Thursday, the day of my D&C was physically painful, but then Friday I felt really good again. There was hardly any bleeding or cramping and I felt very similar to how I did after my hysteroscopy last July, so I thought I'd have a quick recovery once again. However, yesterday the bleeding picked up a lot out of nowhere, as did the cramping. The cramping was so bad I actually called the after-hours number for my OB and asked for advice. The on-call nurse said to go to the ER if I had excessive bleeding or cramping that was unbearable.
Last night after dinner I was in even more pain and had to lay down and take it easy. And there was a LOT more bleeding too seemingly out of nowhere. But while it was painful, I still considered it tolerable and I wasn't bleeding to the level the nurse mentioned was ER worthy. So I went to bed but was up every few hours because of the pain and checking on bleeding. This morning seems to be somewhat better but I'm still hurting way more than that day following the procedure.
Emotionally I feel some healing happening too. Although Friday night Kevin and I both just cried hysterically together for a while talking about our little Maggie and how much we loved her. The feeling that night was so empty and lost. I hate that this happened, but I know we will be able to heal. We have one another and we are so blessed for that.
As far as the physical pain goes, my question to you all is: has anyone else who has been through a D&C experienced a seemingly quick recovery physically only to have delayed cramping and bleeding later on? I'm really hoping this calms down by tomorrow because I told my work I'd be back and if I'm feeling like I did last night, that doesn't appear likely.
I had planned to make a delicious Easter meal for Kevin chock full of honey roasted ham, potatoes, and pecan pie and I but I'm worried about overexerting myself, since that seems to be exasperating the situation. I think I'll be supervising from the couch and Kevin will make it this year. I think I can deal with that. :)
Update: After I wrote this post, I ended up having even more pain to the point where I told Kevin I needed to go to the ER at around 11am. But before we did, I opted to take three IB profen and try to wait it out until at least noon. My bleeding started to increase and I ended up passing some really large clots. After those clots passed, I felt a million times better and the bleeding appears to have slowed down. I took it easy the rest of the day and felt pretty good for the most part.When I talked to the nurse and described what happened, she said it's not uncommon for blood clots to pass post D&C. Your body goes into contractions and will expel them on your own. Wow, it hurt BAD but I'm so glad it's over!
Thinking of you Liz. I hope you two can enjoy the holiday. I say a few prayers to Maggie at night. I pray that you feel better soon!
ReplyDeleteYou are so incredibly sweet and I always appreciate your support and prayers so much. :) Thank you, I think today will be a nice day for us. I hope you have a good Easter too.
DeleteI'm not bragging (consider the topic) but I did not have any intense cramping or bleeding. I only randomly had about one hours worth of bleeding a few days after the D&C. It was relatively painless physically. I'm so sorry you are experiencing otherwise. I would definitely keep in touch with your OB.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you and Kevin are able to cry together and heal together. That goes a long way when you can lean on each other during this horrible time.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I thought I'd have the same. Today seems to be a little better than last night so I hope I am headed back in the right direction. :) I appreciate the kind words, and I feel so lucky to have Kevin. Although seeing him cry and hurt is even more painful than the hurt I feel myself. I know we will get through it though.
DeleteHi Liz,
ReplyDeleteI've been following your blog since I found it through your posts on the embryo adoption board on babycenter. I am mostly on the California Conceptions board as I have been working with them since this last summer. I too have been through a terrible loss of a pregnancy (twins) and then medical procedures and emergencies following the losses. I've had two D&Cs and a hysteroscopy in the last two months. Each one has been a little different but a couple times I had no bleeding for the first 24 hours and then the bleeding picked up with activity. I'd recommend taking it easy and directing from the couch ;-) Also, as long as the bleeding isn't more than a pad every couple of hours and it doesn't go on for weeks I've been told that is "normal". If you are having a two-week followup I bet you have little to no bleeding by then. If it's still a concern at that time they'll probably do an ultrasound to make sure no fetal tissue was missed. It's not super common so please try not to worry about it but know that it can happen. Again, I'm so sorry for our loss and I look forward to the future when we both have our beloved babies in our arms.
Jerabean
Thank you for commenting and for following! I am so incredibly sorry for the loss of your twins. Your suffering sounds incredible and I'm sending you big hugs. I appreciate you sharing your experience and it does sound similar. Yes, I will have a 2 week follow up and I think that by then I should be A-OK. I'm watching closely for bleeding to the extent of 1 pad an hour and it doesn't appear to be even close to that. It just worried me that it got better THEN got worse which seems bizarre to me but the more I read, it does sound like it's pretty common. It seems to be after activity so I'm forcing myself to be a couch potato today and direct easter dinner making to Kevin. Stay in touch and I will pray for you as well, Jerabean. *hug*
DeleteOh Liz, I'm so sorry you've had to go through this. I hope you feel better physically and emotionally very soon. Sounds like you have a great husband to take care of you, hopefully your Easter dinner is delicious :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Kate!
DeleteThinking of you this morning. So sorry you are dealing with this. Praying and praying.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the prayers and thoughts.
DeleteHi Liz,
ReplyDeleteI had a horrible experience after my first D&C. The first day or two wasn't too bad, but by the 3rd day I had heavy bleeding. I called my OB and they had me come in to "check things out". I felt as though they thought I was making too big of a deal of the bleeding. The u/s showed I had clots left to pass. The clots were massive and painful. I called the OB and he said "if you think it's bad enough, come to the ER and I'll see you". Of course I didn't want to seem like a baby so I "Toughed" it out. I made 4 phone calls to the on-call nurse and doctor before I made myself go to the ER in my hometown (not where I do my OB/GYN care).
Long story short...My hemoglobin was down to 7, I almost bleed out and almost lost my life. I ended up having two blood transfusions, a platelet transfusion, followed up by a 2nd D&C AND a exploratory surgery through my abdomen to remove a PINT of blood.
BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE. If it's bad enough that it disrupts your normal life (you have to lay down, can't go to work, do normal activities,etc...) then go to the doctor or ER, I had pregnancy tissue that still remained in my uterus causing all of the extra bleeding.
I don't want to scare you... I know my story is about worst-case scenario. But I didn't think it would happen to me...and it did.
Hang in there...call your doc tomorrow and ask to be seen asap.
Yikes, that is so scary! I'm glad you got in and everything turned out okay after all of the interventions you went through.
DeleteAs for me, it got really bad yesterday and I was *this* close to going to the ER, but I ended up passing some clots and felt a bajillion times better after that. Things seem to have calmed way down and I feel like I am going to be okay now. But I definitely have my OB on speed dial at this point just in case.
Glad things are calming down. Miscarriage is hard enough, but then to have a D&C, and then an aftermath of a D&C is just cruel. If the clots start back up I would definitely call your doctor.
DeletePraying so hard for you!
ReplyDeleteAfter my D&C, I felt a bit better, then I went through a physical miscarriage. Contractions and everything... huge clots. The physical pain was trumped by the emotional pain, though. I didn't go back to work for a full week.
Thanks, Malia. I went through some strong contractions and pain yesterday and ended up passing some large clots too. It was awful, but I feel much better today!
DeleteMy D&C was so many years ago (1999) I don't remember a lot about it. I thought for most part it was pretty quick and not a lot of cramps and some heavy bleeding. This past time I took a pill that the RE gave me and I would never wish that upon anyone. The only reason I took that and didn't get the D&C was because I was scared of being put under again.
ReplyDeleteI hope that your cramps and bleeding slow down and your body starts to heal quickly. It seems that so many people react differently.
It appears that everything has slowed down and I feel a million times better today. Thanks for thinking of me and commenting.
DeleteI didn't have a D&C, but I know that my bleeding and cramping came and went for about a week and a half. When I called the office, the nurse assumed I had had a D&C and told me it was normal and that as long as I wasn't filling a pad an hour or in extreme pain, then to just keep an eye on it and take some OTC pain killers.
ReplyDeleteI hope the bleeding and cramping stops soon.
Thanks so much. Advil has been my best friend. Things do appear to have improved drastically!
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ReplyDelete*squishy hugs* I'm so sorry you're going through this. :( But I'm glad you've gotten at least a little relief.
ReplyDelete<3