Need advice re. D and C for "missed" miscarriage

We had the worst possible news today, in that our 9 and 1/2 week baby had virtually "disappeared" (after a normal 6-week ultrasound with heartbeat).  This was a terrible shock, as I've had no bleeding or cramping.  The Reproductive Endocrinologist who did the ultrasound wants me to have a D and C this week, if possible, so that I can heal and have fertility treatments asap (there's no time to waste due to my age).  The ob-gyn surgeon who would do the D and C will do whatever I want, but he thinks I should perhaps wait a couple of weeks to see if the pregnancy passes on its own.  Has anyone had a D and C and/or just waited to have a miscarriage?  Is a D and C painful?  If you waited to miscarry, how long did it take?  I'm just devastated and can't think.

[Lollye]

I miscarried naturally at 7 1/2 weeks, all the tissue passed on its own.  My second miscarriage, was same as yours, 9 1/2 wk u/s revealed that baby died at about 8 wks 3 days.  I was also going through infertility treatments.  I personally decided its best for me to get a D & C asap.  I went in the next day.  Fortunately, my doctor did a wonderful job.  I had very minimal bleeding post op and there was no pain at all.  For procedure itself, they will give you anesthesia, so you won't feel or remember anything.  6 weeks later I got my period, but the doctor suggested to wait another 3-4 months to start treatments.  It happened last August.  I am 13 wks preg. w/twins now.

Sorry you have to go through this.  I've been there and I know how devastating it is.  Hopefully everything will work out for you.  Good luck.

[shar7222]

I'm sorry you're going through this.  I've had two mc; one at 11 weeks where the fetus had died at 6 weeks, I had a d&c and the other mc was a chemical pregnancy at 5 weeks.  The d&c was not painful.  It's a pretty quick procedure and I had cramping and some bleeding for a couple of days after.  From what I've heard here from other women it's really a personal choice in going for a d&c or natural mc.  There are a lot of positive stories on here though about women having mc and then going on to have successful pregnancies after.  I'm 41 y/o and am going to try one more month to get pregnant on my own and then am going to go in for testing.  Again, sorry you're going through this.      
Sharon

[Kellygirl77]

BG-MN,

First of all let me say I am so sorry about the news you were given, I myself had a missed miscarriage in April. We went in for our 1st ultrasound appt. Only to be told no hearbeat detected @ all. What I did, and what the dr.'s suggested was after we were given the news, we did blood work to see if the HCG levels were up or not. If I were you, I mean you've been told the worst possible thing. I hsd it done for reassurance purposes. That was my final factor. Well they dropped drastically and in less than a week from when we were told, I had a d&c done. I was put to sleep. Its a very quick process. Your kind of sore afterwards with some bleeding. I bled for maybe an hour or 2 after and that was it. Period was back to normal within 4 weeks and 2 days. I hope and pray for for great news for you. Take care.

Kelly

[krushing]

I'm sorry for what you are going through.  I had a D&C due to a blighted ovum, which is considered missed abortion/missed m/c in some areas.  My DR. wanted me to have a D&C because my body was not realizing I wasn't pregnant anymore and it could have taken awhile for it to expell naturally.  I wanted a D&C so I could start the healing process, emotionally and physically.  The D&C didn't hurt at all.  I went in at 5:30 on a Thursday morning and was headed home by 9:45 a.m.  I had some cramping and bleeding for a week.  Nothing more than normal period cramps.  I felt guilty for having the D&C with my "what ifs", but now I'm glad I did it.  I couldn't have handled a natural m/c.

[have 2 kids]

Sorry for the news you received.  I have not had a mc but my friend has had several. She said going thru the D& C was better for her emotional and she was able to start the healing process faster.  The one she mc at home was very hard for her to deal with.
Good luck with your decision.  

[pixijal]

I had a normal fetus u/s w/a 6 weeks too.  At 9 weeks, the baby had been dead long enough that my body had absorbing some of the tissue, and the baby was actually smaller than the 6 week visit.

I did Cyotec or Misoprostol to induce the miscarriage.  I was not bleeding, and my cervix was still closed.  They are pills that you insert vaginally to induce.  I bled for a total of 8 weeks.  It was hell.

My personal experience:  I would get the DandC.  It is fast, reliable, and you may very well recover much quicker than any other option. Forget the natural way if your in a hurry, it can take several weeks, and up to two months.  

I'm sorry you had to experience this.  I understand how difficult it can be.

[ValorieG]

I'm so sorry for your loss.....I know that it is a very difficult time and that emotionally there are so many things that you are dealing with.  I have had three miscarriages in the last year and am now pregnant with my fourth.  I opted for a D&C the first time and the second and third I had misoprostol medication to induce.  By far the D&C was the easiest.  It was quick, relatively painless (I was given medication to relax and for pain) The second and third time I had the medication becuase my then dr. said it was dangerous to ahve too many D&C's.  I am now seeing a fertility specialist who says taht is nonsense.  The cervix is opened every time you have a child and closes again without problem.  He seems to think the possibility of complications is minimal whereas with the medication you could possibly not pass all the tissue and end u p with a D&C anyway.  I hope this helps.  

[RunningL8]

Thank you so much for your kind words of sympathy and for the advice!  After reading about your experiences, I'm much less nervous about a D&C, so I think I'll go ahead and schedule it.  

[Lollye]

Yeah, I forgot to mention that when I passed the tissue naturally it was so much harder for me both physically and emotionally, more painful and it took longer.

[molley21]

I wouldn't wait for it to pass, I have had a DNC before and its just a day in the hospital and at no time is it painful to have one, its more painful to let it pass on its own as your cramping and constantly bleeding and you could bleed up to months on end, but with a DNC you'll only bleed for a week or two and if you were to have a dnc then they will be able to determin what went wrong and that way in your next pregnancy you'll be better prepared, for example if your progesterone levels were low then you'll be given supplements to support it better.
I hope everything

[markysmom]

I am very sorry for your loss. I just had a miscarriage and took cytotec to induce it as my dr. didnt want to do a D&C, however that is what I wanted it.
It was living hell!!! I told her yesterday when I went in, that I really wish she would have done a D&C.
I did this on Thursday night and I'm still bleeding and cramping today.

[Jenny33]

HAVE THE D&C.  My sister went through a natural m/c at dr.s request and it was hell.  It lasted weeks and it was very painful.  I had a D&C and I was ok in a day or 2!

[Brown Eye Girl]

I am so sorry about the news. I was 11 weeks pregnant and miscarried and had to have a d and c. I actually got myself so worked up for nothing. The procedure took about 30 mins. They gave me alot of meds in my IV and the gas mask. Afterwards, I had alot of cramping. I was only spotting a little bit afterwards. When I got home all I did was sleep. Some of the meds they gave me made me throw up. I bled for about a week. It wasn't so much a physical pain for me but more so an emotional pain. The bleeding after the first day was pretty heavy but went away within a week. Hang in there. My hearts and prayers are with you.:)

[Flicker2]

Personal Experience on both Natural MC and D&C after missed MC:
Thank you to everyone who posted on this forum.  I came back to share my personal experience for others in the future who may be frightened, as I was, in similar situations.  I've had two MC's this year.  In both cases I was about 8 weeks.

Natural:  Called doctor after I noticed a complete loss in pregnancy symptoms without cramping or spotting.  It was the first trip to the doctor and it appear the pregnancy had failed in the last 24-48 hours.  I opted to wait for it to happen naturally because I am generally apprehensive of "unneccesary procedures and/or medication."  After about a week, I had severe cramping with no warning while at a baseball game.  The drive home was miserable.  It was not just like bad cramps, for me, worse.  Not so bad to say like contractions as some women describe, probably because I wasn't as far along.  For me the worst was the pain I felt in my cervix.  Ouch.  Nothing that a hot shower, over-the-counter motrin, and distracting TV couldn't help get me through.  Bad for about 4-6 hours.  A few intermittent painful hours over the next 48 hours, but I was able to be out and about.  Total bleeding, including light enough for panty liners, 10 days.  Unfortunately, all of it didn't come out the first time and I had to go through round 2 about two and half weeks later.  No cramping, but a lot of bleeding and very frustrating to not be done with it.  I was much more emotional with round 2 because I thought I was done with it.

D&C:  Waited one cycle and got pregnant again.  I had light brown spotting with no cramping at 5 1/2 weeks.  The doc brought me in at 6 1/2.  I saw/heard a heartbeat at 150 bpm.  She put me on progesterone (which completely stopped the spotting) and brought me back one week later.  All my blood tests came back good, however, at 7 1/2 the heartbeat was only at 90 bpm and based on measurements she put me back at 6 1/2 weeks, which I knew was off.  She was very concerned, did hormone tests and brought me back 4 days later.  While the hormones were at 7 1/2-8 levels, the U/S revealed no heartbeat and looked like my body was reabsorbing pregnancy tissue.  Because my pregnancy symptoms had NOT diminished (it way sucks to know you are having nausea and painful breasts for no reason) and my natural experience, I decided to try the D&C.  I was so anxious because I had never had any kind of surgery.  That morning I arrived an hour before the procedure, they set up an IV (they even numbed my arm before inserting the I/V needle - spoiled), had me completely undress (hood, hospital gown, booties on my feed) and had me walk into the operating room.   No other prep for me (did not shave me which I was curious about and no catheter, breathing tubes, etc.)  The OR was kind of scary looking, however, the second I laid down they gave me anti-anxiety meds in my I/V.  I felt better in less than ten seconds.  They gave me a mask and said it was oxygen.  That's the last I remember.  It was out for about 30 minutes.  I woke up completely nausea-free and relaxed.  They did give me an I/V of pitocin which caused moderate, but necessary period-like cramps.  Doctor did a cervical block after I was asleep so none of that awful pain in my cervix.  Home less than three hours when I left.  My doctor sent me home with prescription motrin and vicodin, neither of which I needed.   Any cramping and bleeding stopped within an hour of getting home.  She just removed pregnancy tissue, none of that scraping that some say can cause scarring, so mild period after less than a week.  Took two days off work.  Day two for emotional reasons but I wasn't all that emotional.  That happened when I got the bad news.  I was so happy it was over so I could get back on track to try again.

Bottom Line:  Sorry this is long but I tried to include things I had questions about but couldn't find on line.  Based on my experience if you have a good doctor with D&C experience, HAVE THE D&C.  It is less painful than a standard period and much easier to psychologically recover from than a natural MC.  In my opinion, there is no comparison.  The D&C is the merciful way to get yourself though a very emotional experience.  If you go natural, ASK YOUR DOCTOR FOR PRESCRIPTION PAIN MEDS.

[alison1462]

hi just had a miscarriagei was 9week pregnant had a dand c yesterday bled for one day then suddenly stopped bleeding bit concerned over sudden stoppng of bleeding has this happened to anyone else because i see people have bled for at least a wek or so afterwards and also is it true you can concieve (conceive) again very quickly after a dand c

[mbm3550]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I too had a missed miscarriage I was 11 weeks my 1st sono and instead of hearing heart beat I got the awful new that my baby didnt make it passed the 6 wks I had no bleeding and all my pregnancy symptoms. I too was devastated I had the D & C because I coulnt go thru the natural m/c. Go ahead and have the D & C it would be over before you know it and recovery is quick. I'm 39 and running out of time this just happened June 22 so I'm still waiting for my 1st period after D & C so I can try again. Good luck