Apologies if this question is triggering and TMI for those who have bene through this cruel experience.
After learning of a blighted ovum this time last week, I was told on Friday to stop my medication (cyclogest progesterone pessaries) and that I should miscarry naturally soon after. Usually I bleed two days after stopping cyclogest but it's coming up to four and no signs of any changes.
I was wondering how long this process took for others in the situation? I have been offered medication to induce a miscarriage if it hasn't happened by next Monday (which will be eleven days after stopping cyclogest). However this feels like too long to wait for me as i'm still experiencing pregnancy symptoms and just want this over as soon as possible.
Many thanks x
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CarlottaD27
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I'm sorry, it's really hard when you thought it had finally worked, and it's just crushing. I didn't have a blighted ovum but a pregnancy of unknown location earlier this year. I stopped the meds but the HCG kept going up sporadically and I didn't miscarry naturally. Ended up in surgery. That sounds scary and hopefully others can reassure you but if it doesn't happen on its own and you don't feel well, please keep going back to the GP/EPU to ensure you are monitored. If it helps, the surgery was actually fine and I felt so much better physically almost immediately. They did give me the drugs before surgery but too late and they didn't work so I don't really have any experience of those. Make sure you have some support around you as I found the hormone crash afterwards was pretty intense, but just know you will feel better eventually and it's unlikely this will ever happen again x
Gosh, that sounds scary and so cruel to have to go through. Thank you for being so open and sharing, it is reassuring to hear from someone on the other side of it all.
I realise I’m being impatient but am inclined to ask my clinic about medication sooner rather than later as I’d rather avoid surgery at this stage.
I do take comfort in your words that is should hopefully never happen again - I do expect it will be hard not to over worry should I be lucky enough to fall pregnant again. Xxx
I had a blighted ovum 2 years ago. I decided to go through with a natural miscarriage. From the time I stopped my medication to it happening was about 2 and a half weeks. But I know other ladies that didn’t go as long as me.
Thank you for sharing that experience, good to know it could take over two weeks to begin and I’m so sorry you had to live in that horrible limbo period for so long x
I’m so sorry. It’s just heart breaking, I sadly experienced this too, the delay is your body holding on tightly to your loved and wanted baby. Keeping this in mind, it brought me some confront.
I’ve naturally miscarried, it can take a number days and weeks. For me, I wanted to avoid surgery if I could and took some meds to help along with it, it’s important to keep in contact with EPU and keep asking and telling them how you feel so you can reach the right decision for you. x
Thank you for sharing this. That is a sweet thought that our bodies done want to let get! I am going to ask after the meds if things don’t start in a few days as so far I’ve only been in tough with my clinic rather than the EPU who I believe are the ones to provide them x
Hi Carlotta, I'm so sorry you're going through this, I had a blighted ovum in Jan and it took 5 days from the day I stopped the meds. We were just about to consider other options when it made an appearance. I know you just want to get it over with so you can move on - good luck, I'm sure it will arrive soon. Meanwhile stock up on painkillers, mine was much worse than I expected! xx
Thank you for sharing this, I think I can just about manage four or five days of waiting so hope that will be my case too. I’ve got the painkillers ready and am keeping on the hot water as I expect a bath might help the pain x
Sorry for another question. Do you mind me asking how long the process lasted once the bleeding began? I’ve been told to expect a heavy period but that can be very subjective! X
For me it was very heavy for about a week, but then I got an infection and that made me spot for about 3 weeks on and off 😩! until I realised what was going on and got some antibiotics, but I’m sure that won’t happen to you! I hope it comes soon and is over quickly… x
Hi Carlotta, I’m so sorry that you’re going through this heartbreak. I hope you have a smooth process. I had a MMC in June, I first opted for expectant management, they said it was personal choice and I could change my mind at any point. After 11 days of nothing happening I asked for medical management. They put the tablets and these made effect like in 3 hours, I was dreading it, but it was more bearable than expected. It lasted like 15 hours , then all the pain stopped and bleeding went down; 2 weeks later it all happened again. I rang EPU and they scanned me and confirmed it had finally been completed, turns out the tablets hadn’t quite worked. All in all it took nearly 1 month…on hindsight surgical management would have been the quickest way through it but I didn’t want to have a surgery as I had a fresh transfer it all felt too much. I’m sharing this because this is not normal but i didn’t know what to expect having gone through it for first time. Also if you’re soaking 3 pads per hour you need to ring EPU. I hope you have good support around you, make sure to focus on your recovery, it’s a lot to go through but your heart will mend at its own pace xx , it does get better with a bit of time . Sending you big hugs x
oh I’m so sorry it was so drawn out for you 😢 the emotional side is tough enough without all of the physical too. Thank you for sharing that experience as I’m hoping to ask for the tablets but I suppose it is good to set expectations!
How are you feeling now? Do you have any plans for future transfers? I find making plans helps me move forward but I’m in that awful limbo time! Sending you lots of strength xxx
hi Carlotta how are you feeling? i hope you've found strength and support to go through this x, please feel free to DM if you have any questions on the tablets or anything x
It was a right faff, i couldn't believe how long that was, my body just didn't want to let go... like you say being in limbo was the worst bit of it, but hopefully it was the odd case and yours will be much better, and you'll be able to try luck very soon again xx. I'm ok now thanks for asking, have bounced back stronger and just started medicines for FET yesterday, not feeling real just yet, apart from the awful headaches I've got from the oestrogen haha
So good to hear you’ve bounced back and I have my fingers crossed for your FET - it’s about time you had some good luck! Fortunately I had a bit clotty bleed (sorry if TMI) yesterday so I’m hoping the worst of it is over and I may not need the tablets after all. Just hoping now it isn’t drawn out as you’re right that it’s a real faff and hard to move on with plans, as well as all the emotions and hormones spinning around! Sending you lots of luck xxx
Thanks Carlotta, glad to read your body has started the process, hopefully you’ll be over the worst soon and it’s all straight forward xx just take care of yourself and allow time to heal back xx
Someone else in this group recommended to watch comedies , apparently helps your body relax and lift the spirits a little bit xx. When you feel a bit better physically try to make some nice plans to pamper yourself and take your mind off it xx sending you big hugs
I’m so so sorry 😢 I’m going through the exact same thing as you with same timing after 4 scans in the past few weeks it was confirmed heartbeat had stopped on Friday (should have been 9 weeks) and I stopped all meds, the doctor had said she thought it would happen naturally as there looked to be some bleeding beside the sac but still nothing at all! I’ve to go back on Friday to check in but to be honest I’m going to give it a bit longer than that to happen naturally and maybe change my appointment to next Wednesday I was a bit overwhelmed when they were booking the Friday slot at the time and I wish I had said no I need longer. They did say there is no time limit and best to avoid surgery and anaesthetic is I can.
I’m so sick of it all now I just want it over with so I can move on with my life too! Really feel for you 😢 xx
Oh I’m so sorry, especially since there was a heartbeat and now there is no longer. It’s such a cruel rollercoaster 😢
Weirdly last week as i was processing the news mentally I thought I was coming to terms with it. This week, I feel so much worse just waiting to see if my body will do as it should and feeling very powerless that it’s not!
I want to move on and get closure from it now and I expect you need to too. I’m going to ask after medication when I speak to the dr next.
Sending you big hugs and I hope things move in quickly and smoothly for you xxx
Hello lovely, how are you doing? I’ve never been so “happy” to be bleeding in my life and think that for me, everything is passing. But of course can’t be sure until I’m checked in a week or so. I’ve also been hit by the hormonal / emotional waves as i can be depressed and not wanting to leave bed one minute then making plans for the future the next (and almost feeling guilty for it!) - very confusing for my partner. Hope things have moved on for you too xxx
Aww I know what you mean sounds like it’s all going to be over soon for you at least. Yes I’m in the exact same situation bleeding for a few days now so hoping to move on soon. I’ve been trying to go about my normal life but I’ve had to cancel plans and stay home today it’s too sore and heavy… which has annoyed me for some reason 🤷🏻♀️ I’ve also booked a holiday abroad for December and I have no weekends left this year now where I don’t have plans …I’ve went into some kinda planning overdrive!!! Thinking of you and hope you are getting some rest 💜
So glad that things are moving along for you, the waiting was tough! I’m similar and have for back to my spreadsheet when I’m feeling up for it and both starting planning trips and tried to have a plan for future treatment, but that’s tough as I don’t know when my body will start to behave normally again! I almost cancelled a trip to Australia in November when I thought I was pregnant, so that’s now back on. Hopefully we can both have nice trips at the end of the year so that 2023 doesn’t feel like it’s all been miserable! Xxx
I’ve had three mmc, my last one was a blighted ovum and miscarried at 12 weeks. They weren’t ivf so no medication to stop. Two were natural mc and one was surgical. I know people who had the medical management and ended up with the operation anyway. Natural was best in my opinion because you get more closure and the impact on my body seemed less overall but I have lupus and don't handle strong medications well so that could be why. Hope whatever happens you recover well xx
Thank you for sharing that and I’m so sorry you’ve had multiple miscarriages. I really didn’t appreciate how common they were until I came in this forum. So many women have had a lot of trauma. I think I have begun to miscarry naturally and like you I’m hoping this is the best way to get closure and move on as my body wants xxx
Good morning. I am so sorry to read this and just want to say I am thinking about you. 6 years ago I found out I was pregnant again with Baby No 2 only to discover at an early scan that the sac was empty. We were devastated as it had taken a long time to conceive. (We had experienced secondary infertility) I was told at the Early Pregnancy Unit that I would miscarry naturally within a week or two and how "it would be like a period." I am not trying to scaremonger but I want to share this to make you aware that these things can happen. I stained for almost a fortnight and was in a lot of discomfort and pain. One day I started to bleed and it turned into a haemorrhage. I was in so much pain it felt like labour. I couldn't stop bleeding. I ended up in A and E. After more internal scans and losing more blood I ended up in surgery as I hadn't passed all the pregnancy tissue. I was very upset in alot of ways with the loss, but cross at the midwife in the EPU who had dismissed things and said how the miscarriage would be natural and "not much" and "like a period." How wrong she was. Please be aware things can worsen. Go straight to your local hospital if you experience severe pain/bleeding. You are already enduring enough. The waiting for it to happen is horrendous. You are very much in my thoughts. This isn't fair. Sending love and hugs to you and trusting all goes smoothly. X
Hi Carlotta. Really sorry to hear you’re going through this. I’ve had 2 mmc, one at 7 weeks, one at 10 weeks. The first I waited for it to happen naturally, was horrendous, took 3 weeks of heavy bleeding and almost called an ambulance at one point the pain was so bad. When the 2nd one happened, I insisted on a D&C. much easier to process, physically and mentally for me. Such awful things to go through and I hope things work out for you in the end. 🍀 xxx
I’m so sorry you’ve been through this twice, you’re incredibly strong to keep going! Thank you for sharing that. It sounds really scary but it’s reassuring to know there are options such as the d&c to minimise the length of physical pain. Sending you the best of luck too xxx
I'm so sorry this is happening and it's taking so long for this to be over. I took the medication they offered and within a couple of hours it was happening as like you it wasn't happening on its own.
Thank you to everyone who kindly and bravely shared their experiences.
I realise it was a silly question to ask if I was seeking to understand what would happen to me as everyone’s experiences are very different. However the outpouring of support and compassion have made the waiting game a little easier. ❤️
An update from me - I had an afternoon of intense cramps this week and began bleeding, so I’m glad that the process has begun. I’m feeling incredibly teary and depressive, so expect there is a big hormonal whack to deal with now too. Xxx
Ps. I’ll stop posting or commenting here now as it’s certainly not an uplifting post that we all need coming to the top of ours feeds again!
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