Still Bleeding

Hi J.,

Are you taking the "mini pill" for birth control right now? I started taking the mini pill at around 5 or 6 weeks post partum, and bled for 5 months!!! When I finally realized that it was a side effect of the mini pill, I stopped taking it, and I stopped bleeding. If you are taking the mini pill...that could be the culprit. Good luck.

I had the same problem after i had my son (now 17 months old), but i was given some medication that stopped the bleeding...you may ask about this. I don't reacall the name, but it worked well. Hope this helps!

I had a d&c in November...and they're not that bad at all. I actually came out of the operating room feeling 100% better, although I had mine because of a miscarriage, not a live-birth. But once all that tissue is out, you stop bleeding almost immediately and just feel better.
And it really isnt that painful. For 2 days right after having it done, I had slight cramping, but nothing major. A couple of Tylenol and it would go away.

I have had two D&C. First was w/o pain killer. Not smart! I didn't know that I should have taken meds. Second, pain killer and not bad. My advice is make sure you have pain meds first.

I would probably give it alittle more time. When I had my last son I was bleeding for almost 3 months, really bright blood so i was very conserned. I had an ultrasound done and everything looked fine. Eventually it stopped and I am healthy. GO with your gut feeling, if it feels right do it, if not dont! Sometimes doctors can say things that are alittle scary but if left alone they are fine. Good luck and remember your intuition!!

I would suggest seeing one of the licensed acupuncturists in town. They may also suggest some Chinese herbs for you that will help. I would definitely try this before a D&C. It is actually a quick procedure, but you will have a lot of cramping and discomfort afterwards. Good luck!
P.S. If you're not resting and doing too much, this can cause the extra bleeding. If you can, have someone help you with kids and housework as much as possible and allow you time to relax and rest! One way to test this is rest for a couple days and see if the bleeding slows. Then if you resume normal activity again and it increases, you know your body is just not ready yet!

I had two dnc done when i had my miscarriages. It is a simply percedure. They will give you something to put you out and they just go in and clean you out. IT is not a surgery or anything but i would talk to your doctor more about it. sorry this probably don't help much. Good luck!

Well, despite some other advice, it IS a surgery. It causes a break into the intact tissues and with that come risks of infection, etc. THAT in itself makes it a surgery. However, it is a simple procedure and millions of them are done every day with no problems. Don't sweat the procedure, but be sure to mention that you are nursing, as they may choose a different method of sedation. Good luck, you'll be done before you know it!
~L.

Hi J.!
I had to have a D and C with my 1st because I bled for 2 months. As it turned out, there was still a tiny piece of my placenta that remained and was causing the bleeding. I too was nursing and it didn't cause a problem.
Good Luck.

Generally they do a D&C to clear out any retained tissue. If you are successfully breastfeeding your baby that would make me question if you had retained placenta tissue because even a tiny peice of retained tissue can impair milk supply. Perhaps your doctor wants to do a D&C just to clear everything out and start fresh. It doesnt sound like a bad idea..but I am no expert in that field. (I had to have one twice with miscarraiges and both times I was nursing my toddler. )

Have you tried rasberry leaf tea? This herb is used tone the uterus and might be helpful.

There is not any real risk to your baby if you have a D&C, the anesthesia they use is compatible. Just be sure to remind your aneshesiologist that your nursing a newborn baby. The procudure is quick and you will likely only be gone from your baby and hour or so.

Hope this helps...
L.

I have had 2 D&Cs due to miscarriage. It is considered a surgical procedure but is usually done as an outpatient. You have options with a D&C; they can totally put you out with anesthesia, they can give you a sedative that just makes you sleepy and you really don't remember anything, or you can have nothing at all. I did the anesthesia the first time and went with the sedative the second time. If there is a next time (because even though my insurance is decent- I still walked away with a decent sized bill) I plan to just have them do it in the office and save the hospital expense. Anyway. Don't be afraid- it really isn't bad to go through. If you are going to have anesthesia or sedation, here's about what happens. You go to the hospital, get in the gown, they start an IV- you might be awake long enough that you can move yourself from the cart over to the surgical table and get in the pelvic exam position- and very shortly after that, you are out. When you wake up, you might feel some mild cramping (I was never uncomfortable) and of course you'll have some vaginal bleeding. As soon as you are awake, drinking and can pee, you are free to go home. You'll have bleeding like a period after that for 7-10 days and might even pass a few clots. Sometimes they'll have you take an antibiotic just in case. If you have more specific questions, feel free to ask me! Good luck.

J., amongst other necessary ways and options to treatment,
please remember the natural way:
what our great-grandmothers did, was NETTLE HERB.
Find it in the Co-op store or other organic stores,
and drink it as a tea, simmering on the stove.
You can add it to a regular or herbal tea, put honey in it,
but drink a lot of it, it helps this bleeding to stop very well.
Try it!
All the very best to you, J.!
M.

Hey there,
It seems like I always bleed for a long time - at least 8 weeks. With my 4th child I did have some placenta that didn't come out at delivery and I had a D&C, but they knew this right away and I had that done when she was 2 weeks old. Have they done an ultrasound? That's the best way they can tell if they need to do anything (D&C). Regardless, I had no problems nursing her - it was a pretty easy procedure, especially compared to having a baby! Hope that helps a little bit!

Just so you know, I actually bled for 2 1/2 months after I had each of my kids. Neither time did my ob worry, as long as it wasn't overly heavy (like soaking a pad every 1-2 hours), and it eventually slowed and stopped naturally. If you have doubts, get a second opinion. You have the right to make sure it's necessary before you get surgery done. If it turned out to be unnecessary you would want to avoid it, since it increases the risk of other medical complications down the road. If you and your doctor decide to undergo the d&c you've received great advice already for recovery. I don't want to minimize the tech's advice, please believe me, but I just believe that they need to be overly precautious to cover themselves, so a second opinion could help you be sure it's truly necessary. Good luck!

With my last birth I bleed for 14 weeks, which wasn't usual for any of my other births. It drove me crazy, but an ultrasound showed that my lining was thin and there was nothing there. My doctor did not do a D & C because it wasn't necessary. I'm really glad I waited it out. My doctor said that some women can bleed up to 12 weeks and that is normal for them.

Good luck.

HI J.:

I can only address the nursing issue. I had to have a D&C when I had my miscarriage in October. I let them know I was still breastfeeding. I asked if I would have to pump and dump do to the pain meds and stuff and they informed me that I would not have to.
I breastfed my son that night and there were no side-effects that I could see.
I would just mention the fact that you are breastfeeding to the doctor and nurses when you have the procedure.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

I had a D&C with general anesthesia (after 16 week misscarriage) and it went pretty smoothly. It was outpatient...I was at the hospital first thing in the morning and home by lunch time. My recovery was pretty quick also. For me the pain was manageable with just Tylenol. Also, a few years ago I had a different surgery with general anesthesia(hernia repair) while I was breastfeeding my daughter (she was 13 mos. old at the time). I pumped and stored some breastmilk for the day of surgery. I'm sure it depends on the procedure and type of anesthesia/medication etc..., but in my case I was able to breastfeed later the same day I had the surgery.