Hi everyone,
I am writing this in the hope it helps someone who was in the position I was in about 10 days ago. I trawled about 100 pages worth of this sub-forum looking for reassurance but also being drawn in by horror stories and thought I would share how it went for me, maybe a bit of closure/catharsis for me too!
I will say, I have health anxiety, hate having anything feeling 'off', hate feeling 'off' due to meds etc and hate taking strong medications/new medications, so this was a really challenging thing for me, even more so than for someone without this.
Tues 2nd Jan - did positive test, was on day 28 of my cycle so period not even due for another day, but had metallic taste in mouth and big sore boobs so I knew something was off! I knew instantly it's the wrong time for me and my partner, so we weren't going to be keeping it.
Weds 3rd - Put in for a call back from BPAS as they're the NHS provider in my area but didn't want to wait the few days for them to contact me. Called a private clinic and went with them, they said a Dr would call me the next day and meds sent out for next day delivery. Clinic was The Gynae Centre in London.
Thurs 4th - Call from Dr, less than 10 mins easy, just explaining the process and what to expect. I said I was really anxious about possible pain but as this was so early on (bang on 4 weeks) he said he expects it to just be like a period and really no reason for me to experience severe pain or extreme bleeding. The cost of the consult etc is £495.
Friday 5th - Meds arrive in post.
Took Saturday to relax, had all happened very quickly so wanted to get my head around what was going to happen etc.
Sunday - Took the mifepristone around 2pm, no side effects at all from this. Was unbearably anxious, to the point that my partner had to give me a pep talk, I was shaking and my hands were sweating because I was so worried about what might be ahead.
Monday - After much procrastinating, took the misoprostol (4 tablets vaginally) about 10pm, so a bit over 24hrs but they say in general 24-36 is fine for this. The package had co-codamol and diclofenac but I only took the diclofenac (30mins before miso) because I didn't want co-codamol to make me feel 'weird' etc unnecessarily.
Laid on the sofa from 10-11pm, got into bed at 11 and felt some tiny cramps but nothing major. Put on a pad, my partner giving me lots of hugs as I felt so emotionally wiped out, and got some rest.
Got up at 1am to mild cramps, nothing in pad but when I sat on the toilet I felt a little gush of blood, and a small plop of something in the loo. Couldn't see what came out as blood in the loo.
Slept 1am-3am, woke up at 3am to slightly stronger cramps, but again nothing crazy (I would say, don't take it in the evening or night if you have plans the next day! I think I just postponed it to this time out of anxiety!)
3am-4am - tossed and turned a bit, then had stomach pains and vomited at 5am. I felt some chills around this time so got my extra duvet out and placed it on top of my duvet.
I think due to me feeling anxious, I couldn't get back to sleep, but the pain itself was no worse than a period cramp to be honest. I just laid there with my hot water bottle.
I think the meds did mess with my stomach a bit as I threw up a few more times, and snoozed on and off until about 8am ish, which to be honest was actually the worst part of it all - and if the worst thing is throwing up a few times, it really goes to show the whole experience is not always the horror show it is made out to be!
In terms of bleeding I am 99.9% sure it worked as it should, I went through 5 pads between 11pm and 9am, and TMI - when I was sick I could feel clots etc come out due to the force (sorry haha..).
Cramps and nausea feelings went away by 9am, and it was very much eased by hot water bottle and paracetamol.
I felt quite ropey the next day but largely put that down to the emotional impact of it all, plus huge lack of sleep.
I bled Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, then a fair bit of brown (end of period) type stuff Sat and Sun.
Physically I think the strong meds/stress of it all did make me feel a bit wiped out all week, quite emotional and a bit up and down in my moods, e.g., didn't fancy any social stuff or exercise, just gentle time inside and short strolls to get fresh air. But again, I think this is normal considering - becoming pregnant, the mental toll of deciding to terminate, waiting to start the process, then actually going through it, is really draining - I think the meds are quite strong (they have to be!) so it is a lot for your body to go through - but again, really not as bad as I was expecting!
Sorry bit of a long one, but I wanted to share the reality of it from someone who was petrified and only able to go through with it because the alternative (keeping it) was far more scary!
Tips from me:
If money isn't an issue, go private. I'm not rich by any means but the stress of knowing I could speak to Dr the next day and not wait circa 1 week+ for the appt like some people, for me is worth it. I read that the earlier you do it the safer and the more painless.
Don't do the second pills at night - unless you have no plans next day. Looking back I would do them at like 3pm, get it all mostly done by 10/11pm then sleep it off.
Have things to hand just in case you need them, e.g., hot water bottle, plenty of water, a snack (weirdly I woke up hungry at one point!), plenty of pads and a change of PJs if needed, also popped a towel below me just so I didn't have to worry if it got really heavy. Also a sick bowl just in case!
That was a long one but I really hope it helps someone, I promise you it was nowhere near as bad as I expected, and the worst part really is the worry of the unknown, and I think perhaps some of the pain etc I did have was down to how tense I had been over the entire thing.
I promise you if I can do it then literally anyone can, us women are made of strong stuff and our bodies are very good at doing what they need to do. I am writing this almost a week out, and I pretty much feel back to normal now.
If anyone needs to ask anything feel free to reply below and I will try to answer xxx