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Hi Allison- I had a blighted ovum in Jan of this year. I didn't find out until 11 weeks! I had to go to emergency one night because of a severe pain on my left lower side. They suspected ectopic but the u/s showed that there was an empty sac that did not grow past 5 weeks. I wouldn't say there were any "symptoms" but there were signs. I started not to feel pregnant anymore- lost the sore boobs sensation and started not to feel tired. At the time, I didn't think anything of it. The following week is when I had to go to the hospital. The dr said it would be better to let the sac pass by itself- but it didn't after a week (no spotting or cramping) and I was supposed to leave for New York a few days later so they did a d & c. Personally, I didn't think it was that bad. Aside from a little pain from cramping (nothing that motrin couldn't take care of) the worst part, I think was remebering to take the antibiotic everyday. I hope this helps a little. Good luck to you!!

Thanks Christina for sharing your story. Are you pregnant again? How long after your D & C did you start trying?

Well...... eh hemm... The dr. told us to wait at least 2 cycles so I could build up my uterine wall..... Buuuttt.... I did get pregnant again in March (I only had 1 cycle). I guess we wern't exactly trying, and my cycle was always 28 days so I knew when to use protection-- One day I felt kinda funny so I took a test and whamo!! BFP!! Well my husband and I were very suprised and happy... But now I am experiencing some bleeding that has taken me off of work and put me into the high risk category (subchrorionic hematoma). The dr assured me that the blighted ovum had nothing to do with this condition. I think and hope the bleeding is lessening now- I have an appt with the dr in 2 hours. I am 16 weeks today. Did you pass the pregnancy yet??

Christina - congratulations!! I'm happy for you! I think the miscarriage has started - which I'm happy about so I don't have to wait weeks and weeks.

Allison- I'm sure you will do fine. I will say a prayer for you. Let me know how you are...

Well, the bleeding has stopped for now - was only heavy after I worked out and now back to the same old brown spotting. I'm doing ok. How did your doctor's appointment go? Are you still bleeding?

Hi. I went in for my first Ultrasound at 8weeks and found I had a blighted ovum b/c the sac was empty. I tried to wait, but my body wouldn't even start bleeding and the placenta was no where near starting to seperate on the Ultrasound pic's the DR took. So, I elected to do the D&C and had the first one at 12 weeks. I bled like crazy and after 4 days of madness my husband took me to the ER. They admitted me and the DR came and did another D&C surgery. After this one I bled steady for 5 weeks. Then I had 3 normal cycles and without even trying, I just found out I am pregnant again last weekend (I'll be 7 weeks tommorrow). I'm nervous this round again, but excited to hopefully make it this time.

hey congrats on being pregnant again and i'm sorry to hear of the losses. i spotted at 7 wks and was sent in for a u/s and they saw no baby in the sac so they did the hormone levels and they were normal they then did another u/s still no baby. Doctor told me they were gonna do an d&e which is an abortion procedure he thought it was a blighted ovum also but his nurse called me the next day and said he wasn't sure with his decision they then wanted me to wait till he got back from vacation this was a wed he would be back on monday. the did another u/s that mon and clear as anything there was my baby i am now 27 wks pregnant with a baby they were about to get rid of so please anybody not sure of a docs decision if you don't feel unpregnant please don't let them do a drastic measure get them to wait i'm so glad we waited because i woulda never felt this baby like i do now and i feel so close to it and know he or she is a God send miracle. love you all and i will pray for you all and good luck

Wow Frances, what a great story!! Good luck to you and Amber too! Hi Allison- My dr appt went fine I guess.. Baby is moving a lot, strong heart beat. Bleed is still there- still the same size. I am still bleeding like a rusty color now (sorry, tmi). The bleeding is light though. I am praying that it will stop soon.. Allison have you considered a D & C? How do you feel about the procedure?

I'm glad to hear about everyone having healthy pregnancies after. Back in 2002 I was having I guess a normal pregnancy, I was so sick. I started to spot though, always brown at about 6 weeks. I was going to a midwife, she didn't do any ultrasounds, but at 12 weeks, she still couldn't find any heartbeat. She sent me to the ER, I will never go there again. The doc said "blighted ovum" and "molar pregnancy" were the same thing, or, he said, I was only like 6 weeks along. ??? I had no clue, but I knew I was three months along. I found I had a molar pregnancy, he sent me home with codeine, and said to wait it out. I collapsed three days later and couldn't even get to the phone. The ambulance took to the same dr, who gave me Demerol, and sent me home.
I think if you have very severe symptoms, don't leave without a D&C, I almost died, I was bleeding that bad. The symptoms are real strong with a molar pregnancy, but the u/s is about the same as a blighted ovum. My pregnancy test turned bright pink seven days after conception, and every sign of pregnancy was extreme. The spotting was always brown, never anything red, until after the dr. If I could go back I would get a second opinion, to make sure, molar pregnancies can turn into cancer, because they don't always stop growing, and sometimes they only partially pass. And my dr, wasn't sure what it was. It took me about a week after my ambulance trip to pass it, I had to actually dialate to miscarry, which hurts! It was the size of a tennis ball, and scared me. I took a pregnancy test a month later and it was negative, so I knew the hormone levels had dropped. I believe if you don't have hard symptoms than the dr might be wrong, just like Frances, cuz some spotting is normal. I got pregnant about six months later, then got pregnant two months after my son was born. Now I have two little boys who will be in the same grade in school, who are 10 1/2 months apart! I think it's all in God's timing. I think the grieving is just the same as a normal miscarriage, and don't let anyone ever downplay it. I cried really hard, I was dreaming about holding the baby, and planning for it. To me it was a baby, and I had to greive.
I look at it now, if that pregnancy had gone through, I wouldn't have my little Benjamin right now. Take some time to be sad, and if you have very severe pregnancy symptoms, or high HcG levels, get a second opinion to make sure. It's emotionally painfull enough, without all the physical pain!
I will keep you in my prayers!

Hi! I was about 5 weeks pregnant when I started spotting <brown>. I never had any bleeding beyond a few red spots with my first child, so I immediately called my dr. I went in the next day and they did an u/s & didn't see anything. My hormone levels were ok though so 2 weeks later, I had another u/s. This time they saw the sac. Then after another wk I had a 3rd u/s. Still no sign of a fetus. I could tell something was wrong by the way the u/s operator acted. I had more blood taken to test for hcg. On my dghtr's birthday (very ironic) I got the call that they thought I had a blighted ovum & wld miscarry. This was Wed, on Sun I started to bleed. Now I am pregnant again and getting brown spotting & I am so afraid it is going to happen again. Did anyone have brown spotting and a healthy pregnancy??

In October 2004 I had a D&C at 10 wks 2 days. Development stopped after 6 weeks. I elected to have the D&C for emtional reasons. I started spotting brown blood and cramping at 6wks and 1 day. The spotting lasted for 1 day, the cramps never stopped. I did not begin to have any more bleeding until I was at 8wks.
Irt is now July 15 and I am at 9 weeks and 1 day in a new attempt to have a baby. I went for the first ultra sound today and was told my sac measures at 7 or 8 weeks and there has been no develpment since week 6 of the baby. I have not had any bleeding or cramping. An HCG test was done today and one will be done on monday morning to see if the levels have doubled. I was told the following about a blighted ovum.
With a blighted ovum the body can detect that something is wrong with the fertilized egg and therefore stops developing it. It is your body's own way of ensuring you have a healthy pregnancy and baby.
While it is not known exactly what causes a blighted ovum, most experts believe that some sort of chromosomal abnormality with either the egg or the sperm prevents the normal development.

Here's my story:
Conceived mid-May after @ 1 month of trying, and 5 months off the pill. Pregnancy progressed normally (sore boobs, progressively higher HCG, felt like Wonderwoman, etc).
At 6 weeks, had an ultrasound to narrow the dates - showed an empty sac. Came as a total shocker! Midwife suggested 3 possibilities: blighted ovum, ectopic, or normal pregnancy with dates off. I knew it wasn't ectopic, since there was no pain...was hoping the embryo was just antisocial, and would show up later, like some of the other stories on this forum.
Had another ultrasound at 7 weeks, confirmed empty sac. Had HCG levels checked, they were still within range for 1st trimester (@30k) but dropping fast. Slowly came to terms with my denial ;-)
Had 3rd and final ultrasound at 9 1/2 weeks, which showed sac still intact, but bleeding was about to start. I knew before going into this appointment that it was over.
Since I had had a therapeutic abortion 5 years ago that was incomplete and resulted in a horrendous experience with hemmorage and pain that resulted in a visit to the ER, I knew I would not go that route, but chose to wait and miscarry naturally.
From the time of the first ultrasound, I waited a month, walking around with a big supply of maxipads and pain killers in my knapsac....Finally at the last ultrasound with the confirmation of internal bleeding starting, and experiencing cramping, I knew it was a matter of days.
In order to ensure the process was relatively smooth, I consulted various sources on the use of herbs, and decided on the use of black cohosh and blue cohosh. These herbs are often used in labour by midwives, and have properties that increase blood flow, control contractions, and open the uterus. I found they did indeed make the process go more smoothly; miscarriage occured yesterday/today, with passing of several large blood clots, what was left of the sac, and a very small amount of blood. There was significant pain, but nothing I couldn't handle. Not nearly as bad as the previous time, thank god. Also, not as bad as the experience relayed to me by the woman that sold me the herbs - she miscarried naturally and it took 40 days and 40 nights of bleeding - of biblical proportions! I knew I couldn't last that long....which factored into my decision.
I would add that I followed the manufacturer's recommended dose exactly the first time, and actually reduced the dose the second time due to a sharp headache that had developed. (Be aware that there is conflicting information on the use and safety of blue cohosh in particular, and some sources consider it toxic and warn against it's use. Others consider it safe and effective. I figured it could not be any worse than the cancer drugs used for medical miscarriages, and that was my personal risk evaluation/decision.
Also, some websites have questionable information on the dosage of these herbs, suggesting them in much higher doses to bring on a miscarriage - I would definitely *not* recommend this, since herbs can be quite dangerous when used in ways they are not intended.) I followed up with Red Raspberry tablet format, which was quite soothing to my sore insides.
Overall, I am glad I was able to take control of my situation, and be able to deal with it and move on. We are going to wait a month or two then try again. Funny thing is, hubby is more eager than ever to prove himself second time aroud, so some good came out of this unfortunate experience.

PS, In answer to Pam's question below, yes, a good friend of mine had spotting early in her pregnancy, and went on to deliver a lovely baby girl.

I hope I am not hving a blighted Ovum! I am 5 weeks 6 days today. I had an ultrasound this morning and the Dr told me that they can see the Gestational Sac, but no Fetal Pole or Yolk Sac. Some things I have read say that I am too early to be seeing anything and that you should never have a U/S before 7 weeks cause there isn't much there yet. I talked to my fertility Dr. and he called in a prescirbtion for Prometrium (vaginal suppository, 200 MG 1 time a day). If I am having a blighted Ovum, what will the Prometrium do for it? Is there any way to just have a normal pregnancy?!?

I just found out last week I had a blighted ovum. Never heard of it before. I was 7 weeks 2 days. I didn't have a D&C instead I took medication to get miscarry. I didn't bleed alot, brownish stuff and passed out a dark clot. Dr. says we can try again in 6 weeks, but I am so scared to go through this again. This was our first pregnancy. I didn't have any symptoms before of a blighted ovum. How long do I have to wait to get a regurlar preriod?