Hi all. I went for a 12 week scan this week following IVF and having seen the heartbeat at 7 weeks. Sadly all they could see was an empty sac, embryo is gone.
I've to go for a further scan on Tuesday as the sac was still 25mm and been told to keep taking all meds until then. I'm on 2 lubion a day and I suspect that's what's kept me from bleeding. Does anyone know how soon the bleeding will start when I stop medication? Not sure if I'm likely to need other management and what's best but be helpful to understand how long I'll need to wait and see.
Sorry for anyone who's had to experience this, its truly awful.
Written by
river242
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
I just wanted to say I sorry I am to read this. I had a scare at 5 weeks… so I can only imagine how upsetting it must be. I hope you have support around you to go through this difficult time x
Thank you for your kindness. Its unfortunately my second but the last was at 6 weeks from a. natural pregnancy and by the time I got a scan it was over. I didn't have to think about options. Luckily I'm very well supported by my husband, family and friends xx
Oh no that must be devastating. Would you considered PGT-A? I have many friends who experienced the same sadly and went along having a healthy pregnancy with PGT-A. Tested embryos. In my cycle 60% of my embryos were abnormal and would have caused a miscarriage 100%. I know it’s probably the last thing you’re thinking about but I thought I’d share positive stories for the future ❤️
So this was a result of my 8th round of IVF. The last 5 including this one have been donor eggs and they don't routinely test them. I have 2 frozen from the same round but not sure what to do now. We've decided to have at least 6 months off before thinking about it. Really want to book a holiday which is partly why I want to understand how long this might take. I just need to be somewhere else away from everything for a bit.
So so sorry you’re going through this. Just heartbreaking. I suspect it will all be very personal re bleeding. Unfortunately, after both my miscarriages, I didn’t bleed and had to have medical intervention. There will be lots of people that didn’t need that I’m sure. Either way, I’m so sorry you’re going through it xx
Thank you, that's what I'm worried about. I think its been gone now for several weeks and it's really stressing me out that my body didn't know. I just want the quickest option so hopefully they won't make me wait. xx
Hopefully not. Might depend on care and hospital but I got to opt for medical management straight away (for a few reasons). I would pipe up and say this is what you want (if it is). X
I’m so sorry this is happening to you. I went through the same recently. My clinic asked me to wait 7-10 days to see if anything happened naturally after stopping progesterone. I started miscarrying on the 10th day. My clinic prescribed me anti sickness and codeine tablets in preparation. I needed the codeine - and would have taken something stronger if I had it. Make sure they give you something. Had I not started miscarrying then they would have given me the option for surgical or medical management.
That's what I'm afraid of to be honest. I'm still having pregnancy symptoms which I'm finding really upsetting and really don't like the thought of waiting but suppose I'll have to see what they say. Thank you xx
Hello River242, I’m so sorry for your loss. I experienced the same at Xmas last year. Started bleeding a little a few days after stopping the progesterone (as advised), went for a scan and we found out it was a MMC. We decided to manage it non-medically (at first), and I bleed for about a week but it wasn’t too bad and took painkillers but again it wasn’t too bad. I thought that was it but a week later it hit me all of a sudden and I ended up in A&E for 12 hours actively miscarrying and then spent 2 days in hospital, it was pretty awful. Ended up having medical management. It was awful. The physical pain only last days but the emotional pain was far more difficult to shift. My understanding is all MMC are different, I don’t mean to give u doom and gloom. Wishing u strength and luck for the future xx
Thank you. I want to be prepared so it's good to know what could happen. I naively thought that with only the sac left it might be straightforward but it doesn't seem to work that way. I'll definitely be looking for some kind of intervention as soon as possible. xx
Hi, I'm very sorry that you're going through this heartbreak , i hope you have lots of love and good support around you to get you through it xx Every body is different and everyone recovers on different timescales, hopefully it will all be as straight forward for you as these things can be xx. Focus on taking care of yourself, everything else can wait, it's a tough process to go through emotionally and physically, just take one day at a time, and hopefully you'll bounce back stronger from this at your own time. Time and thinking that nature is wise helped me to get through it, just allow yourself to feel whatever comes your way xx
I also went through MMC, slightly different heartbeat and hematoma found at 6 weeks, and no longer heartbeat at week 8, embryo seemed to have stopped growing at around 6.5-7 w weeks. I had confirmation scan by EPU on the next day and kept taking progesterone until then. I tried first expectant management for like 12 days but nothing happened, so I had medical management. My experience with that was a bit weird, the tablets started making effect 3 hours after taking them, I had medium- large clots and heavy bleeding from 3 pm until like 5 am the next day. I was terrified about the pain, but it was all manageable (similar to strong period pain) with paracetamol and hot bottle of water. I started the painkillers as soon as the symptoms started not to let the pain grow.
All the pain stopped the next morning, and the bleeding went considerably down, I didn't know whether this meant that was it, because the nurses did say the heavy bleeding shouldn't be too long, and also that it may come and go (like with expectant management), being my first time i thought maybe I was "lucky", I kept light bleeding/spotting for another 2 weeks and exactly 2 weeks after, it all happened again, the heavy bleeding, the cramps, clots etc. This time i did feel like I passed a particularly large clot which I imagine was the sac. I rang the EPU that day to explain everything and they said it looked like the tablets hadn't fully worked on the first time and I retained tissue so this was my body finishing, they gave me a scan which confirmed there wasn't any tissue left. From first finding out to conclusion it took 1 month. I'm sharing my experience hoping it helps as the practicalities are barely spoken, and sadly it seems we are just left waiting until a pregnancy test to find out whether it all went ok. If you feel something is not right ring back the EPU, if you are soaking through maxi pads more than 3 and hour, as well you have to ring them or go to A&E. On hindsight it felt surgical management would have been the quickest way to get through it, but I wasn't prepared for it, having gone through a fresh IVF cycle i felt it was too much for the body. Each body is different, hopefully you'll go through this quicker and it will all be bearable for you, all the best wishes, sending you a big hug xx
Thank you for sharing your story, so many stories of pain and heartbreak on here 💔. I'd be happy to go down the surgical route I think, at least then I'd know it was taken care of but will have to see what they offer. My last miscarriage was so quick, bled from the Friday to the Monday and when I went for my first scan on the Monday morning everything was gone. Seems like that's rare. xx
Hey River I'm so very sorry to see this pop up on the forum today. I know how upsetting it is especially as you had seen a heartbeat a few weeks back. I hope that you have loved ones around you and a good network of support. I don't know the answer to the question about stopping the meds but I hope the hospital will be able to guide and support you through this. Sending strength and hugs xx
Thank you so much. Just when you get somewhere you're right back at the beginning. I luckily have a fantastic support network and feeling well looked after. xx
sorry for your loss. I just had my Mmc last month after seeing heart beat at 7 weeks , found no heart beat at 11 weeks . Becos my fer clinic discharged me by 7 weeks . I was left hanging for next steps but I stopped meds the same day I figured heart beat stopped . I was on estradiol and progesterone pessaries and injection . Exactly one week later I had started bleeding cramping and contractions and passed POC in my bath tub . It didn’t take me long after I stopped meds
Thank you. Sorry you've also had to go through this recently. Good to know your experience, seems there is no way of knowing how it's going to go as it's so variable. I really want to just stop them now as I feel like empty sac is fairly conclusive but husband thinks we should do what the clinic say. It's only 2 more days so we will. Sorry you were left without support to decide that xx
I'm so sorry, it's devastating. This happened to me earlier this year although I was having HCGs done from v early which were erratic so I knew it wasn't going to end well but the doctors wanted me to keep up with the meds and then let it happen naturally. My HCG kept climbing so the suspicion was it was ectopic. When I really pushed them they said I could stop the meds but they said it wouldn't make any difference - they were right in that sense as my body didn't recognise it wasn't viable and kept growing the sac (even after 2 weeks off the meds) and I ended up having a D&C as an emergency. That was a very specific set of circumstances but just make sure you go straight to the EPU if you feel unwell, have a temp or pains that you can't manage, as sometimes there can be complications. I felt a bit betrayed by my body for not realising and also so so sad as it was like it tried so hard to keep it. I had the meds to cause it to happen but they didn't work (didn't feel anything except a bit shivery) and the D&C was very straightforward and I was fine immediately after, but everybody's different. By then I just wanted it over. I hope you have support around you as the next couple of months can be very tough as your body readjusts - you will start to feel better though, even though you can't imagine it at the time x
Thank you. Sorry you had to go through this. Scan tomorrow morning for me then we'll see what options they give me. Definitely just want it over with x
Thanks everyone for the kind messages. I went for my confirmation scan yesterday and opted for medical management. Things happened very fast and I ended up back in hospital last night as I was losing too much blood. Fortunately it calmed down while I was there and everything seems to have passed already. Bit of an ordeal but at least it was over quickly. Thanks so much for all the support x
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Anyone had a scan at 6 weeks? 
*Sensitive* 6 weeks 3 days empty sac *UPDATE*
Passing clots 6 weeks pregnant! Any advice would be great 
Hoping for a miracle 🤞🏻
