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1432875 tn?1283386480

Miscarriage questions... & my story

Here's my story:  I started having brown discharge on Thursday night, I told my fiance that i am probably starting my period. Later that night, i began bleeding lightly. I used a tampon, and went to sleep. I had a hard time sleeping due to uncomfortable cramping, i tossed and turned all night. I woke up way earlier then normal to the feeling of bleeding past my tampon. I went to the bathroom and there was blood just pouring out of me, it was all over my sweat pants and as i sat on the toilet, i was dripping profusely. *sorry about being so graphic, i just want people to know EXACTLY what my personal experience was* I pulled out the tampon, and there was a clot attached to the tampon that was twice as long and twice as thick as the tampon itself. At this point i knew what was happening. I have never went thru a miscarriage before, but I just knew, ya know. Anyways, i sat there bleeding and clotting so much that i just couldn't move from the toilet for about 30 min. finally, i was able to get myself into the bathtub and turned on the shower and just sat there bleeding for another 15 to 20 minutes. My fiance woke up and came into the bathroom thinking he would hop in the shower with me, and when he walked in, i said "i'm miscarrying' and he said "WHAT?? no you're not!" and i started to cry. So he said "we're going to the hospital." i used 2 thick pads, and got in the car and we drove the 2 minutes to the er, and by the time we had got there i had already soaked both pads and bled onto the car seat. I checked in and told the front desk i was miscarrying, they put me thru triage, and the triage nurse said "how far along are you?"  I told her i had no idea i was pregnant. She asked me why i thought i was miscarrying. I described to her the entire situation, and she said "that doesnt sound like a miscarriage, that just sounds like a heavy period. And even if it was a miscarriage you dont need to be at the er for a miscarriage." i was dumbfounded, and said, well SOMETHING is wrong with me, and whatever IT is, i DO need to be here. This is NOT normal." she said ok whatever. but i highly doubt that your pregnant. I went back, the dr told me the same thing basically. even as he was doing the physical exam, and there were clumps falling out of me, my fiance looked and said "is that normal??" and he said "yeah. its just a heavy period, thats all". I also explained to the dr that i have a condition called Polycystic Ovary syndrome. He seemed like he didnt know what that was, so i explained it to him, and when he asked when my last period was, i said 4 months ago. he said "well, if its been four months, its probably just all four periods built up and thats why its so clotty and heavy" I said "no, that's not how it works, i've had this condition for 6 years. this is not normal" i basically had to beg him to do a prego test, and when he did, it was positive. he sent me for an ultrasound and confirmed i miscarried. he sent me home with pain pills, nausea pills, and methergine to slow the bleeding and shrink my uterus. and set me up with a follow up apointment with an obgyn for this thursday. (less then a week after my er visit) . Friday night, after the er, and starting the meds, i passed some more really big clots, way bigger then the first one. Passed a huge clump that was about the size of half of my forearm. that thick and that long. It felt like giving birth. (actually dont know what that feels like, but i would imagine...) That went on for  the rest of the night, and into the morning at which point i stopped  bleeding for the most part, just spotting at that point, and have been spotting ever since. I have had about once daily since the occurrence passed very small clots and had maybe one to two daily occurrences of bleeding for about five minutes tops each time. First, is the bleeding pattern that i have experienced normal? Does this mean there is still some that needs to come out? I feel like that pill that shrunk my uterus is causing problems with getting everything out...if that makes sense. Also, is it too soon for a f/u? and what should i expect at the f/u?
Best Answer
1400141 tn?1284986069
did they do a blood test or a urine test at the ER? if they did  a blood test you should try to  find out what level your hormones were at, as this can help tell you an estimate of how far a long you were.

i only ask because the amount of bleeding you described and the size of the clots does not sound like an early miscarriage.i have been pregnant 3 times and have only experienced a ton of bleeding one time.

with my 1st pregnancy i went into pre-term labor at 20 weeks. on my second day in the hosp. my water broke, my son was born and died later that day. i hemorrhaged, so of course there was a TON of blood and very large clots. and that is not normal, you can die if they can't find the bleed and stop it.

i had an early miscarriage with my 2nd pregnancy and just bled like a normal period, in fact i don't really remember any clots.

with my 3rd, the same thing happened as what happened with my 1st and my daughter died during delivery. that time, i bleed for about 2 weeks like a heavy period with small clots.

I am sorry about what you went through and how rude those doctors were.

bleeding after a miscarriage is normal. you can bleed for weeks and everyone is different. if you start soaking through a pad in an hour or less then you do need to go to the ER. also-- did they tell you how far a long you were in the ER? because if you were only like 5,6,7 weeks you wouldn't need a pill to shrink your uterus so i am curious as to if they knew by the level of your hormones how far a long you were. But if you were further along like.. 10+ weeks you would've have definitely seen a developed fetus. The baby would not have been big but you would have been able to see. My son was 8 inches tall and 1/2 of a pound, my daughter was small and was only about half his size and i had to vaginally deliever both of them

usually with an early miscarriage you do have a follow up right away. with my early miscarriage i had a follow up the very next day. they did an internal ultrasound to make sure my uterus was empty and did a blood test to make sure my hormones were going down. however, when you actually deliver a baby you usually have a postpartum appointment 6 weeks after delivery. Also, about your uterus shrinking.. it usually does this on it's own. methergine does slow bleeding, i was given this after my deliveries but not after my miscarriage.

i am a little confused. With all the bleeding you had it really doesn't make sense that they sent you home. When they did the ultrasound did they see a fetus? i am sorry for so many questions, i am just curious. hope you get to feeling better!
17 Responses
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1432875 tn?1283386480
So, i had no bleeding at all yesterday, and none today at all,  but now all of the sudden, i'm bleeding again. should i call my dr or is this normal?
Helpful - 0
1288884 tn?1344792505
Thx
Helpful - 0
1400141 tn?1284986069
HCG levels are tricky, they fluctuate and are different for everyone. But a level of 1250 like yours in consistent with a 5 week pregnancy.

Here is a chart and this will help you see why hormone levels are confusing.

    *  3 weeks LMP: 5 - 50 mIU/ml
    * 4 weeks LMP: 5 - 426 mIU/ml
    * 5 weeks LMP: 18 - 7,340 mIU/ml
    * 6 weeks LMP: 1,080 - 56,500 mIU/ml
    * 7 - 8 weeks LMP: 7, 650 - 229,000 mIU/ml
    * 9 - 12 weeks LMP: 25,700 - 288,000 mIU/ml
    * 13 - 16 weeks LMP: 13,300 - 254,000 mIU/ml
    * 17 - 24 weeks LMP: 4,060 - 165,400 mIU/ml
    * 25 - 40 weeks LMP: 3,640 - 117,000 mIU/ml
    * Non-pregnant females: <5.0 mIU/ml
    * Postmenopausal females: <9.5 mIU/ml
Helpful - 0
1432875 tn?1283386480
oh nevermind didnt realize you were the same person who posted the last one! duh! Well, today i have had no bleeding at all, so i'm hoping that means it is done and over with, but i'm starting to have some cramping again, so maybe not.
Helpful - 0
1432875 tn?1283386480
Do you know how far along you were?
Helpful - 0
1428239 tn?1333457053
on the note of your story, i had an experience two days ago where i got really crampy and passed alot of blood clots ... I endedu p at the hospital and the ultrasound confirmed I had nothing left in me.. they suspected mine was caused by a small broken vein from where the placenta had been attached.. Since that day, I have had light spotting.
Helpful - 0
1428239 tn?1333457053
Your HCG levels should drop fast if you have no more tissue left.  So you cant really use your post miscarriage level to predict how far along you were.  My doctor told me the amount drops by half its value every day following a successful miscarriage.  

When I went to my initial prenatal visit at 5-6 weeks, my HCG was 7000.

When I got my numbers tested after my "missed" miscarriage, I was 5800 at 11-12 weeks.

I had them tested this week, a week after having the d&c and havent got them back but the doctor said I should be around 17-23.
Helpful - 0
1288884 tn?1344792505
To all of the ladies I'm sorry for your lost.... I read somewhere on a website can't remember which one , but it said that a dr. Couldn't tell how far along u were by ur hcg levels., I'm curious to know if this is true now.. I didn't know that I was prego until I had my mc.. The day of my mc they did the wrong bloodwork so Idk what my levels were that day but the next day it was 1250.. If anyone can help or has info to determine how far along I was it would b grateful thx! I'm guessing like somewhere around 3-4 wks
Helpful - 0
1400141 tn?1284986069
as much as you bled they probably think there is no way anything is left. but honestly, i think they should still do one. it's better to be safe than sorry and you can get an infection if you're uterus does not get completely cleaned out. when you go to your next appointment i would talk to them and ask for an ultrasound just to make sure. according to the chart i looked at 2500 is consistent with 5-6 weeks but it also says every women is different and the hormones can fluctuate. but there is really no way to know for sure now. Hope you are feeling better.
Helpful - 0
1432875 tn?1283386480
So i went in for my f/u, found out that my hcg at the er on Friday was 2500. The Dr i seen today said that he thinks i was about 10 weeks, but could be less and could be more. He didn't do any exam, we just talked, i told him everything that has been going on and everything that happened, and he said that it seems completely normal. He told me to go have my HCG's tested in about a week, and then two weeks after that. There was no ultrasound or anything. is this normal for a m/c f/u?
Helpful - 0
1400141 tn?1284986069
when clots are big sometimes you will have to push them out and it can hurt. The grey color you described sounds like tissue. This would be consistent with an early pregnancy. I am better you were around 8-10 weeks because at this point you can have heavier bleeding and clots but the baby is still small enough to where you could easily miss it especially with all the blood and clots you had. Also you said you were sleeping before you passed all the blood and this explains the gushing and large clots as well.. because you went from lying down to standing upright. Honestly, at your follow up i would tell them of your horrible experience in the ER and ask every question you can think of. Good luck tomorrow. I am so sorry for you!
Helpful - 0
1432875 tn?1283386480
Ok. thank you, i was also thinking that 20 wks was way too far along, but also didnt know what to expect. and that was the nurses word, so idk. I'll call in the morning to see if they have the levels on record, and also, tomorrow is my f/u, so i'll let u know what happens with that. I have been trying to do alot of research and reading these forums for personal experience, and i feel like i had a large amount of bleeding and clotting the first day, and then after that, i didnt have nearly as much as any of the stories i have read in here, most stories say they had "period-like" bleeding, and i have had minimal spotting since that day with random spouts of short bleeding. that is my concern. I am also so worried that the f/u is going to be similar to the er experience, and that it is going to be vague and un informational. I can tell you that after leaving the hospital, i had at least four episodes of soaking my pad, and when i went to the bathroom, i felt a large amount of clumps come out, if felt similar to the time when i passed that large mass in the bathtub, but those times, i didnt see what it looked like, because there was so much blood and i wasnt about to reach my hand into the toilet to pick it up. I dont think it was any bigger then that large mass, infact, the way it felt was more like just a bunch of clots all built up together. but they felt about the same as when pushing that thing out in the tub. the water had washed most of the blood away at that time, and it was hard and grey in color. i never seen anything that resembled a baby at all.
Helpful - 0
1400141 tn?1284986069
Also just because your periods are irregular does not make it impossible to know how far a long you are. it makes it hard to find out the date of conception and if you were very early, then yes, it would make it hard. But later in your pregnancy there are other things that can determine how far a long you are, like the size of the baby and your hormone levels. if they think you were in between 16-20 weeks they would have seen a baby on the ultrasound.
Helpful - 0
1400141 tn?1284986069
ok i am so sorry but those doctors are assholes! If you were in between 16-20 weeks they would send you straight to labor and delivery not send you home! There is nothing that can be done to save the baby at this stage but the baby is large enough that you need to be watched closely and a doctor will actually deliver the baby. Also, If you had passed a baby at that gestation, i promise you, you would have known. I had to push with both of mine. I also had them cremated. As large as the babies are at that gestation you will be given that option. Also, they would have seen the fully developed fetus on the ultrasound because there is just no way you passed a baby that big at home without seeing him/her. I promise you. My son was so big i had to hold him with two arms. Your hormone levels indicate how far a long you are in your pregnancy because they are constantly rising. I would call and DEMAND answers because something is not right at all. Ask them your hormones levels, i have a pregnancy book at home and will tell you what it says for the levels you get.
Helpful - 0
796867 tn?1255206807
I'm really sorry for what you went through, it sounds really traumatic.
It can take from a few days to a few weeks for your body to recover after a miscarriage and it mostly depends on how far along you were. In your case it's difficult to tell if you passed everything yet because you don't know when you got pregnant. Also for this reason I don't think that the follow-up is too soon - your ob could do another ultrasound to see if there's tissue left and/or schedule consecutive blood tests to determine if hCG is going down (or schedule one test and compare it to what your levels were at the ER if they did a blood test then).

When I miscarried it happened relatively early on, and when I stopped bleeding my ob just told me to take a hpt and see if the line is faint or if it's negative, to make sure that my levels were going down. Because the hpt was negative, I didn't have to go for a follow-up.
Helpful - 0
1432875 tn?1283386480
All the Dr said was "the blood test came back that you are pregnant, so i'm going to send you to get an ultrasound" and then he left. i asked the nurse how far along she thought i was, and she said based on all the bleeding, probably about 16-20 weeks. BUT, i dont know if i necessarily would trust any of their words, with the experiences that i had that day...While i was in ultrasound, i asked the lady what she was seeing, and she said "i'm sorry, but i'm not authorized to read these, i only take pictures, your dr will have to tell you the results", and she had the screen so that i couldnt see it. Then when the dr came in, he said that the ultrasound confirmed that i miscarried, i asked him if he could tell me how far along i was, and he said that since i have irregular periods(pcos), there was no way of knowing. he wouldnt even give me an estimate, but like i said, i wouldnt necessarily trust his word anyways. I have never dealt with this kind of thing before, so i didnt know what to expect, or what i should be asking. I can call back and see if they have my hormone levels on record, and if they do, how would i know how far along i was based on that info? BTW, thank you so much for your help and info. I really appreciate it, i am so lost and confused  and overwhelmed with all that has happened to me.
Helpful - 0
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