start testing to see if its getting lighter. What day do you have to go back? X

Same, have to go back Wednesday for another scan & see what’s going on. The waiting not knowing quite what’s happening is the worst bit, I keep second guessing what’s going on! Definitely no harm in getting some cheap tests if you can & see what’s going on. I’ve given up on testing for now as it just confuses me even more!

OP how did you get on at your appt?

Hi @Lou1989 i had another scan & there wasn’t enough retained tissue to do surgery so I was sent away with antibiotics to wait it out until my next period. On the one hand it’s good I didn’t need surgery but it’s left me still in limbo waiting for things to sort themselves out.

how did you get on?

I had a scan and quite a lot of retained tissue 😫
Have booked me in for removal on the 20th under local anesthetic which I'm dreading but at least will be in and out and it'll be over.
Also gave me some more misoprostol to take to see if it would shift itself but took that on Thursday and it didn't do anything so will have to have the procedure :(

Hi @Lou1989 sorry to hear there’s still retained tissue. If it helps I had the procedure previously for retained tissue (similar to you by the sound of it - quite a lot of retained tissues & misoprostol didn’t help) & it really was quick & simple. Not exactly how you’d want to spend an hour or so but the actual procedure takes barely more than 5 mins, I found injecting the local anaesthetic the most painful but even that was manageable. I really hope you have a similar experience, I felt so relieved afterwards as I knew it was definitely over, that feeling of being in limbo was no longer hanging over me & bleeding stopped in a couple of days. I honestly think I found it easier than where I’m at now with just waiting for things to go back to normal. Am here if I can help in any way

Thank you so much OP. That's made me feel a lot better because I am dreading the whole thing but as you say at least I can get some closure.
I hope everything resolves for you soon too :) x