Please Read - Refused an abortion. Rapidly declining health

[MinnyMountain]

I am in desperate need of some advice. Today I had a surgical abortion booked with Marie Stopes. It took me four weeks to get this appointment and I am now 12 weeks.

I have lupus and hypothyroid and prenatal depression. I am also suffereing with severe all day sickness. This pregnancy has taken a massive toll on my body and today I was refused an abortion because my iron levels are 8.3.

They have rebooked me for two weeks time but warned I will be refused again if levels are not above a 9.0.

I have reached a breaking point mentally and really worried that I will do something stupid because I feel absolutely distraught.

I have read that it's unlikely I will make much improvement taking iron tablets for a mere two weeks, which means it's likely I will be refused again.

I have no idea what to do or who to turn to, I feel incredibly unstable right now and very scared that I will slip back into a deep depression. Is there anywhere I can turn to for help? :'(

Will gp speak to you on the phone? Ring now and try to talk to them.
Also call the bpas number above. Hope they can reassure you and get something organised for next week.

Oh my, that was long - sorry!

Please, do not take supplements until you know what causes your anemia!

See your doctor urgently, and follow Dancingbea's advice!

Op that sounds so hard. Please can I give you some other advice? Think carefully about having a surgical abortion past 13 weeks. It becomes more complicated because the cartilage starts to harden and can lead to a greater likelihood of complications/incomplete abortion/infection for you.

Sorry, I’m a bloke so not wanting to get involved in the abortion bit, however can you not contact the Lupus unit at Guys? Prof D'Cruz has a bloody good team round him who can often help with the diverse problems Lupus causes. If you ring them, they can ring your GP for a referral and they can act very quickly.

Good luck.

Thank you so much to everybody who has replied, it means a great deal to me and I am taking notes of everything said.

I have called BPAS, they could only advise that I go to my Doctors on Monday morning.

I have Hashimotos/hypothyroid, my medication has been doubled in dosage but my levels are getting poorer despite the increase. I think there is a correlation between hypothyroid and anemia which may be a big part of the issue. My lupus is managed but I am having horrible symptoms since week 8 of this pregnancy.
Depression always creeps in when my thyroid is in bad shape, but I feel absolutely overwhelmed with the situation and my current state of health.
I'm having worsening palpitations and dizziness and and struggling to eat anything that may help my situation (meat especially).

I called the Doctors and was told to either wait until Monday or go to an out of hours walk in centre. But I feel like I don't have a good enough reason to turn up there, and if I did I feel like I will be judged.

Abortion is not something I have taken lightly, I had the copper IUD in place hence not knowing I was pregnant until a little further along.

It took me years of medications and good nutrition to manage my conditions and feel well and in a matter of 7 weeks I feel like I am back at square one.

My biggest fear is that at my next appointment I will be refused again and I am already not coping mentally with everything, and just cannot envision how I will function or live with myself if I have to go through a late termination.

I will go to my Doctors first thing Monday morning and over the weekend I shall start some iron tablets.

Thank you again to everyone who has replied x

Didius, she said surgical. You are talking about medical.

Minny, hypothyroidism can cause anaemia (something to do with bone marrow and metabolism) but it does sound like there could be something else going on too.

I know how you feel; being hypo is awful plus I found low iron seemed to add to it. Pregnancy hormones won't be helping either. I do feel like this should be a bit more urgently dealt with and second you seeing your gp ASAP. It sounds like hospital would be a better option.

I am sorry for your position.

Go to the doctors on Monday, but if you feel worse go to the drop in clinic - they will not judge you. People go to the drop in centres for all sorts of reasons - last time I went to one there was one girl who fell out her car and was worried she twisted her ankle - and yours is actually a genuine issue making you ill. The staff see all sorts coming in and will be sympathetic x

@Missingstreetlife. Yes exactly - a medical termination would be safer for her than a surgical termination in terms of possible compilations

Rather than cheap iron tablets, you might find that Spatone would be a good starting point before you see your GP, OP.

Poor you, please please don't think anyone will judge you, why would they? Your fear of being turned again is totally understandable and you deserve to be medically looked after, both physically and mentally.

You can definitely go to a walk-in centre or wait until Monday. Do you have an appointment already for Monday? How hard it is to make an appointment with your GP? What you don't want is then the anxiety of being told you have to wait even longer to see them.

I hope you have support from loved one, you deserve a big huge hug.

Go to the walk-in. Of course you have good reason to go there: you are ill and getting iller, and you are trying to cope with a time-sensitive condition.

The only judgement anyone makes on you for trying your best to manage your conditions is positive. Please take strength from that

Once again thank you to everyone that replied... I was booked into the Drs for Monday morning and felt able to cope until then. However today I have felt extremely agitated and in a state of panic over what will happen if I cannot get my hgb levels up by my next appointment.

So I decided to ring Marie Stopes earlier, and explained that I really am worried about thia situation and my mental/physical health.
I was promptly put in touch with a nurse who apologised and said I should not have been rebooked but rather referred straight to the hospital for my treatment. The nurse informed me that I would not get my levels up in that short amount of time and he couldn't understand why they rebooked me.

The nurse is going to refer me and I should hear something by Tuesday at the latest.
This has been such a tremendous relief.

Thanks again for all your advice x

Oh good, I'm glad that there is a more supportive plan in place.

Wishing you the very best of luck

Well done for taking the initiative to call despite your distressed state. It must have been really hard for you to do, very relieved for you that it has led to some common sense actions.

I had a call today and I cannot be seen until the 1st of June. I will be 15 weeks by then. I have been trying to get treatment for so long now and feel mentally defeated. I cannot wait another two weeks, I am not coping or functioning at all. I have lost my job in the process.

I am utterly at rock bottom and feel I have nowhere to turn to. I have resorted to trying to buy abortion pills online, and although they shouldn't be used after 10 weeks I am prepared to take the risk. Absolutely broken

Go to A&E Minny your situation is becoming urgent. They will look after you, you w/o t be a burden. Of course that won't mean that you'll get it there and then but recognise the urgency to prompt a quicker appointment.

I understand how you must be feeling but please don't take abortion pills, that's just going to make things a whole lot worse. Can you ring Marie stopes again?

So sorry you are going through this. Did you speak to your GP? Is there someone you can talk to as a friend in real life- so hard to push something forward that is tricky when you haven't got moral support close by.

Try bpas again? Tell gp you are suicidal, can they put any pressure on?but be careful, you don't want to get into mental health assessment. You must have had all the pre op stuff, just waiting for the procedure, do they have a cancellation list.
So sorry you are having this crap to deal with.