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My Experience - Misoprostol (Cytotec) For Miscarriage
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It's 24 hours later and here's how it's gone: about an hour after the first vaginally inserted, 3 pill Cytotec dose, I began bleeding lightly. It progressed throughout the afternoon until I passed an enormous (felt enormous) clot. My doctor had told me I'd pass progressively larger clots and when something "golfball sized" came out, everything would nearly cease and I'd bleed lightly thereafter. Well, the huge one was the first thing I passed besides liquid blood. There was so much blood with it, I could not see it at the bottom of the toilet. I sat there on the bathroom floor for quite some time contemplating what to do. If that was my baby, how could I flush it? On the other hand, what would I do with it when I fished it out? It was pretty awful. I prayed and talked to my angel and told her all the things that were on my mind--heart--and finally felt okay about flushing the toilet. The cells and tissue were empty and I felt certain that she's with me in a different form. By the way, there is no wrong way to deal with that situation. You do whatever feels right to you--you're not crazy, you're not gross or morbid if you want to see it--you're not heartless if you don't. |
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Hi ladies. I too wanted to share my experience with Misoprostol. The information provided in this post made a very traumatic time more bearable. At the very least I knew what to expect and that made all the difference in the world. |
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I would like to share my misoprostol story as well in the hope that it will help someone. Brief history: I am 32, husband also, ttc almost 3 years, clomid/progesterone BFP April 08, baby growing behind, no heartbeat at 9 wks, incomplete miscarriage, D&C, normal karyotype. Clomid/progesterone BFP December 08, no fetal pole or heartbeat at 6w3d ultrasound, just empty sac-- same 7w3d, 8w3d-- diagnosis blighted ovum. HCG keeps going up. My "temporary" RE (holidays) agreed to give me misoprostol/cytotec before doing another D&C. She gave me the rx on Wed. (New Year's Eve!) and the D&C was scheduled for Fri. a.m. 2 doses-- 4 pills each. From reading this forum, I hoped that the dr. would prescribe vaginally instead of orally-- she did. I inserted the first dose at about 4 pm on Wed. Lay on the couch for about 1 hr. to let the pills work. I got really cold at first. Didn't start to feel crampy for about 3-4 hrs. I had gotten an rx for anaprox but didn't want to take it unless I had to because of the D&C. I didn't need to. The cramps were about as bad as bad period cramps, not any worse. I didn't have much bleeding at all. I was afraid it wasn't working. At one point, about 5 hrs. after the first dose, I had some bleeding/clotting/passed something small. I had been on progesterone, so I thought that might be it. Not much bleeding after that, and the cramping subsided. I went to bed and put a towel on top of the sheets, but wasn't necessary at all. I could have done whatever I wanted on New Year's Day. Stayed at home and tried to move around/make this work. I was supposed to take the 2nd dose 24 hours after the 1st, but jumped the gun-- took it at around noon. No more bleeding-- cramps weren't as bad. Just light spotting. I was convinced that the misoprostol hadn't worked and I would need another D&C. Went for the ultrasound Fri. a.m before the procedure, and the sac was gone. No need for the D&C. Lining is still thick, so I expect more bleeding, but I am so grateful that this did what I wanted it to do and was completely bearable. I was so scared before I took the first dose, but I would do this again if needed (hope not). Good luck to all. |
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So, I read everyone else's promise to come back on after reading these experiences and talk about theirs and I decided to do the same. I was 8w exactly when I found out on my birthday this past Monday that I had a blighted ovum. |
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I found out I was pregnant before Thanksgiving this year. I went in on Dec 4 for our first appointment and at 7 weeks pregnant we saw the baby's heartbeat. I went back on Dec. 31 for my 2nd appointment and the baby had no heartbeat. |
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Thanks for this board - it's really helping me. My experience with cytotec is a bit different – and I’m posting in case it helps anyone else. A scan at 6 weeks 5 days (on 23 December – a terrible Christmas present) picked up no heartbeat and that the fetus was too small – and two more scans later on confirmed it. My doctor – a fertility specialist (my husband and I have been trying for a while and I am 37) advised taking cytotec and letting things happen naturally. From the moment I found out though, I wanted a D&C – I was very afraid of delivering at home. On his advice I tried the cytotec – 2 tablets orally 6 hours apart – and it never worked. I had some cramps, cold, nausea, but no bleeding. I went for another u/s the next day – and everything was the same. I insisted at that point on a D&C, which they did the same day. The D&C was fine. I never felt a thing, there was no general anaesthetic, just something called ‘conscious sedation’. My doctor told me that they don’t ‘scrape’ anymore – and while he had removed the pregnancy, I would still need to pass some products. He gave me cytotec again. Again I had the cramps but hardly any bleeding – and only one large clot. I went for another u/s scan a day later only to see that the lining of the uterus was too thick and my hcg levels were 5000 still. I was once again given the same dose of cytotec. That was yesterday. Today, I have had very little bleeding – not even onto a panty liner – only when I pee - but more severe cramps. I have to go back tomorrow for another u/s scan and a blood test, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to get the cytotec again. Is it safe to be taking all this? I’m so tired of all this – just want it to be over so we can get back to normal life and try again. We’re both very sad – and I keep taking these pills and staying in waiting for something to happen, and aside from ever-worsening cramps, it doesn’t seem to! Anyway, thanks for all the help on this board – I’ll keep you all posted on what happens. |
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Like many of you, I have decided to post my experience to this forum because I found so much comfort here as I wondered what would happen as I used Misoprostol to miscarry at home. We had discovered a small baby at 7.5 weeks with a heartbeat and thought that my dates were possibly off, explaining the small size. Went for another u/s 10 days later to find a slightly larger baby and a slow heartbeat. Four days later, the baby had not grown (still measured 6w3d) and there was no heartbeat. The doctors explained my options and Misoprostol seemed the best route as I feared permanent scarring from a D&C (not to mention the discomfort and inconvenience of hospitals and anesthesia) and I was emotionally unable to wait for a natural miscarriage. To this point, I had absolutely no signs of miscarriage – no bleeding or cramping, so I expected a long wait to miscarry naturally. My husband was incredibly supportive and also thought that this would best for us. After reading various accounts here, I decided to take the first Percocet dose (the maximum prescribed amount – 2 pills) one hour before administering the Misoprostol vaginally. I did this around 10:30 PM Friday, and followed with the Misoprostol at 11:30 PM and laid down. My hope was that I could sleep through the night and avoid the anxiety of waiting to pass the gestational sac. The doctor had told me that it should happen within 24 hours, but maybe even within 12 hours, so I expected it to all be over by noon the next day. Needless to say, I hardly got any sleep due to anxiety. I took another dose of Percocet at 2:30 AM as prescribed, and took a dose every four hours until 7 PM that night. When I finally got out of bed at 7:30 AM, I noticed a very small amount of blood. I had very minimal pain throughout the night, much less even than menstrual cramps, and this continued to be the case throughout the entire day. The bleeding intensified by 9:30 AM and I threw up. Not sure if this was due to the Misoprostol or the pain killers. By 11:00 AM, I passed something fairly large that I thought might have been the gestational sac but I wasn’t sure. I couldn’t get a good look at it in the toilet, so I called the doctor to ask. She advised me to take the second dose of Misoprostol at 11:30 PM that night (24 hours after the first dose) to make sure that everything would pass. Again, I took the Percocet before taking the Misoprostol and this time I wet the tablets for 1 second in a glass of tap water before inserting them per instructions I had found on the internet. The sheet given to me with the prescription gave instruction as if I were using it for ulcers, not for miscarriage. Though my doctor had told me what I needed to do, I had a hard time remembering as I was under much stress during the office visit so the instructions I found on the internet were helpful. Again, some light cramping started within the hour and more bleeding. The amounts of blood were more than a period, but not scary. Mostly the blood would come heavily when I would use the toilet. At 11:00 AM the next morning (Sunday), I felt whatever I had passed the day before must have been the gestational sac and did not take any additional pain meds. At 2:30 PM I went to urinate and was having difficulty. I felt an odd sensation, so I pushed and a grey sac the size of a lemon attached to a large blood clot came out. This was the gestational sac – 15 hours after the second dose of Misoprostol. I immediately took two more Percocet. More bleeding came, though fairly minimal – more like a normal period. Though it was difficult to see this, I was relieved to know that I will likely not need a D&C now. I go for an appointment in five days to ensure that I have passed everything properly. IN SUM, though every person is different, my experience with Misoprostol was the best I could have imagined considering the circumstances. I had almost no pain (at the worst, a 2 on a scale of 1-10), manageable bleeding, no fever, no chills, and no risk for scarring and future infertility from a blind surgery. I hope this account helps anyone who is considering this route for a miscarriage. Please demand strong painkillers and/or narcotics from your doctor and USE them. I am convinced that taking the Percocet before I even took the Misoprostol and taking it every four hours as prescribed was key in my positive experience. Obviously, talk it over with your doctors, but I am glad I did not wait until pain had set in to take the meds. |
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I want to write about my experience not only to share with all of you, but also because I'm hoping it will provide some closure for me. |
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I am so glad I found this forum knowing I am not alone! I am 36, my first pregnancy. At 9 weeks, my OB discovered a blighted ovum which had not grown past 5 weeks. She sent me home with 4 tablets of Misoprostol and Vicodin for pain. I took the day of and the day after off from work. |
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I'm really glad I found this forum before taking the Misoprostol. I'd like to share my experience. |
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I found out that my baby's heart beat had stopped at 6 wks, so the doctor gave me the options: natural, cytotec, or d&c. I wanted to try it naturally first, and the baby did pass out of me, but the gestation sack didn't. So, the doctor gave me 3 Cytotec pills vaginally. Biggest mistake of my life!! They went in at 7pm on Friday night, and I had mild cramping, but nothing that was too uncomfortable. Then, the cramping grew much more severe by midnight, but still no bleeding. At 4am on Saturday, I was gushing blood and huge clots. After 3 hours of doing this (and getting sick in the meantime) I finally passed out due to massive blood loss. My husband immediately called 911 and I was rushed to the emergency room. After a pelvic exam and ultrasound, they found my gestation sack still fully in tact, and a different hole (that wasn't supposed to be there) had opened up and that's where I was bleeding/gushing from. So, I had to immediately go in for a D&C and a bit of patch work for the hole. |
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Sue. I too went through pretty much the same thing. I went to a normal ultrasound appt to get exact due date at 10 weeks pregnant(3/34) to find out that the baby had no heartrate and was only measuring 8 weeks. I opted to let things happen naturally, and after almost 2 weeks of nothing they scheduled another appt. to check on me and see where things were at(Friday:4/3). The dr did another ultrasound and said that it looked like the remains of the baby were starting to dissolve, and i could have the dnc or take the tablets. I opted for the misoprostol since it still seemed more "natural" to me than surgery. He prescribed me 4-200mcg tablets, and some pain meds, and I was instructed to insert them vaginally which I did that night. The next morning I noticed when I went to the bathroom that one of the tablets had fallen into the toilet, but was still starting to spot, so didn't think anything of it. By Sunday morning(4/5) the full miscarriage still hadnt happened and spotting had stopped. I called the dr on call, and was told that since one of the tablets fell out that I didn't get the proper doseage, and that is why nothing was happening, and they prescribed another dose which I did that night. Monday morning(4/6) I started getting cramps, and they persisted on getting stronger rather quickly. All of a sudden it felt like it did with a normal period when you are going to pass a clot. I stood up to go to the bathroom, and all of a sudden there was blood everywhere. I sat on the toilet for over an hour just bleeding and was starting to get scared. The bleeding seemed to slow a bit, but my husband was still freaking out, and insisted that I go to the ER to be checked out which I did at 1. They checked me out and said that from what they could feel and see that everything just happened to come out at once, and that I would be fine. IF i ever had to go through this again(God, PLEASE NOT AGAIN) I would opt for the tablets as opposed to a DNC. Hope this helps you, and sorry for your loss. |
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At my ultrasound at 9.5 weeks, the technicians and doctors determined the fetus had no heartbeat and had stopped growing weeks before. I already knew something was wrong- i felt less pregnant, and had been experiencing spotting for the last week, and again, i just felt something wasn't right. While my husband and I were devastated by the loss, at least the ultrasound provided us with some clarity and something known. |
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I guess I can comment on both Cytotec and D&C, having started with one and ended with the other. How I wish I'd have had access to this forum before making my decision. |
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First off I would like to say I am so sorry for everyone's loss. This is not an easy thing to go through. |
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I joined Pregnancy-info.net just so I could post on this board! I read every post on here with a fine-toothed comb, but I didn't find it until I had already inserted the mesoprostol vaginally. |
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