First period after D&C?

[MindUtopia]

For those of you who have had a D&C, how long after did you get your first natural period? My understanding is that obviously with a natural miscarriage the bleeding can go on for quite awhile, but is usually much shorter with surgical management. I'm curious when I might expect my cycles to start up again (I ordinarily have normal 28 day cycles and have always been right on time).

I'm having a missed miscarriage at the moment. Baby stopped developing at 5 weeks and I've been waiting 3 weeks now since my scan for a natural miscarriage. I'm now 11 weeks. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be happening on its own. I travel quite a bit for work, so I've had to take the past few weeks off, since I couldn't really chance being away in case it started. But I've decided now to opt for the D&C, which I'm having in 2 days, so I can get it all over with and have some closure before the holiday weekend, get to enjoy Easter with my daughter and get back to work.

I've been told I should have fairly minimal bleeding after (compared to a natural or managed miscarriage), so I'm wondering when I might expect my first period. I know it can be different for everyone, but I've always been very regular and fairly fertile (pregnant 2nd cycle both times we tried). So while I do need a bit of a break and we don't plan to try until at least my first natural cycle, I also am quite keen to get back to trying in another month or so. I just have no idea what to expect.

 

[KatBar]

Sorry to see about your missed-miscarriage .

I can't offer a lot of information, as I had a D&C just under 2 weeks ago (so have yet to get my next "natural" period). But I did have a natural miscarriage at 5w3d in December, and there was definitely more bleeding etc with that, than with my D&C at 7w3d.

In fact, I was really surprised by the lack of bleeding after the D&C... I probably only had light bleeding for about a day and a half before it turned to brown spotting. The brown spotting did last much longer tho, as that only stopped a few days ago (so just over a week past the procedure).

I'm interested to see when how quickly my cycle will return to normal... I know with my natural miscarriage in December, I ovulated right on time, even though I was told I would probably have a longer cycle. This time, I am certainly expecting it to be dragged out, although I am starting to get ovulation signs, so who knows..

Best of luck to you. I hope the procedure goes smoothly and you're not in too much discomfort!

 

[nessaw]

Hi Mindutopia I'm sorry for your loss. I had a erpc in Feb with twins at 11 weeks measuring 8. The spotting lasted a couple of weeks with a few occasions of brighter red bleeding. I got my period 6 weeks exactly after the procedure and it wasn't particularly heavy and lasted thurs to sun a.m. hope this helps.xx eta I found the process and recovery after a whole world 'easier' than a natural mc-having done that 3 times. However a few days after the hormone drop did kick in which was a surprise.

 

[MindUtopia]

Thanks very much for your replies. I had the procedure done yesterday. Bleeding has been pretty heavy. I keep hearing many say it's often light right after, but definitely been much more like the first day after giving birth than a period, though it's tapering off today. I would love to get my period again in about a month or so, so fingers crossed for then or before. I have no desire to try again before then as I just want some time off from being pregnant and feeling sick before I have to do it all again (I already feel like I've done a whole 1st tri of feeling ill and I feel exhausted just thinking about doing it again right now). But my husband is away for a work for a week in early June, so just hoping we can time it around that as I also don't want to be waiting too long to try again.

 

[karoolia]

Hi MindUtopia, how are you doing? I hope the bleeding decreased after a few days. I'm so sorry about your loss and that you had to wait so long for the miscarriage to happen.

I just had a D&C on Friday and am anxiously awaiting being able to try again. If my cycle gets back on track immediately we may be able to try at the end of May otherwise it will be June.

 

[MindUtopia]

Thanks, I'm doing well, feeling much better this week finally after an emotional few weeks. I would say the bleeding was heavy ish for a week, heavy like in a really heavy, blood going everywhere sort of way for the first day or so, and then like a normal period after that. Then maybe 6 days after (conveniently my first day back at work), I had an afternoon of cramps and gushing heavy bleeding and clots. I literally got stuck in the toilets at the train station trying to come home from work and it was just pouring out, which was pretty scary. I didn't expect that. But then after that, it mostly stopped, with just a tiny bit of spotting for the next week, so I guess that was just the last of it. I would say spotting stopped just shy of 2 weeks after the d&c, which was around Monday or so of this week. Last week I felt really sad and overwhelmed by it all still, but I feel much more balanced and back to normal this week. Not to say totally normal and fine, but I feel like I have some peace with it and am moving on and feeling like myself again. So sorry for your loss as well. How are you feeling today? I am hoping I get my period in a few weeks and then we can try again in May. I'm 36 and this will be our last, so we don't want to wait.

 

[MindUtopia]

That said, I've been feeling funny the past two days and realised today that I am 15 days past the d&c. I kinda feel like I'm ovulating. So I just took an opk and got this, so hoping that's a sign my body is getting back to normal. I know our bodies can be weird for the first month or so after (so I may not even ovulate) and we aren't TTC at the moment because I really do want a few more week's break. But hoping it's a good sign that everything will be back on track next month.

 

[karoolia]

Great to hear that things have been easier lately. I'm sorry your recovery was so difficult.

That bleeding sounds very scary. I wonder if maybe some tissue was retained and your body miscarried the rest naturally? Either way, I'm glad it has ended. Being stuck in the train station toilet sounds like a nightmare. I'm so sorry you had to experience that.

I keep holding my breath waiting for bleeding to get bad. I had period-like bleeding on Friday after the D&C, but then it turned to spotting for a few days and I have had nothing since Tuesday. I feel completely normal physically. My only concern is that there could still be tissue inside. I'll find out at my follow-up on Monday. I'm really hoping my body gets itself back on track quickly.

Oh, congrats on (I think!) ovulating! That's a great sign. Here's hoping your body gets back into its cycle without any trouble!

 

[MindUtopia]

Thanks, I do think the heavy bleeding a week or so after isn't necessarily normal, but also not abnormal either. When I researched d&c it seems many people had only light bleeding after, which is why I thought my initial heavy bleeding was so unusual. But actually when I went looking for more information after I had that heavy bleed 6 days after, it seems that's also quite normal. It seems like the one last clear out of any lining and clots and after that it often stops. I would have been worried had it carried on or I felt unwell (continued cramps, fever, flu like symptoms), but it was literally 2-3 hours of it and then it was over. I have one daughter already and after I had her I had a lot of clots come out (really big one, like the size of an apple, maybe 2 or 3 of those) and it was sort of like that, but smaller. I assume that must just be whatever was still in there. It did make me realise though that I'm glad, in retrospect, even though it wasn't what I wanted, that I had the d&c, because at least I didn't have to go through an actual miscarriage stuck somewhere like that. Here's to hoping our bodies get back on track soon, though I am worried now that maybe the opk is positive because there is still hcg in my system. Who knows? I have started to get EWCM today and I'm having some ovulation pain to one side tonight. Maybe I'll try taking another tomorrow. If I am ovulating, I should go to negative pretty quickly.