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Hi Sue,
I, too, am sorry for your loss and do understand how difficult it can be. The reason I am posting this is so hopefully other people that are reading this are able to find some comfort because of the good experience I had with Cytotec or Misoprostal. I was 10 1/2 weeks and I found our on April 18th that I was undergoing a missed miscarriage. I had been spotting only a tiny, tiny bit all day, but I called the doctor anyway to make sure everything was okay. She thought it was fine, but to be on the safe side, she had me come in for an ultrasound. I had been having a really bad feeling all week, and I was pretty sure I knew what the outcome of the ultrasound would be. Sure enough, when the uterus came up on the screen I could see my baby, but not see a heartbeat. The baby only measured 8 weeks and 1 day. I was devastated, and what made it even harder was to see my husband, who I've known for almost 6 years, crying harder than I've ever seen (he never cries). It took a few days to begin healing emotionally, but the worst part of it for me was walking around, knowing that I still had my baby inside of me and that there was nothing I could do for it. The morning after we found out I called my doctor and asked for a prescription of Cytotec to help me pass everything and move on with my life. She gladly wrote the prescription and also one for the pain. I took 3 pills of Cytotec orally at 10:45 a.m. Unfortunately, these pills made me sick to my stomach 45 minutes later and I threw up while we were on a walk. I called the doctor to ask if they would have had enough time to absorb and she though they would have. She told me it could take a lot longer for the cramps and bleeding to start, though so I should give it a couple days. I did, and nothing happened. Finally on April 21st. I went into the clinic to talk to my doctor. By this time I had a huge list of questions (I'm sure everyone who is going through this knows about questions). She was very nice and answered all of them. She wrote me another prescription for Cytotec. This time 4 pills supposed to be taken vaginally at bedtime. I waited until the evening of April 22nd to take these pills. My husband didn't have to work the following day and I didn't want to go through this alone. So at 7:30 p.m. I inserted the pills and the wait began (you kind of need to lay, or at least recline to help keep this pills in). I began to feel very light cramping about an hour later at 8:30 and by 9:40 the cramping was getting pretty bad. At 10:15 I decided to take one of my pain pills because the cramps had turned into actual contractions, intense and about 4 minutes apart. Finally, by 10:45 the medicine had kicked in, I could no longer feel the cramps, and I fell asleep. I woke up at 12:30 and went to the bathroom to check for bleeding. The smallest spot of blood showed up on the toilet paper, but I was happy because it was a start. I laid back down in bed, but couldn't fall asleep (I think I was on an adrenaline rush). At 1:00 I decided to get out of bed, go the the livingroom and watch a movie (Cinderella- I just felt like it. I don't even have any other kids!). I took my electric heating pad with me because I was starting to feel some light cramps again. I crouched by an outlet to plug it in when all of a sudden my water broke. I felt a huge gush and ran to the bathroom to see what happened. My pad was soaked with watery blood and it was gushing out of me. This sounds traumatic, but if you're like me, you'll just be so glad the medicine is working. At this point a I had a little diarrhea but not much and luckily this was the only time I had any. I changed pads, cleaned up, and when back out to watch my movie. At 2:15 I took another pain pill (I could take 1 every 4 hours). This pain killer worked great. Ask your doctor for it. It is either known as Percocet or Endocet. It is a mixture of acetaminophen and oxycodone. I changed my pad once or twice and finally went back to bed at 4:00. I had decided to try to catch some of the clots or tissue because I didn't feel right about flushing it. I kept a plastic container next to the toilet and just put anything kind of solid into it. I'm sure that sounds really gross, but many of you will understand. I slept from 4:00 until about 9:00 and the bleeding stayed pretty heavy. I got up at 9:00 and I was feeling really good. I decided to take a shower. While I was standing in the shower I started to pass a large clot. I added it to my container, and I could feel that there was something else that was trying to come out, but wouldn't. It was partially out and kind of tried to pull on it, but I couldn't pull it out. So I gave up for the time being. Then I began to feel very light headed and I felt like I would pass out. I sat down, called for my husband, and opened the shower door to get more oxygen instead of steam. I sat for a few minutes before I felt better. I got out of the shower and got ready for the day. I still was not experiencing any pain, and the last time I'd taken the medicine was at 2:15 a.m.! I wanted to try to stay busy during the day as movement helps to promote blood flow and make things pass quicker. However my bleeding was really slowing down as noon approached and afternoon was coming underway. I was at my parents house when I decided to use the bathroom and feel if anything was stuck. Sure enough I felt the same piece of tissue I'd felt in the shower and it was blocking the whole area. I decided to try to push it out as you would in labor. It was difficult but finally it started to move a little further out. I grabbed onto it and pulled while a pushed. Finally it let loose. It was the placenta and I added it to the container. The bleeding really started to pick up again as soon as the area was clear. After an hour or so the bleeding turned into more like period bleeding. Everything had passed and now I just need to wait for the light bleeding and spotting to stop. This is where I'm at now. I spoke to my doctor this morning to ask if the series of HCG tests were really necessary and she said no. She said I could wait a month (could be a couple weeks sooner or a couple weeks later) and see if I get a period. If I do chances are my body is completely back to normal. If I don't she then wants me to come in for an HCG test. It sounded like a good compromise to me. (I'm afraid of the pain from needle procedures and I haven't bought myself a tube of EMLA cream yet) So keep your fingers crossed that I get my period soon and they my next pregnancy goes well! Try not to be afraid of Cytotec. For me it was much less traumatic than having a d&c would have been. And for me it was virtually painless except for the first part of the night before my pain meds kicked in. I recommend taking your first pain pill as soon as you feel any cramping at all. I wish all of you strength and luck and just remember that everything happens for a reason and that God loves you and has a plan for you and your baby!

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