QuestionI had a miscarriage last month, the bleeding ending very shortly after I seemed to have finished passing all tissues and clots.
Two and a half weeks later I again started bleeding. This bleeding was that of a light period. I tried to call my ob at the 8th day of bleeding and could not get past the receptionist who said to call back after 12 days of bleeding :O
Anyway, that bleeding stopped, but this time for only three days, where I began bleeding again! This time I am now on my 7th day of bleeding. The first four days consisted of bleeding normally like that of the first day of my period, pretty heavy with a tampon change every three hours. The 5th day was really heavy in the morning and I had to change my tampon twice after only 45 minutes. Then it went back to every three hours.
The next day I again had an episode of heavy bleeding lasting 4 hours this time. I still cannot contact my doctor, and am getting worried.
In previous miscarriages I resumed my normal period 4 weeks later each time, so this is new to me, and scary.
Thank you for any information or advice that you can give!
AnswerDear Chastity,
Hmmm... well, while I get over the initial urge to tell you to call back and tell that receptionist that you'll share your personal medical information only with your doctor or his nurse or you'll be switching doctors offices, I'll formulate my answer. Ugghhh! Nothing is more frustrating to me!
OK...Most often after a miscarriage or D&C your bleeding will taper off to spotting within 7-10 days, and maybe random spotting will continue for another week. Your hCG will drop steadily, usually hitting zero during the end of the spotting, or about 10 days after the miscarriage or D&C. Less often, your bleeding tapers off quickly, but with some spotting. You think it is over. Perhaps a week or even two will pass, and you begin to wait for your period. Then suddenly, it begins again. Strong cramping, heavy bleeding, and pain. You hope it is just your period, but it is not. (You must not bleed at all for about 20 days for it to be a real period, otherwise you have not gone through the hormone chain properly.) Usually within a few days, it does stop, and you are just spotting again. Here is what usually has happened - some tissue remained after your D&C or natural miscarriage. A bit of placenta clung to the wall of the uterus. It continued to draw a little blood, and the body continued to create very small amounts of pregnancy hormone. Eventually the body realized no baby was there and turned loose this last bit of tissue. The miscarriage process begins again. Only now will your levels drop to zero and a new cycle begin. You cannot expect a normal period any sooner than 4 weeks from this, and up to 7 weeks could still be normal. Your total wait time from original miscarriage to first period can creep up to 9-10 weeks and still be normal.
Sometimes, if you do continue spotting afterwards, a medication may be ordered by your doctor to help the body in cramping to push out any remaining tissue. However, the thing that concerns me with you is the fairly consistent heavy bleeding, especially the bleeding requiring a change of pad/tampon every hour or more. This is not generally considered normal. It leads me to suspect one of two things:
1. Leftover tissue remains in the uterus that refuses to budge. You may need a D&C or medication to kill the tissue and make it come away. If left untreated, you could hemorrhage, eventually becoming anemic at the very least. Scar tissue can also form should the remaining tissue become infected.
2. The possibility of a molar or partial molar pregnancy. It is very important to follow up on this and get a concrete diagnosis. Molar pregnancy can persist for months, and you absolutely should not attempt another pregnancy until you have been without any hCG in your system for several months.
If you did not have a D&C with this miscarriage, that may be indicated, as often is the case with natural miscarriages when the uterus does not completely empty itself of all contents. I encourage you to be seen by a doctor. It is discouraging that you have not been able to speak with your own doctor, or even his nurse, for this entire time - or that your hCG levels haven't been monitored to ensure they have returned to non-pregnant levels (if that is the case).
I hope this information has helped you and answered your question. I wish you well!
Brenda
