I'm worried - please reassure or advice me what to do

[Frog99]

I found out I was pregnant last week (approx 7 weeks)
On Thurs night I had some brown discharge - light brown in colour and a creamy consistency (Cried my eyes out at the time then came on the internet and saw that quite a few people experience this so didn't worry too much)
I mentioned it to my doc on friday and he said it doesn't sound like anything to worry about - discharge continued until this morning. Just went to the loo and now it's darker (although still brown) and heavier. Almost like a period but defineitly not my usual colour - not red at all, just dark brown.

I don't have a midwife yet and my doctors closed at noon. So do I ring NHS direct and explain to them? Or wait until tomorrow to ring the doctors? Or calm down?

I've not got crams or anything...

 

[HannahD]

I'm sure it's nothing to worry about hun Why don't you wait until your surgery is open after lunch and make an appointment to see them today. Let them know you're pregnant and you need an emergency appointment ~ don't take no for an answer! As you've seen on here a lot of people get a similar type of bleeding, but to put your mind at rest i'd go along.

 

[Frog99]

The surgery doesn't open in the afternoons...so I can't get an appointment today.

 

[*sara*]

Do you have an early pregnancy unit at your hospital? if you do give them a call as they will probably get you to go up and be seen

 

[Sweetpea134]

i would either call nhs direct or the EPU at my local hopsitial

 

[Kittykins]

I've been having bleeding for over two weeks now, and two scans have shown the baby's fine so far (there's a small clot in the uterus which is leaking blood...).

You could go to A&E, but tbh, if you're not having cramps, and it's not red bleeding, you will probably not be a high priority (you'd be fairly high, but what I'm saying is you could easily be waiting till 7pm to be seen, depending on your hospital...). The only thing that anyone can do is to refer you for a scan at your EPU, if your hospital has one. EPUs usually don't see you without a referral from either A&E or your doc (I know this from the last m/c and this pg, which was a threatened m/c requiring A&E visit). So what I'm saying is that you almost certainly wouldn't get a scan at the EPU till tomorrow at the earliest anyway (our EPU closes at 1 - even if it was 5pm, by the time you'd been seen at A&E you wouldn't get a same day referral).

Personally I'd rather stay at home with my feet up than sit in A&E stressing for hours.

Your surgery should have an emergency out-of-hours phone number (and if not, your Primary Care Trust will have one). I would ring that, explain the situation and see what they advise. They will probably tell you to turn up first thing tomorrow morning at surgery. Otherwise, just ring/turn up first thing and explain to the receptionist - they will almost certainly squeeze you in early as an emergency. The doctor may well do an internal exam, to see whether the cervix is open or closed. If open, m/c is sadly inevitable. If closed, you still have a good chance. Many docs wouldn't send you to the EPU if m/c is inevitable, since it's better for you to get yourself home than to have the m/c in a hospital clinic waiting room. If closed, on the other hand, they will probably print you a referral form and send you straight to the hospital. Many EPUs have emergency clinics - ours is 9-1, and it's first come first served. So you can expect to wait some time. I have turned up at 9.30 and not been seen till almost 12. Others may just have one midwife/sonographer, in which case you may get an appt for later that day, or even a couple of days later. (I've been testing out EPUs round the country recently )

I know telling you not to worry is pointless, but there really is absolutely nothing you can do at this point. Put your feet up, phone the emergency number if you can, get yourself to the doc's first thing tomorrow. If the bleeding turns bright red, you soak through a pad or more in under half an hour, or you have cramps, go to A&E (b/c of the risk to your health if you lose too much blood).

And yes, lots of us have had bleeding, and in many cases it's all fine so far. Good luck.

 

[Mama 2 Be]

I'd call NHS Direct just to be on the safe side mate. They are the experts where the rest of us are justing giving you our experiences which vary from person to person, even location is a factor. Least they can put your mind at ease.

 

[Frog99]

Thank for all your advice & support.

I rang the emergency doctors number and spoke to the on call doctor who was extremely helpful. I explained what was happening and he phoned me back 5 mins later with an appointment for a scan at the EPU for Thurs. Until then I'm under instructions to rest and if I start to bleed heavily, get pain or see clots to go straight to A&E.

His prognosis wasn't very positive though...

 

[Mama 2 Be]

Thank for all your advice & support.

I rang the emergency doctors number and spoke to the on call doctor who was extremely helpful. I explained what was happening and he phoned me back 5 mins later with an appointment for a scan at the EPU for Thurs. Until then I'm under instructions to rest and if I start to bleed heavily, get pain or see clots to go straight to A&E.

His prognosis wasn't very positive though...

Remember he is treating you over the phone so he doesn't have a very clear idea of what is going on. Take it easy and relax and you might find it will stop like the other girls said.

Hope all goes well, remember if he thought something was seriously wrong he would have sent you straight to A&E.

 

[Tenshineko]

hope everythings ok

 

[Sweetpea134]

hope all goes well hun

 

[louears]

i really hope everything is ok, i will be keeping everything crossed for you

 

[Kittykins]

excellent, at least you spoke to someone and have an appointment. Gosh, Thursday must seem a long time away , your hospital must have a small EPU.

Well, it's the doctor's duty to warn you - he would be negligent if he said that it was nothing at all to worry about, and his job is to be cautious. What the rest of us can say is that although bleeding is often bad news, it is also often not the beginning of the end. It's thought that 30-40% of successful pregnancies experience some sort of bleeding at some time, so although it is not normal (i.e. >50%), it is certainly common. And as my doctor told me, bleeding in pregnancy is never ideal, but if there's no cramping and no clots, it's often just a nuisance.

Now put your feet up and get someone to look after you.

By the way, when you go on Thursday it is quite likely that they will have to do an internal scan. Drink plenty of water first - they will try to do an abdominal. If they can't see anything, they'll make you go for a wee and do the internal. For me at 7w0, the abdominal showed something but we couldn't make out what exactly. The internal (transvaginal) showed the embryo, yolk sac and heartbeat. It's a good idea to have someone with you - whatever the outcome, you may not feel like driving back yourself, or sitting on a bus on your own. An internal scan may provoke more bleeding, too, so you might want to take a spare sanitary towel.

Which reminds me - did the doctor tell you nto to use tampons? Any bleeding in pregnancy, you should avoid tampons and stick to towels/liners. This is to reduce the risk of infection/irritation (sometimes the bleeding is caused by an irritated cervix, tampons would make it worse), and also because it's easier to see how much blood you're losing.

 

[sarah113]

hope all goes well hun

 

[Frog99]

Thank you so much for a reassurance KittyKins.
I'm finding it hard to cope with at the moment. My partner is trying to be supportive but 'it's probably nothing, try not to worry' isn't really making me feel any better as something is clearly going on. I know he's just trying to calm me down but still...at least the blood is still brown at the moment.
As I'm only 7-8weeks I haven't told any friends or family yet so it's not even like I can talk to anyone about whats going on.

Thanks for the info about tampons - I am using panty liners at the moment because I wasn't sure whether it was safe to use tampons to not. Nice that someone's actually told me though.

I'm also paranoid today because I haven't felt sick - which in one way is a blessing but in another way my minds saying 'thats cos you're not pregnant anymore'.

 

[HannahD]

Wishing you well for tomorrow and all goes well for you sweetie

take good care xxxx

 

[Frog99]

thanks for your support but the scan is Thurs (not tomorrow). I'm quite a bit calmer today - brown bleeding is a lot lighter in flow and I've still had no pain, red blood or clots which is a relief.

Midwife called me today to book first appointment - booked in for next Tues. I mentioned the bleeding and scan and she simply said to cancel the appt on Tues if it's not needed. I didn't think that was helpful or supportive - not sure what I expected her to say but maybe something informative if not compassionate!

 

[HannahD]

Sorry sweetie, i'm a day ahead of myself this week.
That was a bit insensitive of your midwife ....she could've been a little more reassuring.

 

[Frog99]

I thought so too - not a good start as I thought she was quite abrupt, although it might be because since Friday I've left 3 messages for her to call me back with an appt (I'm not at all patient). If I meet her and don't like her, can I ask for a different midwife? I don't wanna be stuck with some grump for the next 7 months.

Feeling quite positive today considering - bleeding has got a lot lighter and feeling sick is back (which I didn't think I'd be happy about but its reassuring).

 

[HannahD]

I don't see why you shouldn't be able to ask for another midwife, there must be more than one that work there. The last thing you need is someone you don't like for 7 months.
I'm glad you're feeling better today and that the bleeding's subsiding. I hope it's a positive sign.
Take good care of yourself