My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Find support and share your experiences on our Miscarriage forum.

Miscarriage/pregnancy loss

HELP please? early scan showed just empty sac and 2 weeks on still empty sac but bigger?

17 replies

Cam414 · 11/03/2009 01:12

i had sharp pains 2 weeks ago so went to emergency part in hospital and booked me in for an early u/s scan to make sure everything was ok. At the 1st scan i was around 4-5 weeks the nurse believed according to the sac being 6mm and she said to come back in 2 weeks so i went back to make sure all ok and see if the sac had grown etc.
Went back this morning and the sac had grown from 6mm to 15mm in the 2 weeks which im guessing means im about 7 weeks but could only see an empty sac,the nurses didnt think it looked good and have booked me in again for another u/s scan in 8 days to see if any change but they said prepare for the worst. i am so worried and devastated and keep thinking maybe the foetus or heartbeat was just hiding this morning and couldnt be shown and everything may be ok because they have booked me in for another scan so there must be some hope. im only 20 and this is my first pregnancy i have just lost my father and my due date was his death date so i felt it was special, now i am so upset as my mind was set on this baby and so was my fiances. What are my chances and is it possible not to see the foetus or heartbeat at 7 weeks? i dont understand i keep thinking if the sacs grown that could be a good sign meaning there may be something in it.

OP posts:
Report
divedaisy · 11/03/2009 10:42

Cam414 - this is a very difficult and emotional time for you. You so much want this baby and are hanging onto the hope that it will all be OK in the end. It may be OK, only time will tell.

I can only tell you my story and hope you find it of some comfort...

I found out I was pregnant last March and discovered I would have conceived between the date of my FIL's death and funeral. I too had an emotional connection then with this baby and it was a happy occassion amist the sadness...

I went to my GP around 6 weeks and she scanned me but didn't see a hb, and at that stage she prepared me for the worst. She referred me to the hospital. I went to the hosp about a week later and again I was scanned and the sonographer thought she saw a foetal pole, but no hb, I also had bloods done to determine the hormone level.

Around 8/9 weeks I started to bleed slightly. I went to the hosp again and they asked me to come back the following week when I was around 9 wks. I was still bleeding slightly and they scanned me but they confirmed the sac was empty - there was no baby/foetus there. The sac was growing slightly but it was what they called a 'anembryonic pregnancy'. I was given 3 options and chose to have surgery to remove the 'products of conception'. I stayed in hospital overnight and home the next day.

I personally feel that the loss would have been even worse had I seen a hb at some point. It is natural to hope the hb will be there, or is hiding etc. I can only tell you to try and take care of yourself. It is a hard and emotionally traumatic experience for anyone, and with your dad's passing too this may make it harder for you.

I now am 31 weeks pregnant and due on 14 May.

I hope things work out for you and your fiance.

Report
llareggub · 11/03/2009 10:52

Cam414, it is such a tough thing, waiting for scans. I can give you a positive story, and I hope it helps, I know that I found it helpful to hear stories from other people when I was in your position.

Last year I had 2, very early, miscarriages, and found out by seeing nothing on the early scans. When I found out I was pregnant at the end of August last year, naturally I was delighted but also very, very nervous of the same thing happening again. I booked in for a scan at 8 weeks (by my dates) when by all accounts I should be able to see a heartbeat etc. We didn't, we saw a sac, but the sonographer and midwife weren't able to confirm a viable pregnancy at that point due to the lack of heartbeat. As I thought I was 8 weeks, naturally I thought the same thing had happened again.

What actually happened is that although by the date of my last period I was 8 weeks, when I had my dating scan a little further a long, it transpired I was actually 2 weeks less pregnant than I thought. So that scan at 8 weeks was actually 6 weeks when it is quite common not to see a heartbeat.

So it worked out for me in the end. I'm 31 weeks pregnant. I hope things work out for you. Whatever the outcome, please look after yourself. Pregnancy can be very emotional at the best of times, but it sounds like you have had a tough time of it.

Report
Cam414 · 11/03/2009 12:06

had a really rough sleep last night having nightmares about it, the last two months seem like a lie and i was never actually pregnant. All that was seen in my scan at 4-5 weeks was a sac but that is normal its yesterday one that i dont thinks normal, there should be something shown between 6 and 7. I wonder if theres any women out there whose scan just showed an empty sac at this stage then a couple of weeks later a foetus and healthy h/b shown but i havnt seen or heard many stories of that happening. I'v got my head round expecting the worse now, its just 1 thing after another i feel everything i love and want dies
thanks for your messages and support it helps talking to people who have been through it too. xxx

OP posts:
Report
Cam414 · 11/03/2009 12:14

i've just remembered something that could be good news. on the 2nd feb before i knew i was pregnant i had terrible pain and was being sick all day so i took a pregnancy test and it was negative. then a week later i missed my period so on the 13th feb i did another pregnancy test and it was positive, so as it is now the 11th march could that mean im only around 6 weeks pregnant? but the scan yesterday showed a 15mm sac and i think that may be too big for 6 weeks? can anyone help with this? im just holding on to the hope my dates are wrong and that yesterday i was only 6 weeks and thats why no heartbeat or foetus was shown in the sac? very confused now iv just remembered that negative test on the 2nd :S

OP posts:
Report
kissmummy · 11/03/2009 12:25

hi cam, i wish i had a positive story for you but i've had three miscarriages and your scan results sound like my last one. at seven weeks there was just an empty sac. to be totally honest if you're sure of your dates i don't think this is a good sign.
one thing i've learned from all my miscarriages is that many people who carry out pregnancy scans are not great experts in the field- a "sonographer" is not the same as a fully qualified doctor, or even better, a obstetrician/gynaecologist, and often can't tell as much from a scan as a specialist would be able to.
i learned this from my second miscarriage, where the sonographer who carried out a scan for me at around seven/eight weeks gave me false hope. That sonographer saw a sac with a very small fetal pole but no heartbeat. she didn't think it looked good but wasn't sure, and suggested a repeat scan in a week's time, despite me being certain of my dates. She gave me some hope that everything would be okay. However, when a gynaecologist looked at her report of my scan the next day, he could tell immediately from the size of the sac, fetal pole, and dates, that it was not a viable pregnancy.
I hope there is a happy ending for you and that perhaps your dates are wrong, but if the worst happens, please come and join us on this site for support. we have all been through it and understand how you're feeling and how very painful it is. One of the worst bits is waiting to find out what's happening, so i do feel for you. so sorry to hear about your father.

Report
llareggub · 11/03/2009 12:26

My dates were wrong. Based on the period dates, they were correct, but I must have ovulated very late in my cycle. By my last period, my due date is 28 April. From the 12 week scan (most accurate dating scan) by due date is 12 May. So there is hope.

Report
Cam414 · 11/03/2009 14:42

wow llareggub thats nearlly 2 weeks out. im just preparing myself for the worst, now i really want a baby my heart and mind is set on it so i would probably try aain and this time keep it very quiet till later on. iv been told sometimes there can be something physically wrong with the baby so your body can reject it so i suppose its happened for a reason if it has. iv just got this next week to get through now, i know its going to go so slow thanks kissmummy for ur message it helped, after ur 3 miscarriages have u had any successful pregnancies in between or after them? x

OP posts:
Report
llareggub · 11/03/2009 15:21

cam, before this pregnancy I had 2 miscarriages, and all 3 pregnancies were over the space of 6 months. I read on here that a woman can be more fertile after a miscarriage, and in my case it would appear to be the case. I'll be thinking of you.

Report
Cam414 · 11/03/2009 16:29

that reassures me alot thanks, ill just have to keep trying after this horrible nightmare then and hopefully everything will be ok and turn out for the best. good luck with ur pregnancy x

OP posts:
Report
divedaisy · 11/03/2009 18:43

Yes Cam, after I lost mine in April I was told I'd be very fertile straight after. I was pregnant within 4-5 months! I'm now with Ilareggub in the May 09 thread! Anyhow nothing here we can say can help the pain and worry you're feeling at the moment - I'm sending you a GREAT BIG HUG and there are plenty of really supportive miscarrage threads on here which supported me too... I really liked the 'Knicker Checker thread' which was for those with a history of mc who were pregnant again.

Let us know how you get on over the next week. THere is always hope as some stories here have demonstrated, and meantime, we're here for you. x

Report
Cam414 · 11/03/2009 21:48

thanks daisy im holding on to the hope it may be ok, im just trying to get on with it now so the week goes fast and i can get it all over with il keep you updated for next wednesdays scan xx

OP posts:
Report
kissmummy · 11/03/2009 22:11

the waiting is absolutely the worst bit. even if it's bad news, personally, i found that bit easier to deal with that than the agony of not knowing. sadly i've not had any successful pregnancies since my run of miscarriages began but i am very lucky to have an 19 month old son who arrived without any problem at all. who knows why this is now happening, but i'm very optimistic i'll get there in the end.
as for you, you are SO young, if this does turn out to be a miscarriage, it is highly likely just a complete one off and you will go on to have a successful pregnancy very soon.around one in five pregnancies ends in early miscarriage (some people quote even higher figures) so it is VERY common. repeated miscarriages are, fortunately, far rarer.

Report
Surfette · 11/03/2009 22:41

This is not intended to worry you as I am sure it is not the case for you, but I assume the hospital have checked for an ectopic pregnancy? I only raise this because you mention about pain although you don't say anything about still having it so perhaps it has gone?

Just to explain, I had IVF in November and when I did a pregancy test two weeks later I got a negative. A blood test that day showed my levels were 12 which is a low positive and they continued to climb steadily over the next couple of weeks so we were hopeful. A scan two weeks after the test showed an empty sac and a week later it was still empty (although I am not sure it had grown which of course is different from yours). My doctor did a couple more blood tests which showed my HCG levels were still climbing but at a slower rate than they should have been. At the next scan he was able to see an ectopic pregnancy (I don't know if the fact it was right at the entrance to the tube was what made that feasible) and I had a laparoscopy a couple of days later. At no point had I had any symptoms or any pain.

I am sure it is HIGHLY unlikely that you have an ectopic (the hospital have no doubt excluded it anyway and it is more common with IVF) and I only mention it as if it does happen it is WAY better to know sooner rather than later. In my case, there was no chance of being wrong with dates and being less pregnant than I thought which, of course, is a definite possibility with a normal pregnancy like yours. I have everything crossed for a good outcome for you at your next scan.

And just by the way, we tried again last month, got a positive and are now waiting for first scan so whatever the outcome this time don't despair - there is no reason to think you won't have a happy result very soon.

Report
Trinityrhino · 11/03/2009 22:44

cam 414
I'm sorry I dont have any stories or information for you

but I would like to send you and best wishes



x

Report
kaytee88 · 07/06/2009 14:22

hi im sorry for all of your losses but i am going through same thing right now and its driving me crazy...im also 20 and went for a supposed to be 7-8 wk scan but when i went all i could see was a round empty sack but the lady who did it didnt say anything just that it was too early to tell if it has a heart beat or not there was no bean or yolk or heartbeat, im sooo confused because my friends that were pregnant were calling there babys little jellybeans or whatever but i have nothing to call mine as there is nothing to see, the lady who did the scan was really quiet and really gave me no information at all, i had to look it up on the internet because i knew something was not right...im sooo worried and confused and waiting for this next 2 wks is going to drive me crazyyy, i know i have to be 7-8 wks but i dont know.....the sack was clearly empty tho, any advice im freaking out, if there is nothing there why couldnt the lady have warned me or sumthing instead of me reading bout it on the internet,i just wanna know so i can get on with my life

Report
Thelongroadhome · 07/06/2009 16:18

Hi, Sorry to hear what you are going through just now. From what you say it doesnt sound good but without the person who did the scan telling you anything its hard to know. Could you phone tomorrow to find out more about what you saw and what it means? Not sure if you realise that this is quite an old thread so you might be better joining another one or starting a new one and more people might respond. Good Luck.

Report
K2013 · 23/11/2019 00:07

Hi ladies I'm going out my mind right now with worry wondered of anyone could give me advice so I done a pregnancy kit at home on 23rd October it had faint lines during ti hcg hormone I went doctors sent me to egu done another pregnancy test they confirmed it was positive but slightly faint they scanned and estimated I was 4 weeks n 1 day by that point they dine bloods then gt me in fir more the next day the nurse rang congratulating me saying your definitely expecting ...they booked my8 week scan ..the sonographer was silent somthing wssnt right I said wats wrong is my baby ok she asked me to come back in one week she turned the monitor n delivered the crushing news there was an empty sac that had grown from 4.somthing to 6 pint somthing but no sign of yolk sac or fetus..she told me to prepare for the worst n to arrange a dnc n energy treatment .after they scan on weds I'm devastated as I'm very lucky to hv my son we almost didnt make it through labour I was then diagnosed with leukaemia they said I'd never conceive...nw I'm stuck nit knowing how to think or feel I'm so low I wanted this baby so much anyone tell me do I hold onto hope like family are telling me or an I right to grieve 😭😭😭😭😭💔💔💔 ..I'm so confused nothing makes sense nomore I have a buno n no baby a due date n no baby plz help

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.