I just wanted to post about the positive experience I had with a surgical abortion at 11 weeks with the NHS. I know how absolutely petrified I was and just hope this might put someone’s mind at ease a little bit.
I suffer from extreme anxiety so in my head knew that the surgical route would always be something i would do rather than the medical pill as the thought of that just terrified me.
When I first decided I wanted an abortion I contacted MSI Choices. After having my appointment rescheduled multiple times and realising I would have to travel at least 2 hours to have the surgical option I decided to look at other more local choices. I wasn’t aware that my main local hospital actually did abortions, it was nothing I was aware of before. I emailed the NHS email for pregnancy choices at my local hospital and had a call to organise a consultation the next day. Due to it being over Christmas and the new year I had to wait a couple weeks for my consultation with a nurse. The nurse was so lovely on the video call and was happy to answer any questions I had and she got me booked in for a scan the next day. I found out I was just over ten weeks, she went through all of my options with me and my medical history. Luckily for me I was managed to get booked in for the procedure for the following week. She also gave me a tablet to take 48 hours before to apparently prepare the cervix.
leading up to the procedure I was terrified, I suffer with the worst anxiety and have never had any medical procedures so had no idea what to expect. Like most people, I had spent weeks reading everyone’s stories on line, some made me so nervous whereas some people had very positive experiences. I went in with the worst in my head. From the minute I walked into the hospital unit everyone was lovely, so welcoming and calming.
I walked in and they immediately checked my blood pressure and heart rate. They then took myself and my partner into the recovery area where they have a dedicated bed for you and behind a curtain for privacy. My appointment was at 9:30, after about 10 minutes the main doctor came and grabbed me to talk me through what would happen. He was the nicest man and made me feel so at ease, he talked me through exactly what would happen and offered multiple contraception options that could be done at the same time. He talked me through the gas and air pen, it’s stronger than gas and air but I can’t remember the name! I then went back to the recovery area to see my partner. The nurse came in with some numbing cream, they ask you to empty your bladder and apply the numbing cream to your cervix yourself. As I only had local anaesthetic the numbing cream was to make it easier with the injections.
Within 5 minutes of doing this they nurses came round telling me they were ready for me now. They take you into a room and ask you to put your pants in a bag and give you a large blanket like sheet to wrap around you. Once you’ve done that you go into what looks like a gynaecology doctors room. There were 2 nurses and the doctor himself. I want to clarify that I HAVE THE WORSE PAIN TOLERANCE! They sit you in the seat and do anything they can to make you comfortable, they gave me a heat pad for my tummy and the gas and air pen. The doctor talked me through everything he was doing. He put in the speculum and inserted the local anaesthetic, he said this is usually the worst part and all I can explain it was a tingly feeling, it just felt abit uncomfortable, not at all painful. The actual procedure with the vacuum didn’t hurt at all, it just felt abit strange, almost like pressure. I did not once feel in pain and I’m the sort of person that sobs if I break a nail from the pain. It was all over and done with within 10 minutes.
one thing I can say and I know this is hard, don’t over think it like I did. I think it’s the best experience I could have had given the circumstances, it all went so well and I felt so comfortable and no pain. I had slight period sort of cramps when I first stood up but on a scale of 0-10 they were only about a 4. After they walked me to the recovery room, as I felt abit light headed due to not eating anything because of morning sickness they held my hand and guided me back. They made me a lonely sugary tea and some biscuits. After about 10 minutes they came to check my blood pressure, re do my hot water bottle and gave me a form with phone numbers to contact if I had any concerns.
they came and checked on me every ten minutes after, the doctor came and checked on me also and made sure I felt okay with what had just happened, explained how well it went and how well I did. We were then leaving by 11:30, no where near as long as I thought it would be!
when I got home I’ve had some cramps, no worse than my normal period cramps and are very manageable with paracetamol and my hot water bottle. I’m back to eating normally now in the afternoon after having a 2 hour nap. I’ve had bleed but actually less than my normal period. I’m genuinely shocked with how much better it was than I had worked up in my head. Please don’t be scared! Everyone there is there to support you and look after you! Please message if you have any questions, I’m more than happy to answer!x