Positive test 3 weeks after medical abortion

[Chocolate93]

Hi everyone 💗 I had a medical termination at home 3 weeks ago. I took the pregnancy test that was provided to me by the clinic and it came out positive (faint line). I then took 2 normal tests and they came out positive too (picture attached). I did bleed a lot and passed a few clots, still spotting on and off even now.

I’m so scared that the abortion hasn’t worked, I contacted BPAS, who subsequently just told me to retest again in a weeks time. Just wondering if anyone has experienced anything similar?

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated 💗

I had my phone consultation yesterday and the midwife advised if the test was positive after 3 weeks it could be a sign it hasn't worked and further treatment is required. Sorry this has happened to you! I'd ring them again and tell them you're worried about retained tissue and risk of infection. My tablets are arriving this morning x

@Finalbaby Thanks so much for the reply! I am worried about it not working even though my pregnancy symptoms have disappeared. I will definitely be calling them again about this. Just what I needed… As if this whole process isn’t hard enough. I hope you’re ok though lovely? Good luck with the tablets, make sure you get lots of rest if you can 💗 xx

Hi, you should absolutely contact BPAS again & they should get you booked in for a scan of the test they gave you was positive. Even a home test like the one in your pic should be significantly lighter by now (it can remain positive for some time but not that dark).

I had a 3 week post abortion pregnancy test similar to yours & turned out not all the tissue had passed so needed further treatment. If you're still bleeding (as I was) then definitely push to be seen, it may be absolutely fine but if there's anything remaining then at least you'll know & they can advise if you need to do anything or can just leave it.

@Jsh125 Hello. Thank you so much for the reply. I am definitely suspecting that I have retained product left over. BPAS just keep telling me to retest after a week and if it’s still positive, then they’ll look into getting me in for a scan. Can I please ask what further treatment you needed? I’m so scared of going through anything surgical. Hope you’re doing ok now x

Hi @Chocolate93, you're welcome - always helpful to hear from others with similar experiences.

I had a surgical abortion initially so was never told to do a test at 3 weeks as they're meant to be almost certain everything was removed, just to call back if you still have any problems after 3 weeks. At 3 weeks I was still bleeding, pregnancy symptoms had massively eased off but hadn't gone entirely so I gave them a call for some advice, didn't even think to do a pregnancy test as I assumed it would still be positive. I called bpas who said it was probably all fine but as I still had some symptoms of pregnancy I should have a scan so booked me in later that week.

After the call I did a test which was very similar to yours, almost as dark as the control line.

Scan showed retained products & I was given some misoprostol to try & expel it then booked in for a repeat scan a week later which was on the morning the clinic did the surgical procedures (they only do surgery every 2 weeks). This meant that if it was still there they could offer me surgery almost there & then.

I had some increased bleeding with the misoprostol & expelled some gross stuff that definitely wasn't just blood. However scan showed it was still there so then I went ahead with the surgery that same morning & I was all done by lunchtime.

Hopefully you'll get a scan which will either show nothing or if there is anything you can have some more tablets to get rid of it. I think mine was less likely to shift as I'd had surgery initially which means retained products are much less likely in the first place.

When do you need to test again? Hope you're ok, here if you need a chat. I know I found it hard with everything dragging on & being in limbo

@Jsh125 Wow. You poor thing! Seems like you’ve been through hell and back with this whole process. It’s hard enough as it is, let alone with all these complications. I’m more shocked that they didn’t clear everything out properly through the surgical route! Did you have any signs of infection at all? I hope you’re feeling better now.

I’ve just started bleeding heavily today, not sure if it’s classed as a period or not though. Hoping the retained tissue will clear out itself. Honestly I thought it would be such a straight forward procedure, have found this whole thing so hard both emotionally and physically but really just want to move on from all of this now. Thank you again for your support and advice, it’s greatly appreciated 💗

Thanks @Chocolate93, it was horrible having it all hanging over me & not being able to move on but actually the physical side of it all was ok & everyone at bpas was so lovely (& apologetic!). Fortunately didn't have any signs of infection, just constant bleeding - sometimes a little, sometimes a lot & some remaining pregnancy symptoms. I honestly thought they'd say it was all fine! It was a month from first surgery to second surgery then recovery was straightforward after that but totally hear you about not being able to move on until it's all over & you know it's worked

Sounds hopeful that your bleeding has increased, fingers crossed it means anything left is going to come out. Will you wait until bleeding settles down then test again?

Sending you a big hug & hope things sort themselves out & you can start to move on soon

@Jsh125 Wow. Honestly, all the symptoms you experienced sound exactly like what I’m experiencing now. It’s been a month now and I’m still bleeding on and off. If you don’t mind me asking, how long were you bleeding for until it stopped? It feels never ending! I hope you’re doing ok now though lovely.

I did take a test today and it’s still positive and the line has the exact same darkness as the picture I posted above. Seems like I’ll have to chase the clinic up for a scan now 😩 x

Hi @Chocolate93, of course - ask away! I didn't stop bleeding until after the second surgery. Before that it was constant, not always enough to need a pad & sometimes more but it was always there, even if just when I wiped. And it was red, not brown. Aside from that I still just didn't quite feel right. I'd had horrendous sickness (head in the toilet 4 times a day) before the termination & it improved to almost nothing but didn't quite disappear. It was the bleeding & sickness which made me call & they organised a scan for me during that first call - not sure if it was because it was surgical so any issues are more likely to mean retained products.

Sorry they didn't send you for a scan when you first called but absolutely call them back, it sounds like my situation & I'd definitely be wanting a scan to check.

My tests were like yours after the initial termination - almost as dark as the control line & remained like that until the second surgery. I took one a day or 2 after the second surgery & it was so so much lighter.

Hope you can get in touch today & get a scan booked in as soon as you can. Xx

Hi I’m in need of advice

so I did a home abortion on the 10th of January
and I did the home test that you get sent out with BPAS
abd was negative so i thought it was all over and done

until 2 days ago I did a test as I’ve had no period yet only light spotting and washed out bloody stringy discharge
that lasted a few hours not enough to wear a tampon or a pad 🤔

so the test I did 2 days ago says positive so I tried not to panic
and do another one again soon and it’s negative

very confused with
why my negative one I took that after the abortion when your suppose to check was negative and then positive 2 days ago and now negative

my brain hurts any help please

Hi @Coral969. It's so stressful isn't it. Was the positive test a normal home pregnancy test? They're so much more sensitive than the one BPAS give you to do so might be that there's enough hcg left to show up on a home test but not their one.

The second pic (purple cap on test) - is that home test? It looks almost negative to me but the pink one is clearly positive.

Either it's a new pregnancy so that should be considered if it's possible you're pregnant again. Or your hcg levels are still dropping & low enough not to show up on the bpas test but not so low they make a regular test negative.

I know waiting is hard but best thing you can do is give it a few more days & test again to see. I'd also call bpas to explain & see what they suggest. I could just be your hormones taking a while to return to normal or you could have retained products ( I experienced this with my termination & the test line was so dark). They will be able to advise whether to wait it out or if a scan would be sensible. The fact the bpas test is negative is a good thing.

Hi thank you for your comment
and I’m so confused

i rang bpas and said to wait till the 20th if my period has to come then to test again and if negative then to get me a scan as left over tissue could still be inside me

or a new pregnancy

I feel very in the dark with everything but hopefully after the 20th I’ll get some answers

I know it's hard to wait but test again in a few more days & see where you're at. Then give them a call as advised if it's still positive. They'll be able to scan & see if there's left over tissue, it's exactly what happened to me & whilst not ideal it was dealt with quickly & easily (for me, may not be how others would view it as we're all different).

Fingers crossed things go as you hope, let me know if I can be of any support at all

If it is left over tissue then what’s then what do they do if you don’t mind me asking just so I’m prepared ?xx

Update my test from this morning was like this but I didn’t notice it at first I didn’t see a thing

is is a evap line and dose that mean the other one is a evap line 😑😑😑 confused I’m not testing until over a week from now as it’s doing me no good

If you do have left over tissue then there's a few options - possibly depending on how much there is & also your preference.

They may say to wait until your first period & it should come away then

For me they scanned me & once confirmed they gave me the option of taking some more misoprostol to try & get rid of it. Then a repeat scan the following week to see if it remained & the option of repeat surgery if it it. Mine was still there so went for surgery but you can choose what to do unless there's a reason why one choice would be preferable. If I hadn't have wanted surgery they would have monitored it a bit longer to see what happened.

Have you got a picture you can share?

Hello @Coral969💗 Please try not to panic. I went through very similar to you and I believe I did have retained product, as I bled on and off for literally 2 months as well as testing positive on pregnancy tests (as you can see in my posts above). Eventually, the bleeding stopped and everything pretty much cleared itself and the tests became negative too. Apparently, it can take up to 3 months for everything to clear out for some people. I agree with what @Jsh125 has said and I’d also suggest you wait a week and test again. I know the waiting and not knowing is so mentally draining, especially when the whole process is so hard as it is!! Best of luck and keep us updated xx

Sorry for the gross picture

but update I had brown stringy discharge today and now it’s red and brown stringy so confused
on Tuesday it will be 6 weeks after abortion and still no period blood yet

To me that looks normal when passing the remaining pregnancy tissue. It’s what mine looked like on and off for 2 months too x

Please someone advise me. I took my abortion pills from bpas on the 14th of December. Then I took the pregnancy test on the 6th, which is just over 3 weeks. It has a faint line. I have now been given a second test to try again in a week

That's definitely still positive but it doesn't mean it hasn't worked, hopefully it's just taking a while for things to return to normal. Fingers crossed in another week it will be negative. How many weeks were you when you took the pill, I imagine the more weeks you are the longer it takes to go down

Hey, I was 5 weeks when I took the tablets. Although I feel like my minds playing tricks on me now in regards to pregnancy symptoms.. I don’t no if I’m having them or it’s just because my test is still positive 😩 it’s so unsettling.