I went through with taking the Misoprostol for my missed miscarriage yesterday. Since I was having a hard time finding accounts on what to expect by women in a similar situation, I thought I'd post my experience with the drug here.
I got the diagnosis on Wednesday (it's now Friday) that my embryo stopped growing at around 6w5d, shortly after my first ultrasound where we heard a heartbeat and thought we were in good shape after a previous ectopic. The baby should have been at around 9w3d. My doctor gave me four 200MCG tablets of Misoprostol and told me to put two in each cheek and to allow them to dissolve there over the next 30 minutes. On the internet, I could find hardly anything about this method, - it appears that most women are told to use the drug vaginally. One site online discussed time as the biggest difference. It seems that putting them in your cheeks speeds up the process because it gets absorbed faster, but I am no doctor. The doctor also gave me a prescription for a painkiller, in my case Hydrocodone. I am just saying this ahead of time: You will need painkillers, even if you usually don't take them. Make sure to have some on hand. They then sent me home to go through this. It appears that in the US this is standard procedure. I have read that in other countries they keep you under supervision at the clinic.
Timeline:
11.20am: Took Misoprostol after talking to my dear M. I had to make sure this is the right decision one more time. Cold chills - apparently a common side effect - set in after about 20 minutes.
11.45am: Tablets mostly dissolved, with a strange dry sensation left in my throat.
11.50am: Took one tablet of Hydrocodone just to be safe and since I was already feeling a slight tinge on my left side. I read it would be better to start pain management early. I then took a hot shower to help the process along and because I at least wanted to feel and look good when going through such an undignified process, dammit. After the shower I felt the first slight cramps like menstrual cramps, and took another one of the painkillers.
12.45pm: Definitely real cramps now; getting the heating pad ready; waiting.
1-5pm: I was experiencing extremely severe cramps, and was loosing massive blood clots (they looked like chunks of liver, some of them the size of my fist.) None of the passing itself was particularly painful, just a strange sensation. I also experienced nausea and vomiting, but strangely also hunger/appetite. Every time I got up I had to go to bathroom and passed huge chunks of tissue. I went through a pad every 30 minutes, and they were immediately soaked.
3pm: Took another one of the painkillers because the pain was still very severe.
5pm: Pain all of a sudden subsided, and I was now having very mild cramps that lessened in frequency.
6pm: Got up to go the the bathroom and passed what I believe was the sack/embryo. A lump of tissue about size of my palm (about 150g), grayish in color with dark spots discernible. I almost immediately felt like this was it.
6.30pm: Had almost no pain anymore except for mild cramps, but was extremely fatigued, presumably from all the blood loss and psychological strain of the experience.
It's now the morning after, I have very light bleeding and no pain. If this was it, I will count my blessings. Going for a follow up next week to make sure it's all done.
Notes:
- I felt the effect of the drug almost immediately after taking it. This seems to be somewhat out of the norm of what I read online where women report waiting for hours, some even days and the process being much more drawn out. Reasons that I believe played a role: a) my body was ready and I would have miscarried naturally very soon anyway and/or b) delivery mechanism. Note also that it seems that for some women this drug doesn't work at all and they end up having to have a D&C.
- I vomited, but was hungry through the whole ordeal. Very strange.
- Make sure you have everything you need in place before taking the medication. Online it says you have 2-8 hours, but it set in right away for me. Make sure you have a comfortable and quiet environment.
- Regarding the pain: It was very painful, but manageable with the pain killers. On the pain scale, it came close, but didn't match the pain I experienced with my ectopic pregnancy which was treated with Methotrexate.
Ping me if you have further questions.
Update: Found another good thread online here.
I got the diagnosis on Wednesday (it's now Friday) that my embryo stopped growing at around 6w5d, shortly after my first ultrasound where we heard a heartbeat and thought we were in good shape after a previous ectopic. The baby should have been at around 9w3d. My doctor gave me four 200MCG tablets of Misoprostol and told me to put two in each cheek and to allow them to dissolve there over the next 30 minutes. On the internet, I could find hardly anything about this method, - it appears that most women are told to use the drug vaginally. One site online discussed time as the biggest difference. It seems that putting them in your cheeks speeds up the process because it gets absorbed faster, but I am no doctor. The doctor also gave me a prescription for a painkiller, in my case Hydrocodone. I am just saying this ahead of time: You will need painkillers, even if you usually don't take them. Make sure to have some on hand. They then sent me home to go through this. It appears that in the US this is standard procedure. I have read that in other countries they keep you under supervision at the clinic.
Timeline:
11.20am: Took Misoprostol after talking to my dear M. I had to make sure this is the right decision one more time. Cold chills - apparently a common side effect - set in after about 20 minutes.
11.45am: Tablets mostly dissolved, with a strange dry sensation left in my throat.
11.50am: Took one tablet of Hydrocodone just to be safe and since I was already feeling a slight tinge on my left side. I read it would be better to start pain management early. I then took a hot shower to help the process along and because I at least wanted to feel and look good when going through such an undignified process, dammit. After the shower I felt the first slight cramps like menstrual cramps, and took another one of the painkillers.
12.45pm: Definitely real cramps now; getting the heating pad ready; waiting.
1-5pm: I was experiencing extremely severe cramps, and was loosing massive blood clots (they looked like chunks of liver, some of them the size of my fist.) None of the passing itself was particularly painful, just a strange sensation. I also experienced nausea and vomiting, but strangely also hunger/appetite. Every time I got up I had to go to bathroom and passed huge chunks of tissue. I went through a pad every 30 minutes, and they were immediately soaked.
3pm: Took another one of the painkillers because the pain was still very severe.
5pm: Pain all of a sudden subsided, and I was now having very mild cramps that lessened in frequency.
6pm: Got up to go the the bathroom and passed what I believe was the sack/embryo. A lump of tissue about size of my palm (about 150g), grayish in color with dark spots discernible. I almost immediately felt like this was it.
6.30pm: Had almost no pain anymore except for mild cramps, but was extremely fatigued, presumably from all the blood loss and psychological strain of the experience.
It's now the morning after, I have very light bleeding and no pain. If this was it, I will count my blessings. Going for a follow up next week to make sure it's all done.
Notes:
- I felt the effect of the drug almost immediately after taking it. This seems to be somewhat out of the norm of what I read online where women report waiting for hours, some even days and the process being much more drawn out. Reasons that I believe played a role: a) my body was ready and I would have miscarried naturally very soon anyway and/or b) delivery mechanism. Note also that it seems that for some women this drug doesn't work at all and they end up having to have a D&C.
- I vomited, but was hungry through the whole ordeal. Very strange.
- Make sure you have everything you need in place before taking the medication. Online it says you have 2-8 hours, but it set in right away for me. Make sure you have a comfortable and quiet environment.
- Regarding the pain: It was very painful, but manageable with the pain killers. On the pain scale, it came close, but didn't match the pain I experienced with my ectopic pregnancy which was treated with Methotrexate.
Ping me if you have further questions.
Update: Found another good thread online here.
