Fear about D&C procedure

I didn't have one at Kaiser but mine went very well. They gave me a benzodiazepine to relax me so I felt a bit loopy but I felt zero pain, it was over quickly, and I had no complications (which are quite rare). I felt back to my normal self later that day and had almost no cramping and just a moderate amount of bleeding a few days later. Much quicker/less painful than passing the tissue at home with miso, comparatively. Sorry to hear you are going through this but I think you'll do great and feel ok!

Hi --

I'm so sorry you're going through this for a second time! I had a missed miscarriage (discovered at my 12-week nuchal translucency scan) last June and decided to have a D&C.  I was at UCSF, not Kaiser, but my experience was as positive as it could have been given the circumstances.  My husband and I arrived in the morning (they made an exception to the then-policy of no visitors due to COVID), I spoke with the nurse about the procedure, and was given misoprostol and told I could take a walk, hang out in the courtyard, etc.  They offered me benzodiazepine to reduce anxiety, which I took.  A couple hours later I had the procedure, which took less than 15 minutes.  There was some pain with the administration of topical anesthetic and for me and some intense but very brief discomfort during the procedure itself.  (I had previously given birth, so I don't know if it would have been more painful if I hadn't -- but I don't think my previous pregnancy made a difference to how long the procedure took.)  My biggest recovery issue was waiting for the benzodiazepine to wear off -- I was pretty loopy the rest of the day.  I was told I could go back to physical exercise the day after the procedure if I wanted and although I don't think I *did*, I felt fine - basically zero physical recovery time. The docs I spoke with were very reassuring about the risk of complications, and I didn't have any. I ended up getting pregnant on my first regular cycle following the D&C, had an uneventful pregnancy, and gave birth in May to the healthy kiddo chilling next to me.

Please feel free to reach out if you have more specific questions or just to commiserate with someone else who has been through the experience.

I am so sorry you are going through this. I've had 4 miscarriages (at 8, 6, and 6 weeks), 3 of which I chose to do a D&C procedure. All 3 procedures were done with Kaiser Oakland, different practitioners each time, tissues were tested after 2 of them and showed chromosomal abnormalities. I'm really happy we made the decision to test. Although none of the experiences were 'great', I felt that I was treated with compassion and patience each time. There was mild cramping during the procedure, not as bad as I was expecting. Physical recovery afterwards was pretty easy, I felt. I was able to go back to work and resume normal activities within a couple of days. It was the emotional recovery that took longer. I did have some scar tissue build up after the last D&C procedure that was spotted in a hysterosalpingogram prior to starting IVF, but that resolved itself within a few weeks. 

I'm so sorry to hear you are going through this. I had a D&C in 2017 after a missed miscarriage, also around 8-9 weeks, and had no physical complications or issues. I scheduled it early in the day and was feeling physically well enough to go to a meeting in the late afternoon (with someone from out of town, I wasn't able to reschedule unfortunately - I wouldn't recommend scheduling a meeting on the same day like I did!!). They gave me painkillers to take before and after, and I think I just had to take one more later in the day after the procedure. I was feeling physically fine the next day and I was able to get pregnant again a few months later.

I tested the tissue with Natera and found that it was a triploidy, with an extra copy of every chromosome, which is more likely to happen by random chance and unlikely to happen again. But it is associated with a molar pregnancy, which has a small chance of leading to other issues, so my doctor recommended regular hCG testing afterward to make sure it goes back down to normal - we never would have known that without the testing. So I would recommend the testing, as it may help you identify why the pregnancy was nonviable or reassure you that it was random bad luck, as it was in our case.

Hi, I had a D&C at Kaiser Oakland 3 years ago when I was 12 weeks pregnant and I could not have been more impressed with the way they handled the entire process.  From A to Z they were so professional and also very kind.  It's an incredibly stressful, difficult thing to do. My eyes are welling up now just thinking back on it. The recovery was extremely fast. I had to fly out of state the very next morning because of a pre-exising commitment and because the D&C was essentially unplanned. I just took whatever doctor they had available... I don't remember her name. Don't hesitate to use Kaiser Oakland.  They are very, very good health care providers. 

I had d&c at my OB’s office in alameda kaiser. I got a shot on my butt cheek to numb the pain. Had it done during covid so your experience will likely be a lot different. Recovery went along as long as I took time off from work and practiced self care. Good luck.

First, I’m so sorry this is happening to you. But you are far from alone. I have had this procedure done on an early miscarriage at Kaiser Oakland twice now. Both times were flawless with very compassionate care providers. I opted out of genetic testing the first time, but not the second, and my advice to you, to the extent that it’s helpful, is to have the testing done. In my case I learned definitively that the issue was an abnormality incompatible with life. (It’s likely you will find the same!) My experience was that was actually very relieving for me, to know that there was nothing I could’ve done. In retrospect, I should have done the genetic testing the first time as well. It also meant, that when I was successfully pregnant later, I had more confidence that the baby was going to be healthy and okay once we’d moved out of that early phase. 

The procedure is quick, not too uncomfortable, and recovery (for me) was fast. Much faster than the medicine route. And no one minded my tears! Best of luck to you!
 

I'm sorry about your loss.  I can't speak about Kaiser specifically, but can comment about experiences with D&C.  First, although there are some risks, it should be noted that it is an extremely common procedure (used for early miscarriage which is quite common, placenta left inside after childbirth, and exactly the same set of clinical steps as a first trimester abortion) so many obgyns will be extremely experienced.  A few hours before the procedure, the doctor will typically ask you to take oral medication, IIRC a muscle relaxer and an opiate (the latter I didn't do because only the procedure itself hurts, and it is short).  They ask that you have someone to drive you to/from the procedure.  The D&C itself takes a few minutes (maybe faster, but it feels longer), and is very painful.  Afterwards, they will give you time to sit until you are ready to leave.  It helps to put a heat pad over the belly during that time, which they can provide, but you might need to ask for.   Beyond this, there might be a little bit of spotting, but not pain.  So in my experience, the physical recovery time is only a few minutes, not including the time for the oral medication to wear off.

I'm so sorry you're going through this. I had a D&C due to a non-viable pregnancy at 13 weeks about 4 years ago, although I lived in Boston at the time. My procedure took place at an outpatient women's health clinic. It was an emotionally difficult experience to say the least, but physically it was relatively easy. You have to rest for a few days and generally take it easy for about 4 weeks if I remember correctly. No swimming. I actually had to take a cross-country flight 3 days after my procedure and it was not a problem. I now have two healthy children after two uneventful pregnancies. This is just my experience, of course, but I wanted to share in case it helps ease your mind. Sending you love and light. <3

I had a D&C after miscarriage at CPMC with dr Laurie Green who is top notch and probably delivered more babies in her career than anyone else. She was my obgyn when I lived in SF but worth commuting for in my opinion if you live east bay. I’ve had two babies since the D&C and no complications or pain. Good luck!!

Hello,

I am so sorry to hear about your lost pregnancies. As for the D&C, the chances of any complications are very low. I am both a woman who has had one and a medical record coder for Kaiser. There is very little chance that anything will go wrong. When I had one the only reaction I had was nearly fainting when I saw the needle for the IV going into my hand. The doctors at Kaiser Oakland are very experienced and the procedure itself is relatively simple. The d is the dilation of your cervix so that they can do the curettage (which is usually evacuation done with a vacuum these days). Dr. Goldsmith, Dr. Mehta, and several others are all good. If anything I would just say make it clear that you don't want a Resident if it makes you nervous. 

Also I remember my recovery time being relatively short, a week or less, and only minor cramping for a day or two. I really do think you will be fine. Best wishes and good health to you.

I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I had the procedure for the exact same reason in Jan 2020 at Kaiser Oakland. I’m a doctor myself and felt I got wonderful care, and it was also comforting to have the information from the tissue testing, which confirmed it was random chance due to a trisomy (eg most common cause of early miscarriage). I went on to have a successful pregnancy. 
In my case it was a hand vacuum procedure, which is the same as is used for an elective early pregnancy termination (abortion). The risk of complications you mention is extremely low, and I spent the afternoon on the couch with fairly minimal cramping (though it is a blur because you’ll receive Ativan before the procedure). The procedure itself took about half an hour in the office. 
Meredith Warden supervised a resident doing my procedure, and they were both excellent. She is fellowship trained in family planning/abortion and clearly was very knowledgeable. 
You should know you’ll check in at one of the general Ob/GYN clinics, which means there might be pregnant people in the waiting room. At the same time, you are not singled out in any way why you are there so it can add to a feeling of privacy, if that is helpful to know. You’re welcome to message me directly if I can help with anything else, and sending best wishes to you and your family. 

I'm so sorry for your loss! I ended up having three recurrent miscarriages before having a healthy boy and am now pregnant with #2 (and had one early loss before this pregnancy as well). One of my losses was a missed miscarriage and i had a D&C at Kaiser (but not Kaiser Oakland). for my D&C, a friend who had had one had recommended doing it without the heavier pain med they give you beforehand. that otherwise you are totally out of it the rest of the day. so i skipped that pain med and i will say it was painful but bearable and didn't last that long (i dont know that i recommend that option as i dont know what the w med option is like). the doc i had had terrible bedside banner and said something like how there was a lot of tissue in there that she needed to remove. after it was over, i really didn't feel much physical pain just emotional pain but went to work the next day and was fine (to me it felt easier to keep busy than sit at home and wallow but thats probably a personal decision). Its true there are risks as you named, but i think they are all quite small. In addition to testing the fetal tissue, i would advocate for the full bloodwork workup they do for recurrent miscarriages. As for Kaiser Oakland, that is where i now go and it seems like their docs are all super busy and you may just want to go with who has availability so you don't have to leave this pregnancy hanging over you. I hope you get some answers and have a healthy pregnancy in the near future! It totally sucks, but is surprisingly common and I've been amazed once i started sharing my experience how many other people i know have had similar challenges.

I'm really sorry you're experiencing that. That is really hard. Misoprostol didn't work for me so I ended up having a D&C and it was quick and easy. I actually had a dr I never met perform it because the ultrasound tech told me there was some of the pill left in my uterus and I could start contracting again at any time. (And THAT experience was actually one of the worse experiences of my life, would never repeat that.) I didn't have any complications and went on to have a successful pregnancy a few months later. (The miscarried pregnancy had taken us 8 months and the successful pregnancy afterward was about 4 months later. We now have a second, who was via IVF, but it doesn't have anything to do with the D&C. I had a lot of scans etc when trying for the second and there isn't anything wrong with the insides of my uterus.) This wasn't at Kaiser, sorry, but wanted to share my experience anyhow. 

First, I’m so sorry you are going through this. I had my own missed miscarriage at 8 weeks back in June. I went through two D&Cs and a round of misoprostol in between before it was complete. In my experience the misoprostol was the hardest, physically. The D&C involves some serious cramping and discomfort but it’s over in 15 min or so. I too was worried by the risks involved, but (fortunately/unfortunately) it’s seems like a very routine procedure so the risk is small. After the first one I think I was a little crampy for a day or two afterwards—not a bad recovery at all. The second one was a quick one just to get a tiny bit of leftover tissue and recovery was even easier, I was fine the next day.

Hello, I am so SO sorry for your loss. Even though miscarriage is common, it is so painful and heartbreaking and especially so when you haven’t had a successful pregnancy. I had a very bad experience with a D&C after missed miscarriage of my first pregnancy at Kaiser Oakland with a woman I believe was named Dr. Appleton or Apple something in 2010. They told me the risk of D&C was very low, and I was a wreck so just agreed to what they recommended. The procedure was very painful and then I stopped having normal periods. After a year of various doctors telling me I just should just “relax” and I would get pregnant, I finally demanded testing and learned that my uterus was completely full of scar tissue- severe Ashermans. They told me I would never carry a child because the damage was too severe. It was devastating. After reading every medical journal article on this issue I could find and fighting with Kaiser for my medical records I was able to switch insurance and get another opinion and treat the Ashermans elsewhere, but the health impacts of that D&C made both of my later successful pregnancies extremely high risk and both kids were delivered early via emergency c sections. I still have health impacts now, more than 10 years later as well. I do not mean to scare you but I wish more people talked about these things openly because there are risks. If you can handle just waiting it out, I would try to do that-  I know it’s very hard. Or if you do a D&C, please ask them to use a hysteroscope for guidance so they can see what they are doing and not damage your body. While D&Cs are generally very low risk, your uterine lining is uniquely vulnerable to damage with a missed miscarriage so special care is important. I am so sorry for what you are going through and wish you well. 

Thank you so much to everyone from the community for getting back to me. 

It really helps to feel that we are not alone in those difficult times. 

I ended up going for the D&C and it went well. The staff was very compassionate and nice. It was much less traumatising than taking the medication misoprostol by myself at home. Hopefully, I will recover well without any complications.

Thanks again and wishing you all the best,

Take care,