Hi,
When my miscarriage first happened I looked to messages on this board for advice. Now that it is all over (well, almost) I thought that I would post about my experiences for anyone who needs some help deciding upon the best miscarriage option.

I first decided to have a natural miscarriage. I bled heavily for a couple of days followed by clotting and a lot of anxiety (what would fall out next? when would it happen? when will it stop?). I took Naproxen at the time, and had very little cramping, though I would not go natural route again.

One week following my natural miscarriage, I went back for an ultrasound. It turned out that I had some debris left. The doctor that I saw suggested that I take Misoprostol in order to dislodge the debris. I took the pills, waited, had more anxiety (I had hear that these pills were very painful), and nothing happened -- no blood, no debris, no cramping. This lead me back to the hospital for another ultrasound. I would not go this route again.

Sure enough, I still had a lot of debris. So, I had a D&C last Friday. The operation was painless, quick, and efficient. I had minor bleeding for a couple of days and barely any pain. While I am bloated and slightly sore, it's nothing that I can't live with for a little while.

If you are trying to decide which procedure to have, I strongly suggest the D&C procedure. Sure, it's surgery, but the anxiety of a natural miscarriage and the misoprostol pills were far worse for me. A D&C is final, so you can move on with your life.

I hope that this is helpful to some of you! Feel free to ask me any questions that you may have -- since I've been through all three procedures, I'm sure I can offer some advice!

love and luck to you!

hi im so sorry for your loss.. i was wondering if you could give me some advice? the same as you i had the natural miscarriage, then the medication, i have had minimal bleeding throughout, but i still have tissue in my uterus and i have to have blood taken every other day to test my hcg levels and they are not dropping like the doctor would like she still says i cant have a d&c because im not heavily bleeding do you think i could ask another doctor for a d&c because i cant carry on like this its been 3 weeks and i cant see any end xx

Hi,
I would seek a second opinion due to the fact that I only had one inch of debris left inside of me when I had my D&C. I also had very minimal bleeding, and this didn't prevent my D&C.

I understand your anxiety and angst, so in this case I would def. get another opinion.

*Hugs*

*I just noticed that I wrote that I had a lot of debris (lack of sleep and painkillers), but it was actually very minimal (one inch to be exact).*

thank you. im due up the hospital for more bloods and an internal scan AGAIN on thursday so i am going to ask for a second opinion xx

You poor thing -- I so went though the exact same thing with the internal scans (luckily I only had two of them). I'm not a doctor, but I don't see any reason why you shouldn't/can't have a D&C.

Good Luck!

I am going through a natural m/c and have my scan on wed - I read that you can start trying after you have had a period - can anyone adivse if having an d&c affects this? i.e. after the procedure you should wait longer before trying again? Hope this makes sense

I really wish I knew the answer to this question. One doctor told me that I would get my first period in four weeks, but I haven't crossed that mark yet, so I'm not sure if this is accurate.

As for how long you have to wait to try again...I've also heard conflicting answers about the amount of time that it's necessary to wait. One doctor told me three to four periods, while someone else told me one period. I think you are clear after one period, but I think it's easier to pinpoint a date after a couple of periods.

After my D&C (ERPC) i had my period 4 weeks later and could start TTC after that period. The procedure isnt that invasive (no skin is broken etc) so should be a problem to start TTC after first period. As with a natural miscarriage one period and your pretty much back to normal

It should be noted that ERPC's/D&C's can have implications, they (very rarely) cause fertility problems and infection risk is higher.

I too have had both, although the ERPC was over quickly i had an infection which made recovery a bit longer for me. The natural route was awful painful and took longer to happen (6 hours). I have had retained tissue from my natural mc but it has come away by itself 10 days later. xx

thanks for that - that's good to know and is a weight of my mind