Hemorrhage, D&C, Transfusion...oh my!

Well it's been an eventful few days here.  First off, the boys are great!  I'll update more on them later.

Me, on the other hand... not doing so hot.  It started a week ago, one week postpartum.  I had been bleeding since giving birth, and thought it was normal.  Towards the end of the first week I started passing bigger clots.  Then, I was in the NICU when I had a big bleed.  It just started gushing out of me after I had breastfed the boys.  Since I don't have a family doctor in this town, the NICU nurses suggested I go to emergency and be seen by a doctor.  Long story short, they did an ultrasound and found that I had retained some tissue in my uterus.  I was given misoprostol and that was supposed to be the end of it. (Though now I think my body does not really respond to misoprostol since I've had it three times and it hasn't done very much).  I bled a bit the next few days (but not much) and then it sort of slowed down.  That is, until Friday (two weeks post-partum).  

We were out for dinner with two friends who had come for a visit (both guys, at that, how embarrassing!).  As we were about to leave, I felt a gush of blood.  I tried to get up to run to the washroom, but the blood just kept coming.  I had to tell everyone what was happening.  As we sat there trying to decide what to do, the bleeding got worse.  I eventually told them to call an ambulance.  By that time, I had a pool of blood around my feet and had soaked completely through my pants (TMI, I know!).  The ambulance arrived and took me away on a stretcher.  In emergency the doctor saw me and then called the OB.  The OB attempted to release the rest of the blood by sticking one hand inside my uterus AND pushing on the outside of my abdomen (worst experience EVER... way more painful than childbirth!).  She then ordered an emergency D&C (it was 10:00pm) so I was taken away for surgery.  The D&C went well but I had lost a ton of blood. I couldn't even sit up in bed without almost passing out, so they kept me overnight.  The OB told me that the amount of products they had seen in the ultrasound did not accurately reflect how much retained placenta I actually had.  There was a lot of placenta still left inside, I guess.  As it was detaching, my body kept producing more blood to send to the placenta, and then the uterus would release it.  It built up to a critical mass and that is what caused the hemorrhage.  

In the morning they checked my blood levels and my hemoglobin was down to 50 (normal is 120-160) so I was ordered a blood transfusion (2 bags).  Apparently I was white as a ghost too.  And I was on IV fluids all day/night so I puffed up like a balloon.  But the blood helped.  Last night my levels were up to 80, which is what they were at during pregnancy.  Still low, but much more stable.  I was discharged and allowed to come back to the motel to rest up.  

Today my muscles are all sore (I think from the anesthesia) and my throat is swollen (they put a tube for oxygen down my throat), but the bleeding has almost all stopped!  I am pretty weak, but I really, really hope this is the end and I'll be on an upswing from here.  I saw the boys before we left the hospital yesterday but today I have stayed home and DH has brought my pumped milk in to feed them.  I miss them like crazy and feel bad for not being there, but I know I need to rest up and gain strength so I can better care for them.  I am worried that all the bottle feeding will affect their breast feeding, but everyone is telling me not to worry.  Once again, this is a setback but we will recover.