On Monday, I was cleared to exercise and have sex. So what did we do? Have sex, of course. It had been almost 2 months, after all. After a few minutes, there was blood on the sheets. Cue freak out.
The bleeding was worse the next morning, so I called the office. They told me that as long as it slowed down by the end of the day, I didn't need to come in. It did, so I didn't. But this morning, I was bleeding a lot again.
Now, I have learned in school that bleeding after a pregnancy has ended (whether it's from delivery, abortion, or miscarriage) can mean 2 things: retained tissue or infection. So naturally, I tried to figure out which one I had, but my symptoms didn't really match up well with either one.
Fortunately, miraculously, everything looks ok. Blood tests are good, hCG is down to 237 from 1120 a week ago. She couldn't see anything in my uterus, and my endometrium was thin (4mm). No signs of infection.
Wait....what? So you're telling me I don't have either of those 2 differential diagnoses? That's not possible. Every time we go through cases in a seminar, it's always one of those 2 things. How could it be nothing?
And then it hit me. In med school seminars, the patient is always sick. There's always a diagnosis, otherwise, what's the point? IN REAL LIFE, some people are fine. Not everyone is sick. Some patients are actually completely fine and there's nothing wrong with them.
They think the bleeding must've been caused by the "trauma" of sex, but they do think it was strange that I am still bleeding so much. They couldn't find any other explanation though, and couldn't find any evidence whatsoever that there is a problem, so that's great news. I just have to hang tight until my next hCG draw next Wednesday.
So the moral of the story is - there is not always something wrong with the patient!
The bleeding was worse the next morning, so I called the office. They told me that as long as it slowed down by the end of the day, I didn't need to come in. It did, so I didn't. But this morning, I was bleeding a lot again.
Now, I have learned in school that bleeding after a pregnancy has ended (whether it's from delivery, abortion, or miscarriage) can mean 2 things: retained tissue or infection. So naturally, I tried to figure out which one I had, but my symptoms didn't really match up well with either one.
Fortunately, miraculously, everything looks ok. Blood tests are good, hCG is down to 237 from 1120 a week ago. She couldn't see anything in my uterus, and my endometrium was thin (4mm). No signs of infection.
Wait....what? So you're telling me I don't have either of those 2 differential diagnoses? That's not possible. Every time we go through cases in a seminar, it's always one of those 2 things. How could it be nothing?
And then it hit me. In med school seminars, the patient is always sick. There's always a diagnosis, otherwise, what's the point? IN REAL LIFE, some people are fine. Not everyone is sick. Some patients are actually completely fine and there's nothing wrong with them.
They think the bleeding must've been caused by the "trauma" of sex, but they do think it was strange that I am still bleeding so much. They couldn't find any other explanation though, and couldn't find any evidence whatsoever that there is a problem, so that's great news. I just have to hang tight until my next hCG draw next Wednesday.
So the moral of the story is - there is not always something wrong with the patient!
I'm sorry that you're still bleeding, it can be so frustrating. How many weeks post loss are you?
ReplyDeleteBut I'm glad that everything looks good and you got it checked out. Smart girl you are. :)
Thanks Jenn. I had the cytotec on March 25, so it's only been 2 1/2 weeks. The bleeding has turned into spotting today, so that's good, knock on wood.
DeleteI'm so glad that it turned out to be nothing. Although, I know it's also so so scary.
ReplyDeleteHow are you doing today? Has it finally stopped?