Just tested positive..... Posted: 05-04-08 20:28pm
Hey,
I am just looking for some support/info. I
just took a pregnancy test and saw the
dreaded (in my case) two lines. I know for
certain that I need to terminate the
pregnancy but I know nothing about how
things will work. I have been reading
about the options and I think I could
qualify for a medical abortion (as I am
very early in) but I think surgical will
be my best option, I need this to be done
as quickly as possible.
I am in Alberta, Canada, so I'm not sure
if that changes any of my options, I
submitted a request for an appointment at
the local Morgentaler clinic so now I am
sitting here, waiting.
Anyway, I guess I don't actually have
anything to ask but maybe if you've been
through this and could give me some
feedback/what to expect, anything, that'd
be great.
Thanks..
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lucy315
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Joined: 25 Oct 2007 Posts: 122 Location: New Jersey, USA
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Posted: 05-04-08 23:42pm
Hello eastcoastgal. I can't help too much
with the options in Canada, but I can
share my experience with you. I found out
I was pregnant very early on and also
chose surgical. The idea of being in pain
for 2 days (with a medical abortion)
wasn't something I wanted to do. I made
my appointment for 6 days later. They
wouldn't take me any earlier because I was
barely 5 weeks when I found out. I was 5
weeks and 6 days when I had mine. I
didn't get sedation (my choice) and the
procedure itself took about 5 minutes.
But I was there for 4 hours. The whole
process of paperwork, another pregnancy
test, taking blood, ultrasound, and
changing, takes awhile. The abortion
itself wasn't too terrible. It hurt, but
was over quickly. After it was over, I
got to get redressed within minutes. I
was very happy I didn't have to stay and
"recover". They gave me a MASSIVE maxi
pad, but I barely bled at all and had very
mild cramping. I had a sip or two of
ginger ale, and they gave me some
information on after-abortion care and a
prescription for an antibiotic (to prevent
infection). I even drove home and stopped
to get some food...I was starving from not
eating the night before. My pregnancy
symptoms went away almost immediately,
except for the sore boobs. They actually
got much worse. My period started up
again almost 6 weeks to the day of my
abortion. I hope this helps a little!
Good luck with everything
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amino65
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Joined: 10 Apr 2006 Posts: 263
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Posted: 05-05-08 17:23pm
I'll also share my experience, although it
was very similar to lucy315.
I had a surgical abortion at 7 weeks and
opted for IV sedation. Because of the IV
sedation, I had my boyfriend with me, and
he had to wait in the waiting room for me
to take me home. I didn't wait long, I was
just asked to look over and sign certain
forms, a "counselor" went over the
paperwork with me, and they performed a
pregnancy test, blood work, took my
bloodpressure and weight, and had me
change into a blue gown and booties. They
did do an ultrasound, the screen was
turned away from me. After this, I was
called into the patient holding room and
was the only girl there, even though there
were 4 girls waiting with me in the
changing room initially. I was led to the
procedure room, and they just had me lay
on a flat table, the doctor and
anesthesiologist came in, introduced
themselves, they were very amiable. The IV
sedation was painful for me only because
the needle was a little shallow ( I
actually bruised from the site to my
elbow, basically all of my bicep area, had
to wear sweaters and long sleeves to hide
it, and it stayed bruised for about a
week). Anyway, I fell asleep pretty quick
and woke up as I was being wheeled into
the recovery room on a gurney (who knows
how I got there!). Like Lucy said, I had
very little bleeding, and only felt
moderate cramping until I was able to
stand, then it went away completely. I
felt no nausea from the sedation, nor was
I groggy. My symptoms went away pretty
quick too, but my boobs hurt ridiculously
bad for about 2 weeks afterward. After
recovery, I was allowed to change, they
went over post-op care, gave me a
prescription for antibiotics and 3 months
of birth control (I wasn't offered
anything to eat or drink, but I was fine).
I went to get lunch with my boyfriend and
he stayed with me for the rest of the day,
but I felt just fine.
Hope this helped, I'm sorry it was so
long, but I remember every detail like it
was yesterday. The best of luck to you, I
hope everything goes well.
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lucy315
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Joined: 25 Oct 2007 Posts: 122 Location: New Jersey, USA
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Posted: 05-05-08 18:44pm
amino65
wrote:
After this, I was called
into the patient holding room and was the
only girl there, even though there were 4
girls waiting with me in the changing room
initially.
This was the only part of the process that
I felt uncomfortable. The patient holding
room was very small, and I was with 4
other girls (all of us in our gowns). We
just sat there in complete silence for
about an hour as we were called one by
one. It felt kind of like we were cattle
being herded from room to room. But once
I was called into surgery, the doctor and
nurse were very nice and even made me
smile. The doctor was wonderful. He
counted down the minutes with me, and kept
me talking to take my mind off of the
pain. They gave me back my clothes while
I was still in the surgery room, which I
liked because I didn't want to walk down
the hall with my beautiful paper gown
between my legs.
They offered us cookies, pop cycles, lolly
pops, ginger ale and apple juice while
they gave us our after care packages. The
only reason I drank anything was because
they made me. I was a bit shaky afterward
from not eating and from my nerves. The
sugar in the ginger ale worked wonders.
Sounds like we had similar experiences.
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amino65
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Joined: 10 Apr 2006 Posts: 263
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Posted: 05-06-08 11:23am
yeah sounds like we did!
There were 2 rooms that we had to wait in,
one with lockers where they took our
weight and blood pressure, and then
another room with a TV where we waited to
be called in. I was only uncomfortable
when one girl came into the "locker" room,
she couldn't have been older than 14 and
was completely obnoxious and acted like
this was all a joke. I could tell all the
other girls myself included wanted to slap
her.
I wish they had given me my clothes
earlier, but it was waiting for me in the
locker. Guess it didn't matter, since I
was knocked out until I got to the
recovery room. I was a little embarassed
when they put that gigantic pad on me, but
I figure they see weirder things. I just
hopped off the gurney as soon as the
nurses gave me the ok, and one of them
walked me to my locker and let me change
myself.
My doctor was nice too, he said I had
beautiful long hair, and the
anethesiologist asked if I was feeling
sleepy when he started the sedation. He
laughed when I said no and said "well go
to sleep honey" and bam I was out. It
really helped for them be friendly and
talkative to distract from what was going
on.
lol, and the food I ate afterwards worked
wonders for me too. My boyfriend new it is
my favorite so he bought tons, and we ate
ALL of it.
Hope our experiences help!
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Reptar
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Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 389
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Posted: 05-06-08 19:03pm
I had a surgical abortion in Canada. From
what I can tell, it's all very similar to
the experiences listed above. Since you
live in Canada, it should be free (as long
as you have an Alberta health card).
My own personal experience was such: I
actually was late for my abortion. My
boyfriend can't set an alarm clock to save
his life. We had to go down to Toronto to
get it done, and it was pretty scary
navigating around a strange city. Once we
got there it was in a very discreet
building and we had a bit of trouble
finding it. Once we got in, it was very
cosy. I was very nervous, but my boyfriend
said we could leave if I wanted to. I was
7 weeks and 1 day. We had the dressing
room. There were a couple of other girls,
one who had two previous abortions.
Another one who was married with a kid. We
talked a bit, it was kind of scary. When I
got into the room, they were very nice. I
didn't get sedated. I remember hearing the
doctors/nurses say that I was pretty, it
was nice. It really hurt me a lot, I'm not
going to lie. I'm sure it's nowhere near
as painful as a medical one, but I was in
a lot of pain. It lasted maybe 5 minutes.
Afterwards I needed to stay a while
because I was feeling really faint. I
wasn't really upset, moreso numb. It was
really similar I guess, I think most
experiences are. But it was a positive
experience, I did have a bit of sadness
afterwards and felt a lot more unsure with
my birth control. My boyfriend was there
for most of it, so that made things a lot
better.
They offered us cookies, pop cycles, lolly
pops, ginger ale and apple juice while
they gave us our after care packages. The
only reason I drank anything was because
they made me. I was a bit shaky afterward
from not eating and from my nerves. The
sugar in the ginger ale worked wonders.
Sounds like we had similar experiences.