Recovering Physically from Miscarriage & Hemorrhage

This list is for those women who are recovering from miscarriage (or serious hemorrhage as a result) – and possibly more importantly, it’s for their partners and loved ones.

This month has felt like a roller coaster in some ways and I can honestly say that I would not have emerged as healthily as I have without the encouragement of my friends and family.

My story, Miscarriage and an Unexpected Turn of Events.

I have simply listed what I felt – and I have decided to categorize it all as normal. I do want to say regarding the “Guilt – was it my fault?” entry, don’t worry about reassuring me. Technically, I know it probably wasn’t my fault but those feelings are a natural and probably necessary part of the grieving process.

These are just some of the things I’m moving through or have already passed.

Recovering from Miscarriage, One Month Later. 

I hope this is a help for those of you who are going through this. I will not minimize your pain by trying to make it ok. It isn’t ok. But, know you are not alone and even if I don’t know your name, I am saying a prayer for your healing even as I write these words.

Blessings…Monna

Physical

Really weak at first but vitamins, chinese herbs and good nutrition, including lots of veggies and some red meat seemed to help me recover quickly

Mild headache from the anesthesia for about 3 days

Feeling like my head was going to fall off my body if I got up too fast in the first few days. I learned to sit up slowly and stand even more slowly. The sensation went away after 4 or 5 days. I think this is a normal result of severe blood loss. As my strength returned, my blood pressure normalized.

I had no cramping despite the major doses of pitocin they gave me to fully contract my uterus and stop the hemorrhaging. This surprised me because I remember pitocin contractions being unbearable with my first delivery but of course, my uterus was a lot smaller for this miscarriage since I was only finishing the first trimester.

Swollen, full breasts. In a crazy twist of fate, my breasts swelled up just after I returned home from the hospital and started aching like they would in pregnancy. My hormones weren’t back to normal yet, I suppose.

Brief bleeding. Differently from a natural miscarriage, because I had a D&C, I only bled for about a week. I didn’t see anything for another few days, then I had mild spotting. I freaked out (still a little nervous about bleeding, understandably) so I called a friend and she said she had the same experience. It went away after 2 days. I understand that bleeding in a natural miscarriage takes significantly longer.

Other physical symptoms of pregnancy – like still having some odd taste aversions that went away as the hormones faded.

Desire for comfort food like chocolate and ice cream. This is only physical because I definitely ate the chocolate and ice cream. I do realize the desire was emotional. A friend suggested writing a future post about chocolate therapy. It might just happen. Heehee. I refuse to judge myself. It’s been a pretty successful therapy so far.

Exhaustion. Yeah. Still feeling this way a lot of the time. I don’t have my normal stamina yet. Guess recovery from losing a lot of blood can take a while. I’m heading in the right direction.

First period after miscarriage – I had my first mooncycle (menstruation) about 35 days after my miscarriage. It was a little heavy and a normal length – about 6 days counting heavy and light days. Then, I stopped. But two days later I had a little spotting for a few hours, bright red but not heavy. I talked to several friends who said they had similar strange spotting between periods as hormone levels returned to normal.

Recovering Emotionally from Miscarriage & Hemorrhage

Recovering Spiritually from Miscarriage & Hemorrhage

The loss of a child is so painful and often isolating. I share my story in the hope that it will make you feel less alone. Please pass it on if you know of someone who it might encourage.

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