"Retained products" after an EPRC?! and hospital screw ups!! GRRRR!

[misscs]

Been back to the Drs today, 10days since my EPRC - went on weds and asked to come back if no improvements. Have a temperature, high blood pressure and pains still. Been given some antibiotics as they think I have an infection and are chasing up to see if I had a scan after EPRC as Drs think possible "retained products" (hate that term!) still!! Has anyone else had this happen?? I was told by the hospital it was really really really uncommon and don't want to have to go through it all again!

I'm also EXTREMELY angry! I didnt get to see a Dr after the proceedure but was told Id get a letter in the post and a copy would be sent to my Dr to discuss with me. Ive been twice to the Drs and no letter has arrived there or here! Ive chased the hospital a few times and finally after everytime being told 'its in the post' got the reason why - the Dr at the hospital never did my letter!! So it will be done tomorrow and then sent!! So thats why when I went to the doctors weds they thought I was pregnant still and knew nothing of my mmc and EPRC!! You would think working in that ward everyday they would realise the impact of that happening! Being asked how your pregnancy is doing a week after an EPRC after losing them

xx

 

[tj1980]

That's disgusting the way your hospital have treated you, esp saying the letters in the post when it isn't even written!!!!

I cant give any advice I'm afraid on the EPRC. But I hope others can x

 

[misscs]

Thank-you. I was told to go back monday (tomorrow) if no improvements...the bleeding has stopped but i still feel lousy and my stomach hurts so dont know whether to give it a few more days or not and see what happens

I think I will make a complaint to the hosp once Im feeling more 'normal' again - all these mess ups and also on the day the communication was so poor and the hospital was filthy. My room looked like it hadnt been cleaned for months - thick dust on the floor, hair and stained bed sheets! Not ideal!!

x

 

[Sherri81]

I'm curious to know what happened.

I'm kind of, but not really, in a similar situation.

I delivered a baby girl at 23.5 weeks almost 6 weeks ago. She was born alive and died in my arms. The labour had been brought on by a bacterial infection in my trans vaginal stitches. It made my uterus irritable, and started contractions, which dilated my cervix, which allowed the infection to ascend to the bottom of the gestational sac, which burst when the infection touched it, which then infected the entire amniotic sac as well as the placenta and my daughter...

My antibiotics were discontinued 4 hours after delivery. I asked about residual infections and was told everything would have come out with the afterbirth. I went to a Dr 48 hours later, feeling like crap. Was told it was normal post partum pain. Went to another Dr 6 days after I delivered, still feeling like crap. Asked about infections, was told it was unlikely, and was sent away. Saw my OB (who'd been on vacation the entire time), on August 19, so 12 days after delivery. She didn't want to look yet because it hadn't been 6 weeks. I went back a couple of days later, still feeling like crap (tender abdomen, painful cramps, bachache, chills, odd bleeding), and she looked, and yep, uterine infection.

I did IV antibiotics for 4 days. In that time, I never started to feel better. I actually got worse, to the point where I couldn't sit cuz everything was getting squished up, couldn't wear regular clothes as the pressure on my stomach was unbearable... I saw a Dr 24 hours after starting antibiotics. Was sent home and told I needed to give them more time to work. Saw a Dr 48 hours after starting. Sent home told I needed to give the meds more time to work. Went to an ER that night. Kept for observation but told I really just needed to give the antibiotics time to work. Finished antibiotics on a Saturday, had an ultrasound to see about retained tissue on the Monday. Nothing was found. Saw my OB on Tuesday. She booked me for an emergency D&C for the next day and gave me more IV antibiotics so I didn't get septic overnight.

Had the D&C Sept 1st. She found 2 plum sized blood clots blocking my cervix as well as alot of infected mucous. She cleaned me out. I went pee after surgery and another lime sized clot came out.

My infection has cleared up since then, although I still don't feel 100%. I am still bleeding, and have been almost every day since the surgery. Pathology has come back on the stuff she removed, and she did find retained deciduous tissue (the tissue that connected the placenta to the uterus), and it had become necrotic.

I have now been identified as having a dysfunctional uterus, which is why I am still bleeding. Apparently my hormones are so confused because I was pregnant, delivered without being ready to and without building up the labour and delivery hormones, then I had a significant drop in hormones, but that deciduous tissue kept secreting a small amount of pregnancy hormones, so that has confused my body. And now I have to take Estrogen pills to try to stabalize my hormone levels.

So there you are. There was retained products even though they didn't show up on the ultrasound. They had collected behind the cervix and weren't visible as they weren't 'floating.'

It isn't rare to retain products. I have lost 6 babies now, all at various gestations. With 2 prior ones (an 11 week and a 13.5 week), I had MMC, and needed the D&C. With the 11 weeker, I was hemmoraging and they thought everything had come out, but I wouldn't stop bleeding. Ultrasound showed a small amount of retained tissue... Yeah, try everything was retained! With the 13.5 weeker, I had a D&E before bleeding started. Five days later ended up back in the ER hemmoraging. Ultrasound showed a small amount of retained amniotic fluid... Yeah, try everything was retained because the surgeon messed up!!

You don't always need to be bleeding excessively though to have retained products. Thats why no one investigated me sooner after delivering Devon. I wasn't bleeding excessively and I didn't have a nasty odor coming from down there... Obviously I did retain stuff though. Bleeding and odour aren't the only indicators. Make sure they listen to you.

 

[misscs]

Sorry to hear your story..

i went bk to the Dr on Weds and got some stronger different antibiotics - but no help, and have been back to the Dr again today (4th time since op) and am now booked for a scan on tuesday so will see then but they imagine retained products still. Didnt see the Dr I have been seeing - which initally i was annoyed as he knows my story, but turned out to be for the best! The Dr I saw used to work on the EPRC ward and in Gynae and was very helpful etc etc...just hope i get some answers and start to feel better. She thinks its pretty certain im retaining things.

Thankyou for listening and ur story xx

 

[tj1980]

If you still have retianed products what will they do then? Another one?

 

[misscs]

It will be a D&C if retaining still so til then jst have to wait til tues....or admit myself to hospital if i feel worse in that time xx

 

[Pippin]

Sorry you're going through this. I had one yesterday so I won't know yet but they told me to do a pregnancy test 10 days after, as that will show positive if you have retain products? Have you done one? I'm also not bleeding that much at all. A bit yesterday and just some discharge today. Hope that helps a bit.

 

[misscs]

Thanku, no i havent been told to do a pregnancy test...dont know whether to or jst wait for my scan tuesday now? I had my EPRC nearly 3 weeks ago now so dont know if its to long for the 10day thing?? or whether its minimum 10days?? All so confusing!! Hope ur ok after urs xx

 

[Pippin]

I'd do one hon. My hospital told me three times to do one. Then at least you can tell the sonographer on tuesday if it's positive. It'll give them heads up what to look for. My hospital said if it was positive then to phone back asap. I've ordered loads off ebay so I can check a couple of times.

 

[tj1980]

It will be a D&C if retaining still so til then jst have to wait til tues....or admit myself to hospital if i feel worse in that time xx

Ahh this all sucks doesn't it. I have my scan on Monday after a 4 weeks of going through this and a week after a medical management. Think I may ask for a D&C if there is still some tissue that hasnt passed.

 

[Pippin]

It will be a D&C if retaining still so til then jst have to wait til tues....or admit myself to hospital if i feel worse in that time xx

Ahh this all sucks doesn't it. I have my scan on Monday after a 4 weeks of going through this and a week after a medical management. Think I may ask for a D&C if there is still some tissue that hasnt passed.

My hospital said if I chose to go naturally then they would scan me every two weeks until it was all gone if it wasn't shifting by itself they do the erpc. Maybe yours will say the same??? Good luck both of you for your scans.

 

[misscs]

It will be a D&C if retaining still so til then jst have to wait til tues....or admit myself to hospital if i feel worse in that time xx

Ahh this all sucks doesn't it. I have my scan on Monday after a 4 weeks of going through this and a week after a medical management. Think I may ask for a D&C if there is still some tissue that hasnt passed.

My hospital said if I chose to go naturally then they would scan me every two weeks until it was all gone if it wasn't shifting by itself they do the erpc. Maybe yours will say the same??? Good luck both of you for your scans.

Thankyou both for your advice.

Good luck for your scan tomorrow tj1980. Its so annoying how it all just drags on and on I had the tablets before my ERPC as Id had no bleeding or signs of miscarriage at all but they didn't help...thats why I suspect deep down the ERPC didnt work completly as I don't think it all would have been 'loose' or easy to suck out during the EPRC. I think my body still thinks its pregnant as Im still feeling so nausea and hardly eating recently but craving weird things etc etc

Good luck Pippin. I may try doing one just to see. Its so frustrating to go through tablets, ERPC and now possibility of D&C. I dont know why my body is clinging to my angel baby so much, it seems nothing is working as it should to help all this be over so I can start to grieve properly but i know my angel baby has already gone from the ERPC and all that is left is the tissues etc but my body believes its still there

x