I spent the days before my m/c reading forums to compare what was happening to me and it really helped me alot, so I thought I would post my happenings to help others understand what is happening to their body.

Day 1, started spotting brown old blood but have been getting period like cramps for days before.
I went to the hospital and did all the necessary tests . At this stage I was 5 1/2 weeks pregnant on the ultrasound(vaginal). As far as I know I was 7 weeks from my first day of last menstrual period. They only saw a sac, and said it just could be too early in the pregnancy to see anything.
They confirmed my cervix was still closed and sent me home stating it could be a threatened miscarriage.

Many years ago I had a threatened m/c with the brown spotting but it stopped at that and went through to a full term pregnancy. So I was pretty ok at this stage...

Late in the night I went to the toilet and wiped bright red blood and thought it could be from the internal exams they did. I ended up bleeding all of Day 2 and went to bed that evening quite concerned.
About midnight I awoke with contraction pains. For those who havent been through labour, it feels like a belt being tightened around your lower waist really tight and you tummy is really tight..
This happened every 10 - 15 minutes. The pain was about a 7 out of 10. At times I clenched my jaw and was excrutiating.. My poor hubby didnt know what to do...

Day three. Went to the hospital first thing in the morning and the same doctor was on shift at ER, so I was so releived to see him.
I explained that I got contraction pains all night, no sleep and bright red blood consistent with a period.
He then took some blood and did a internal ..

(I must add at this stage, i didnt have the pregnancy feeling in my gut.. my boobs were not sensitive anymore. I just tried to tell myself it was my mind.. )

Cervix was open ... I heard him and the student nurse conversing..
I knew then that this was not good.

They came back and saw me after a good 20 mins which was like 2 hours..

They explained, the cervix is open and that i am in the first stage of miscarriage.

I asked if there is any hope after the cervix is open and they said no.

I expect to get bleeding and contractions for next week which is the uterus cleaning out.

Last night i awoke with my maternity pad maxed out, sheets a mess.. and when i stood up i had a huge clot the size of my palm come out .. lovely!
Now my pains has reduced to mild period pain and the bleeding is settling a bit more..

I hope this helps some people understand the M/c process..

I'm sorry for your loss. Hope you recover physically soon.

Thinking of you chooky1975. I had a D&C last week so my miscarriage experience was different, so it is helpful to know what your experience was like. I really hope that you recover soon - it was brave of you to share at such a difficult time.

Hi,

Thanks so much for sharing your experience, and I'm sorry for your loss. I just went through a miscarriage at nearly 12 weeks and it was a nightmare. My pregnancy was found not to be viable on Friday, but the local public hospital couldn't fit me in for a D&C until Monday. I spent the weekend in and out of emergency trying to manage the pain and risk as best as possible while holding out until Monday. After the procedure, I demanded to stay in hospital for the night just to recover from all of the drugs and the days of agony.

I feel quite traumatised by the physical experience, but eager to move on to start working through the emotional side of the loss. I think that the physical side of miscarriage can be extremely painful and perhaps not managed or communicated as best as it could be. My hospital, a large regional health service, certainly treated it conservatively. However, you go through a similar process of giving birth, except you have nothing at the end of the experience. Through the pain and the blood loss, it can be terrifying at times if you don't know what to expect.

Blueberry