Hi all, I just wanted to share my honest and open medical abortion story with you, as I know these threads helped me before I went ahead with mine.
I’m 27 years old, and have been with my partner for nearly 8 years. I had missed my period by just over a week, and had begin to feel a lot of pregnancy symptoms, ie, nausea, headaches, sore breasts, no appetite, you name it. I also had a gut feeling I was pregnant - this was confirmed with 2 tests at home tests, and a blood test from my GP, I was just under 7 weeks.
It was a really hard decision for us to make, not to go ahead with the pregnancy, as we both really do want children in the future, however, financially, and mentally, we were not in the right space to go ahead with it.
So then we got referred to Marie Stopes for an appointment where I opted to go the medical abortion route, as I was only 7 weeks along.
I was super anxious, heading into the clinic, but was put at ease by the super understanding and non judgmental nurses and doctors at the clinic. The nurse thoroughly explained the procedure, and what to expect from it as well as minor risks to be aware of, and contact details for nurses etc.
Whilst I was at the clinic the doctor did an ultrasound to confirm gestation - I was relieved that I could not see the screen, nor did she show me any pictures, as I was already quite sad about the decision, even thought I knew it was the right thing for me to do.
After this, I took the first tablet mifepristone, which essentially blocks the pregnancy hormones from progressing. The doctor then recommended I take the 2 dose of medication known as Misoprostol 36 hours later - which worked out to be 10pm at night - this is so I would be able to sleep throughout most of the process. She also gave me some anti-nausea tablets and strong pain medication (panadiene forte and ibuprofen) - the doctor told me to take all of this medication at least 1 hour before starting the Misoprostol.
36 hours after going to the clinic, at 9pm at took my pain/nausea medication and then at 10pm I proceeded to take the 2 dose of my abortion medication Misoprostol.
I was instructed to take this orally, but placing all 4 tablets between my gum and my cheek.
From the research I had done, and what the nurses advised, I was told it could take between 1-4 hours for the pregnancy to pass. However in my instance it was just under an hour.
This is not to scare anyone, but just be prepared for the pain that you may experience. After about 40 minutes from taking the medication I began to experience very heavy cramping, and felt some hot flushes, as well as feeling like I was going to faint- it was probably 9/10 pain for me.
However, I will say that this only lasted for about 20 minutes, before I began to feel a small gush of blood - to which was almost like instant relief.
I did continue to bleed quite heavily for the next 4-6 hours, and did still have minor cramps, similar to first day of my period.
All in all I was thankful that my partner was there to support me through the process, and although it was very painful at one point, it was over fairly quickly.
From my experience, I would recommend doing this process throughout the day time, and not at night like I did, as I kept having to get up and change my pad throughout the night, and didn’t sleep through it at all, plus I was still having cramps which were controlled with medication - but uncomfortable none the less.
I did finally get a good sleep at around 6am - (which is why in hindsight, doing this during the day would have been better.) I woke up at around 11am on Sunday morning, feeling a little fatigued, but mostly fine, with the occasional cramps.
Also, the anti-nausea medication and lots of water is important, as I did not feel sick or vomit at all throughout the process, but I did feel quiet hot and flushed for a little while.
I just want you all to know that whatever decision you make, that you are loved and supported, and help to prepare and share my experience with anyone else to try and spread awareness, and help others who are going through a similar thing.
Wish you all the best.