Pregnancy Info HOME

Update, I took the misoprostol this 2nd time Saturday at 4pm to empty the remaining tissue in my uterus. I laid on the couch for 41/2 hours and cramped a little. I started bleeding Sunday morning around 230am. The cramps were stronger than a normal period but not as bad as the first time I took this med. I didn't bleed much and didn't pass many clots either. I go back for the vaginal ultrasound in 11 days. uhhh....

I, too, took Cytotec to induce a miscarriage, after being diagnosed with a blighted ovum at about 9.5 weeks. I was given the option of a D&C as well, but with my insurance it would have cost upwards of $3,500 (compared with the Cytotec at $7.50). I waited two weeks, hoping I would miscarry naturally, but it didn't happen. I took the day off work and at 6:30 am I inserted 4 200 mcg tablets vaginally. I took two Tylenol preventatively. Cramps didn't begin until 9:30 am, and I had no bleeding. At 11 am I took two more Tylenol and started to have light bleeding. From 12-2 I had moderate cramping, and at 2:30 pm I started to pass some small clots. At some point, one of the pills came out as well--I just pushed it back in. I took two more Tylenol at 3 pm. I had the worst pains for about an hour between 4:30-5:30 (about 10 hours after I inserted the pills). From 5-5:30 I passed the gestational sac and another large clot. I had been afraid that there was a possibility of a misdiagnosis, and that I might see an embryo, but it was very clearly not an embryo--it looked a lot like my placenta did when I had my son, and the larger clot was about the size of a shriveled-up lemon. I did have to "push" to get it out. I would say that for me, the pain was pretty bad, but not as bad as actual labor--about the level of pain right before it got really bad. It also helped that it was only about an hour long. It subsided almost immediately after I passed the large clots, but I had "afterpains" for about half an hour. All in all, the whole ordeal lasted about 12 hours. I continued to take two Tylenol every 4-6 hours. The next day, at 7 am, I took two 200 mcg tablets by mouth (as well as two Tylenol). I took the second two 200 mcg tablets approximately 12 hours later, and, other than a slightly queasy feeling, I didn't feel much. I took the day off from work, but I probably didn't have to.

I bled rather heavily for the first three days, then it lightened a bit, then got heavy again. That lasted about a week. I had a follow-up ultrasound around that time which showed that I had passed the sac, but still had some lining to pass. I spotted for about another week after that, all in all about 17 days. I believe I got my next "normal" period about 3 weeks after I took the first dose of Cytotec. It started with 3 days of spotting, then two days of very heavy bleeding. I wasn't sure if the amount of blood was normal, because I was using pads this time and I usually use tampons, but my doctor said that unless I was soaking through more than one pad an hour, it should be fine. I had one day of no bleeding after that, then three days of light spotting. (About 10 days total.) I continued to chart throughout it all, and I ovulated about 4-5 days later than usual (about 6 weeks after the first dose of Cytotec). My husband and I had decided to try again as soon as possible, and did indeed get pregnant the cycle immediately following the miscarriage. I am now almost 6 weeks pregnant, and praying for better results this time!

I hope that this posting has helped: this forum was literally my only source of information on what to expect upon taking Cytotec. My doctor was very unhelpful for the most part, not to mention that it's hard to remember a lot of details after you've received such bad news. If, God forbid, I ever have to go through this again, I would take Cytotec again. While the initial decision was made for financial reasons, I was glad that I was able to experience this at home and not have to go through a more invasive procedure. I want to echo what the others have said and strongly recommend that you have a support person with you, and arrange for childcare if you have young children. My doctor would not prescribe a narcotic for me (like Vicodin), but I would ask your doctor if that's a possibility. If not, I recommend taking pain medication regularly and before you start to feel pain. By the time it sets in, it takes that much longer for the medicine to take effect. I am sorry to say that the emotional difficulties for me really began *after* the physical experience, but I did start to feel more like myself about 4 weeks later.

A heartfelt thanks to all those who shared their experiences, and I hope that hearing mine will dispel some of your fears, should you choose this option.

I, too, would like to add my experience with misoprostol, to help anyone else who might have been in a similar situation as me. I found it to work very well, and would use it again, if the same situation were to arise. I have been researching Cytotec, and it's FDA approval is for gastric ulcers. The prostaglandin use/induction of cramping and bleeding is a side use., or "off-label use" as the website says. I wonder if it's more effective if inserted, rather than taken orally? Inserted it places the medication right at the site where things need to happen. But, not being a doctor, I don't know. I just wonder.
Here is our story: At our 12 week ultrasound it showed the fetus the size it should be at 6 weeks, instead of 12, and no heartbeat. It was startling, especially since the ultrasound tech and the radiologist who reviewed the ultrasound never said anything like "you've lost your baby", "the fetus has died", "this isn't a viable pregnancy", etc...so we weren't entirely sure what to think. The ultrasound results said 'results are consistent with embryonic demise". We met with a midwife on our team of care providers, she explained the options which were to wait and see, use misoprostol, or schedule a D & C. with just one scan I didn't want to make any permanent decisions that day, so they did a blood draw for quantitative HCG. My levels were around 3400, unheard of for 12 weeks gestation, but only low for 6 weeks. They did another draw 3 days later and my levels had dropped to around 2400. in those 3 days, i lost most of what pregnancy symptoms I still had...my nausea had been slowly going away after 8 1/2 weeks, but my breasts were still tender up until the 12th week. but before the 2nd blood draw, most of that went away. the dropping HCG level was all i needed to confirm that this wasn't a viable pregnancy anymore. after talking to my mom(who is a labor and delivery nurse) and our midwife, they recommended misoprostol over the d & c, only because the recovery time was slightly shorter. it sounded like a better option to me because it wasn't invasive, there was no surgery, and i didn't have to be under any anesthesia. They gave me misoprostol, with instructions to insert 4 pills vaginally (200 mg each), and if bleeding didn't start in 24hrs, repeat the dose. This was a friday. I had to sing in a wedding on saturday, and so waited until after the wedding, not knowing how quickly it would work. I was told it might take a couple days to pass all the tissue, that there probably would be a lot of blood, sometimes so much that i wouldn't be able to leave the toilet. I was also told that there's a 15-20% chance that the misoprostol wouldn't work, and i'd need the d & c after all, if i didn't want to wait for my body to take care of it naturally. saturday during the day i had some scant brown spotting, so my guess is that if i was inclined to wait, my body probably would have started the process within the week. I didn't want to wait, so around midnight saturday night i inserted the pills and went to bed. about an hour and a half later i started cramping and shivering, and could not get warm despite having a heating pad on my stomach. My midwife had said i could take ibuprofen for the cramps, but also prescribed Percoset in case i needed something stronger. 800 mg of ibuprofen around 2am was enough, i repeated the dose around 9am. That was enough pain relief for me, i was able to sleep a little bit. (but not much, as i was up about every hour to change my pad.)Bleeding started about an hour after that, and was very intense for about 7 hours. Fever broke after about 6 hours. I was glad for the warning of a lot of blood, otherwise i might have been more than a little alarmed. I passed several clots that were big enough to feel coming out, but since the toilet water was so red I couldn't see what they were, or how big. around 11:30am sunday morning (11 hours after i took the pills) the main tissue mass was apparent and started to work it's way out, but then seemed to get stuck, probably on my cervix. I tried "pushing" it out, tried pulling gently(as i didn't know if anything was still attached inside) but nothing moved. around 5pm sunday afternoon most cramping and heavy bleeding had stopped, but nothing was moving. i decided to wait overnight and see if anything moved. monday morning it still hadn't, i called my midwife and she said to come into the clinic. She looked, and with forceps was able to pull gently and dislodge it. She said it was definitely the "products of conception", and asked if i wanted to see it, but i opted not to. it was probably the size of a small orange, solid mass, but squashy. it had gotten hung up on my cervix, but once dislodged all came out in one piece. all the major bleeding was done in a day, the remainder was like a normal period. I wore normal maxipads for 2 days after the completed miscarriage, then pantiliners after that. I had of and on bleeding, 2 days of scant brown spotting, a day of nothing, then muddy brown/red light bleeding for a day, then spotting for a day, then nothing. it's been 11 days since the miscarriage, and still have some slight spotting. I was told i might bleed for 1-2 weeks. I called my midwife's nurse with questions about the off and on bleeding, she explained it like any other scrape, or injury that bleeds...it bleeds for a little bit, mostly heals, but they physical activity might work the healed tissue loose so it might bleed a little more. i didn't have any cramping or other pain past the second day. they did an HCG check 1 week after the miscarriage, my levels dropped to 75. i go back in another week to check again. For me, misoprostol wasn't a bad experience at all. not comfortable, but not bad. now it's a waiting game...waiting for my hcg levels to go to zero, waiting for my cycles to resume so we can start trying again. My heart goes out to everyone who has experienced miscarriages, it is not easy to lose a baby. I wish you all solace and comfort in your time of mourning.

update, the 2nd dose of cytotec/ misoprostol did not work. about a week and a half later, i finally passed the remaining tissue on my own. my preg tests finally started testing weaker and weaker positives after that. 6 weeks later, i was finally done.

I have had 3 miscarriages. The first in Dec. 2007 and I chose to take cytotec. I took it as prescribed and i started cramping and bleeding lightly for 2 days and it stopped. A day later I was intense constant pain for about 4 hours started. My husband took me to the ER as I was filling an overnight pad about every 15-20 minutes and I needed IV fluid to keep my vitals up. My experience may have been extreme because I had a fibroid tumor therefore more blood. But i was also vomiting and had Diarrhea. My second miscarriage was a chemical pregnancy and resolved itself through a natural period. I am currently having a 3rd miscarriage and the baby measured 7 weeks. I am opting for d&c, however my body has started the process and it is not nearly as intense with cytotec. I am also afraid of being put under tomorrow, but it is better than bleeding out. I completely understand the fear of not wanting a d&c because of fear the MD's were wrong. I am lucky in the sense that my body is starting the process so I know for sure there is no chance, but I hope it doesn't progress too much, I don't want to have to see the tennis ball size sac again.

I found this forum so helpful - I have had 2 miscarriages and I will tell my story too so that hopefully it will help others. Both pregnancies got to 7.5 weeks when I started spotting. I went off for a scan both times, and both showed an empty sac. The first pregnancy I was given the option of a D+C or just wait for it to happen naturally. I decided to wait because the stupid doctor told me that all that would happen was I would have a few cramps and some heavy bleeding. I spotted until 10.5 weeks and then went through an agonising 4 hour mini labour before passing a placenta. I had some paracetamol but that didn't do a thing. I was on my own writhing on the floor in total agony for about an hour or two. It was terrible and I think I went into a sort of shock afterwards for a couple of days. When I found out that I was going to have another miscarriage, I went straight to the hospital where they gave me the option of cytotec or a D+C. I had the cytotec tablets (four vaginally) at 11 am. They sent me home with a big box of strong painkillers. I started bleeding at around 3pm. The bleeding got heavier and heavier, there were lots of clots and at around 8.30 pm I passed a big bit of tissue into the toilet which I presume was the placenta. The next day there was hardly any more bleeding. The best thing was that the experience was completely painless. Not one twinge. Nothing. I was ready to take the painkillers at the first sign of bad cramps but there was nothing. The cytotec works best if you have already had a baby (I have a child) and it may be that the bad cramps and pain happen mostly to women who have not yet had a baby through their cervix. Tomorrow I go into the hospital for a scan to check that it is all gone. If it has then I would say that the cytotec was the right decision for me. This situation is never anything but miserable, but I am glad that it was physically not that bad.

it does not make a difference if you have had a baby. i too have a child that was delivered vaginally. i took cytotec twice and didn't stop bleeding for 2 full months.

My fiance & I went in for our first visit at 7.5 weeks. They only saw the sac - but it was empty - and no foetal pole had begun forming. They told us to wait a week. They didn't take any tests - blood, etc - is that normal? We just went back Thursday - and no progress. We are devastated. Our wedding is in two weeks - and we were hoping to surprise everyone with our news :( Our doctor prescribed cytotec orally (200 mcg pills). I am to take them orally - four for the first dose - and then one every six hours for three more doses. I have no idea what to expect. It has been comforting reading everyone's posts - but I am still concerned. Our wedding is September 20 - and we are just so incredibly sad. I guess I just wanted so badly to believe the baby would begin forming. I think we'll start the doses tonight. It just seems that most everyone takes them vaginally - and that their doctors do HCG tests. Should I be concerned? One sad bride to be...

I'm so sorry for what Sue and everyone else has gone through. SiennaEyes my experience has been similar to yours - the shocking 9-week ultrasound with no embryo. My heart goes out to you, especially right before your wedding. My Dr. ordered an HcG test that showed that my levels were not yet coming down, the diagnosis was confirmed through ultrasound also so I don't think that it is entirely unusual that your doctor is relying on that. I was on the Misoprostal all day yesterday and want to thank everyone. This forum really helped me prepare for what I would go through and how to deal with it and now I can offer others hope that everyone's experience is individual and it may not be as awful as some others'. It was very difficult, and now on Day 2 I am having cramps that rival anything I had yesterday, which concerns me, but it still isn't as bad as what I feared.

Siennaeyes, I am so sorry for your experience. I am going through a similar situation myself. My husband and I planned a big wedding at the end of the year. We decided the stress was too much so changed our minds and the date to Aug 31. Exactly two weeks prior, I was feeling bloated and crappy so I took a test and found out I was pregnant. According to my LMP I should have been about 11 weeks at the time. However, I went to the doctor a week later and the ultrasound showed just a placenta and sac - no fetus. Since I have a history of irregular mp's the dr. told us to enjoy our wedding the following weekend and come back in two weeks for another us. He said that we probably just caught it early - although I had a feeling this was not the case. The next two weeks were hard not knowing. This past week, one week after our wedding, I had my second us that confirmed there is no fetus. The dr. sent me home with 800mgs of misoprostal. I originally wanted to wait until Friday to take them so I would not miss work, but am unable to function mentally due to the anticipation. I am a little scared because I am very sensitive to medication and am currently awaiting a call back from my dr. before taking the pills. I was going to take them orally, but after reading many of these posts may take them vaginally. I am so sorry that anyone has had to go through this, it is extremely unfortunate. At the same time - it is comforting to know that I am not alone. Thank you for sharing your experiences and I will come back and post more later.

After learning at our 11 week ultrasound that what was in my uterus measured 6 weeks, we determined I must be experiencing a missed miscarriage. My pregnancy symptoms had started to slowly disappear the few days prior (except some aversions to food), but since I was nearing 12 weeks, I had no worries. We gave it a week, and I finally started spotting, giving me a sense of relief that my body is ready. After 2 days of spotting, I inserted 400 mcg of misoprostol vaginally, then 4 hours later inserted another 400 vaginally. With the first dose, I took codeine, as directed by my doctor & pharmacist friends. I felt nothing except for maybe just a bit of cramping. No bleeding. Finally, 43 hours later, I began expelling a lot of dark red small clotty stuff when I'd use the bathroom. Finally it got to the point where I would just go to the shower & pee in there so I could wash off what was ready to come out. Disgusting? Yes. Emotional? Yes, which I was not prepared for. After 5 hours of that, I started spotting bright red stuff. 3 days later, the red bleeding has picked up a bit (still only panty liner worthy - 3-4 per day), and I feel some infrequent light cramping. I am meeting with my (less-than-desirable) doctor tomorrow with an hCG and an exam. I experienced no pain at all with cytotec/misoprostol, though I was prepared for the storm that others had experienced. Unfortunately, in being prepared for that, I also knew that would give me closure if I could see that I had passed the "products of conception" and experience pain. Though that may seem masochistic, it's just part of my healing process. So I'm still missing that closure, but will find out tomorrow if I need a D & C to finish the job. I have no idea if my body was just read to do this naturally or if the cytotec/misorprostol aided in the expulsion of so much stuff.

Update: Unfortunately, misoprostol/cytotec did not clean everything out of my uterus, and I have a d & c scheduled in 3 days and my cervix is closed. More 'vacation' days I have to use for this, and I can't even bring myself to think about the medical bills.... I would do it this way again, though, and try misoprostol/cytotec first. All of your stories helped me to feel like I was not alone - I can't thank you ladies enough! You allowed me to think clearly & make the best decision for my body. I feel like someone really understands!

I promised myself that when i was through with my experience with Misoprostol i will come back here and share my experience cos this was the only site i found helpful when i was going through this ordeal - pay it forward.
Here i go.... I inserted 4 pills vaginally on August 22, 2008 at 10pm. I started mild cramping 2 hours later it got stronger throughout the night. I didn't have any pain killers so i took extra strength tyenol (get something stronger prescriped to you). 6 hours after the insertion I was in tremendous pain (i was in tears but its bearable especially with painkillers), i could barely walk I felt a couple of clots come out, but opted not to see.
The bleeding was a lot by not enough to soak through a pad. An hour after the strong cramping I had finally fallen asleep for about 4 hours. The next morning the cramps were still there but tolerable and subsided as the day went on.
24 hours later at 10pm i had to once again take 4 more misoprotol pills, but this time i was able to get a hold of tylenol 3, and therefor was able to sleep throughout the night without any heavy cramping. its a lot easier with the second dosage.
throughout the week i had continued bleeding. some heavy craping at some moments. Bleed heavy for a week and got lighter the next week (so 2 weeks of bleeding). I had my u/s appt 2 and a half weeks after the pills and Dr. says that theres a bit of tissue still left behid but all will pass with my next period.
All in all, i would say that my experience was pretty positive, just that heavy craming for a few hours was the worst of it. I guess reading other peoples horrific experiences, i expected a lot worse then it was. If i had not read them and not known what to expect i don't know if i would have the same opinion. My dr.didn't give me much of an idea of what to expect.
I pray you all stay strong and hopefully this will have to be the last of our sad experiences with this drug.
P.S. When can i expect to receive my first period? i took the drug August 22 (almost 4 weeks ago).

millie25: It took me about 6 weeks to bleed again. (However, I don't know if I ovulated or not, I've been charting and tracking since the miscarriage, but it could be anovulatory bleeding. ) I think it depends on whether or not you still have HCG in your system. From what I've read and learned as long as it's there, you won't get your period. And the time it takes for the last bit to dwindle away is different for everyone, but can take a while. It's a frustrating waiting game to be sure. :\ good luck with the next pregnancy, my condolences for this one.

I will be taking the cyotec pills either tonight or tomorrow morning. I'm glad I found this thread and now know what to expect. I will take it vaginally to avoid the diarrhea. I'll post my experience after. Wish me luck.

I had an u/s when I was 6w 2d. We a saw a sac but nothing was inside. I had a series of u/s when I was 7w 1d and 7w 5d and 8w 5d. Still nothing. I was diagnosed with blighted ovum. HCG levels were increasing as typical of a blighted ovum. My doctor prescribed me some cyotec. The day that I was supposed to take it, I had another u/s..just to clear my conscience and to make sure. I was 9w and still nothing. That night, Oct.1, I took an 800mg motrin at 6pm. At 7:00pm I took 4 cyotec (800 mg) vaginally. I then took 1 VIcodin. I kept on checking every hour for bleeding but nothing. I fell asleep and when I woke up around 2:30 am to take another motrin, that's when I noticed that my pajama was stained with blood. I went to that bathroom and sat on the toilet and saw that my pad was soaked. I used a long maxi and it was soaked. There were some few clots. While I was on the toilet I felt more blood coming out and some large clots. I sat there for a while. Afterwhich, I went back to bed. When I woke up around 6 am, there were still some bleeding and some clot. The whole day I had some bleeding but not that much. I continually took my motrin every 8 hours but I stopped the VIcodin. Thursday night, Oct.2 I took the 2nd dose of cyotec another 4 tablets vaginally. I also took another vicodin. I didn't have heavy bleeding but I noticed some few clots but not that big. Now, I'm still at home just light bleeding. I stopped taking pain medds. All in all, I would say that my experience was not as bad as I thought it would be. I did not feel any pain. I think it's because I took those pain meds even before I felt any pain. I will have an appointment on Monday with my doctor. Hopefully, I passed out everything.