Some advice please

[Mrs A]

Hiya,

I just wondered if anyone can tell me if this sounds right and/or give me a little help. Going by my dates I miscarried at approximately 7 weeks. I thought I had my period as my temps dropped, I took my next dose of clomid and a week later I started bleeding again (no clots just a brown discharge and bright red blood). My consultant told me to take a pregnancy test, which came back positive. I was referred to epau and after a terrible week of hcg level checks and waiting, my results came back "static" so they queried an ectopic pregnancy. Nothing was found on the internal scan, when I should have been at 7 weeks. Last Friday I had my bloods drawn again (1 week later) and they had nearly halved coming down to 63. I was advised by epau to take a pregnancy test in a week and was discharged. Due to a family death I've only just got around to testing. I've done a cheapie which was positive and then a cbd, which is still saying "pregnant 1-2 weeks". Does hcg have to be over 50 for a digi to pick it up? I'm worried now that I'll have to go back for the methotrexate, which I really wanted to avoid. Does anyone know how long it should take for a pregnancy test to be negative? I really can't get my head around what has happened as I really didn't think I was pregnant due to my usual period so maybe I had a mmc. Since the week of bleeding a week after my 'period' I have only had brown spotting so perhaps my body can't even miscarry. It's all so sad and seeing positive pregnancy tests is a sore reminder of what should have been. Thanks in advance.

[looey82]

Hi Mrs A,
I'm so sorry to read your post, I know how hard it all is. It's made worse when you're left wondering what's going on. I had a MMC back in 2009 which happened between 8+2 and 9+2 weeks as baby still had heartbeat at 8+2 but not at 9+2. I had to have a tablet to induce the miscarriage as there was no sign it was going anywhere and then passed the pregnancy at 10+2. I was told like you to take a pg test after a week and it was still positive so needed a scan. They couldn't see anything but kept repeating my blood tests til the HCG was back to zero, which took over 6 weeks. Way longer than they expected and seemed normal but eventually it did and I didn't need any other intervention.
If you hadn't had the internal scan which saw nothing then I'd worry you hadn't passed everything. Perhaps the pregnancy didn't really progress very far so even though you should have been 7ish weeks, and so there wasn't much to pass. I'm so sorry to talk about it in such terms. I know it must be very upsetting. Are you in any pain or had any funny discharge? They are the warning signs that you may still have something left inside. What date did you think you'd had your period and when did you get your first positive test? If you were temping can you pinpoint when you would have conceived? It would build a clear picture.
I completely understand what you mean about the tests. It seems like a slap round the face to get positives- which you desperately want- but really now need to see negatives. If in doubt, always ring the EPU. In my experience you can get fobbed off at times but understandably you are a bit confused and concerned.
Take care of yourself and so sorry again. Xx

[Mrs A]

Thank you for your reply looey and sorry you've been through it too.

It seems there is no right or wrong way to miscarry and it varies so much from person to person. I just thought there would be more clots but then i had them when i thought i was on my period. I did wonder if I'd had a mmc. I called epu with my result this morning and they said to repeat again in one week as it usually takes longer for all the hcg to return to zero. I've been having a light brown discharge on and off since the MC. After doing a big food shop today (this has happened every time for the last three weeks when I've done the food shop) I've had a bleed.. I said to hubs that it's probably me lifting heavy things and fighting with the trolley?! I'm struggling to pin point anything on my chart looey... If you take a look at it it's crazy! At 14dpo I had a negative pg test, my temp dropped and AF arrived (so I thought) and I was back on the clomid. I have since changed my 'period' to spotting on my ff chart so you can see. I have an appointment with out fertility consultant Tuesday so we can come up with a plan for when this part is all over. Hubs and I had a long chat today and we both want a break but were told on epu by the consultant that we should carry on straight away as fertility is higher? We said we'd see what Mr M says Tuesday and make a decision from there. Thank you for your reply, it's much appreciated... All the best with your ttc journey. xx

[looey82]

Hi,
Yes I've had a look and you're chart is very confusing. I'm not surprised you thought it was AF. A few more questions!
What test did you take that came back negative? Ie was it a cheapie or more reliable? Did you use first morning urine?
Did you only Be on the days marked? I think it looks more like you may have over on cd17 and therefore the test would have been negative as too early to show. The bleeding then may have been implantation bleeding. Would you say that was as heavy as a normal period for you? Did you wait until you had full flow before counting it as day 1. It's still a bit baffling why your temps dipped.
Also when was your scan and blood tests done. Was the last bloods on 29th Feb? Sorry to ask so many questions!
If your hcg is decreasing it can cause some odd bleeding but I'm glad they will retest as I can understand why you are worried.
In terms of trying again, there is some research that the best time is within 6 months of mc. However I think it's far more important to go by how you feel. TTC takes enough out of you without feeling pressure by some time scale. I imagine there wouldn't be a huge amount of difference anyway and how you both feel should lead your decisions. If you need a but of space then do it. After my 2nd mc we decided to try straight away as I was desperate and it took 2 years so as always there's no set rules.
Xx

[Mrs A]

Hi looey, sorry I've been working long shifts at work and have a day off now!

I got a bfn on the pregnancy tests the nhs use and yes it was fmu. Yes we on dtd on the days marked (we both work shifts so put in our all over the days I ov and then rest lol)! My "period" was like my usual clomid period (slightly lighter than a non clomid period - probably because they are more regular but there were clots, which is usual for me). I wondered if that was perhaps my implantation bleed also (after I got a bfp). Yes, I always wait for a full flow before counting it as cd1. I got my first bfp on 14th march (very faint but definitely there). Hcg was 107 on 16th march. I had a transvaginal scan on 17th march but they couldn't see anything. Hcg on 18th march was 114, hcg on 20th march was 109 (with the static numbers that is why they queried an ectopic). I had period pains on Sunday and actually passed a lot of tissue and clots on Sunday, so I think that may have been it. Just bleeding a little now. We have a FU appointment tomorrow so we'll see what they say. It's just so frustrating not knowing how far we were meant to be. I think I was around 7 weeks but had a mmc at 4/5 weeks. That's what I'm thinking anyway with the scan and hcg results. Thank you so much for your time and I see you got your bfp... Sending you lots of hope that everything will be fine for you all, I can't even imagine how worried you must be but try and stay as relaxed as possible. xx