What to expect - medical abortion.

[butter675]

Hello. I an unexpectedly pregnant, around 6 weeks.

Due to financial and personal situation, I cannot continue with the pregnancy.

Could anyone tell me the practical sides of taking the pills?

How long you bled for?
Pain?
Will I still be able to work?
How heavy is the bleeding?

This is all very new to me and I have no idea what to expect.

I haven't told anyone IRL about this. Please be gentle!

Hi @butter675

I'm sorry to hear you're going through this! I did it just over a week ago, I made a list about it if you want to read through the whole experience, I was posting as it happened.

In general everyone's experience is different but mine was all straight forward. The physical side of things was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting, but the emotional side was really hard.

I've just stopped bleeding as of today (10 days after the medical termination) and not once was I ever unable to cope with the pain or bleeding.

There's lots of ladies here you can talk to who will chat you through it. If you have more questions then I'm happy to answer them based on my experiences.

Hope you're ok x

I had one a few years ago at about 8 weeks- Took the first pill, returned 24 hours later and had the other tablets inserted. Bleeding began later that afternoon, heavy for a day or so then stopped (no heavier than a very heavy period)

However about a week later I had a massive bleed (continual could not leave the toilet kind of bleed) and lost consciousness at work.. although this isn’t the norm.

Pain was no worse than usual period pains and I don’t get them very bad

@RayOfSunshine2013 Thank you for you reply. I am sorry to hear you had such an awful experience with your time. I'm really greatful for your reply.

@Georgie371 thank you. I have read your post, it's really helped- I'm sorry you had to go through it also. I can't tell you how much it has helped to read your detailed account.

I have a phone consultation on Thursday with the nurse or doctor to asses next steps. It's through MSUK. It says on their website they sometimes send the pills directly to house with no physical appointment due to covid.

I'm just hoping for it to be over soon.

May I ask another question:
How quickly did you return to 'normal'

Did you have to have any time of work due to heavy bleeding. Thank you.

@butter675 no, I work from home anyway but apart from the evening I took the second pills, I could have been at work all the rest of the time and been fine. The bleeding and pain I had never once got heavier than my normal period on it's heaviest day but they say not to use tampons (incase of infection) so if you do something very physical, that's something to keep in mind.

I felt fine after the first pill - I was already feeling sick and tired from the pregnancy but I didn't get any worse, some ladies have found themselves with an upset stomach or feeling sicky after the first one though. It was all mental/emotional for me rather than physical.

What is your plan, are you taking the second set of pills in the evening then planning to go to work the next day? X

Thank you

The timing plan is what I am trying to gage.

I work from home on Wednesdays. So thinking of taking 2nd pill on a Tuesday late afternoon. I will know more on Thursday when I have my phone appointment.

Will it just be Tuesday night where I am bleeding very heavy ?

With regard to the mental side, I've tried to really detach from it. I have 2 children , so I'm trying not to thing about what I'm doing if you see what I mean.

There is no way I can keep this baby with my current financial situation, covid has decimated my income, it wouldn't be fair to bring a baby into this.

If the timings don't work out, I could always call in sick if needed. It would just be getting the children to school I am a little concerned about.

@butter675 no it might be a few days, but like I said, mine was never worse than a heavy period so you should be fine! I stopped bleeding yesterday (10 days post procedure) but I was only heavy for about 5 days and then it was just like a light period after that, but it felt like it went on for ages as my periods are normally about 4 days. As an example normally with my periods I never use pads as I always leak, especially overnight, but that did not happen at all following the termination and using pads.

I think your plan sounds perfect. Like you said, if worst comes to worst you can call in sick but all being well, you shouldn't need to. You're going to fine Sweets. It's a tough decision to make but it sounds like the right decision for you. Sending a virtual hug x

Thank you @Georgie371

you have been so so helpful. I do hope you are okay, i have read your thread a few times now.

i really appreciate the support, i have no one IRL i can trust with telling the secret to!

@butter675 no worries! I couldn't tell anyone either and this forum was a life saver for me! Hopefully you will have a similar experience to me, not all of them are negative, I don't feel like mine was, the worst part for me was waiting between appointments etc, as soon as I swallowed that first pill and the decision was made, I only felt better x