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Q: Abortion Scheduled For Tuesday Need Questions Answered Asap!

asked by: think4yourself on August 25th, 2007

New User

i just found out i was pregnant Wednesday.
Clinic saw me on Thursday, confirmed i am pregnant, 9wks5days.
Abortion scheduled for Tuesday 7:30am.

as you can see, this has all happened very fast. we were very surprised considering we use protection and try to time it so that we dont have sex around my ovulation days. i cant take hormonal birth control because i am on lamcital, and i cant afford the non-hormonal options which arent offered at my local health clinic for free. Unfortunately safe sex failed, and i apparently ovulate the day after i am done with my period.
a little about myself:

*i already have 1 child (3yrs old). i was induced for her birth, in labor for 12 hours, stalled at 4cm, had C-section.

*i am 28yrs, single mom. my child & i live with my parents (who do not know about this nor that i am seeing the father whom they despise). i am currently unemployed, looking for a job, desperately trying to get on my feet, and obviously unable to have another child due to my financial situation. the father is unable to have a child right now as well because of his own legitimate situational reasons which i wont get into. bringing another child into this world would be very foolish and unfair to the baby as well as everyone involved.

*i was adamantly pro-choice prior to this, therefore able to make this decision quickly without being too emotionally torn and able to quickly accept that it was the best decision given my current situation. (although i do admit, i wish we could keep it and wish that the circumstances were different.)

i have a few questions/concerns that i need answered ASAP so that i can be prepared:

1. i was diagnosed bipolar earlier this year, so my medication is still kind of in the trial & error stage and i dont think i've been seen long enough to know how i'm going to respond to an abortion. should i let my physician know immediately? or just wait and see? anyone bipolar or experienced in this field that can advise me?
1a. i've had post-op depression in the past. is this indicative of how i will respond to the abortion?

2. i will be given a nerve block (local anesthesia) but nothing else for the procedure. i've been told that i will feel 'pressure'; but not 'pain' because they said that the procedure is more emotional than painful. what do you guys have to say about that? (dont worry, you wont scare me so go ahead and be honest.)
2a. i've had a C-section, breast implants, & lipo in the past; all of which were a walk in the park for me. i did not consider them painful at all. during labor, my strongest contractions only felt like period cramps to me, that was it. so i gather that i have a high threshold for pain. can the same be expected for the abortion?

3. i will be prescribed Loratabs for pain after the Sx, do you think this will be sufficient?
3a. i have valium & xanax that i can take beforehand (or afterward, not sure when would be most beneficial). would you recommend that i take 1 of these and when? *my doctor's assistant said it was okay to take whatever i wanted but i thought i'd better get some opinions first.

okay i think i covered everything for now. i really appreciate this forum being here. god bless all of the supportive & educated members who are dedicated to it.

p.s. - pro-lifers need not waste your time responding here. your arguements are tired & ludicrous; and your efforts are futile as far as i'm concerned. i do not have the patience nor the time to respond to you thus anything you have to say will be ignored. like my name says - i think 4 myself and i stand by what i believe is right.

Replies(23)

Tylanas

replied on August 26th, 2007

Especially eHealthy

Don't worry, non-supportive comments on here are not allowed and are removed Smile

You've got lots of good questions, and I'll try to answer as many as I can until the other ladies get on here.

1. I do think you should inform your physician, just so if there are complications, medication can be adjusted properly.
1a. It is possible that your previous post-op depression will return, but I don't know enough about that to give any more information.

2. I don't know, but some of the ladies here will.
2a. I think your good reactions to pain in the past will definitely help here.

3. I have heard it advised that women take ibuprofen before the abortion to help lessen pain.
3a. See above heh.

Carifairy

replied on August 26th, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

A nerve block will not be enough. With only that, it would be painful..

I have had an abortion, AND I work in an abortion clinic. We give all women IV sedation.

Your best bet would be to find a clinic that offers IV sedation.

SOME women choose to not have IV anesthesia, and they do say it is quite painful.

I recommend IV sedation, it really makes the procedure comfortable.

SOME clinics do not offer IV sedation, and I personally would not use them, because I believe that comfort is a big deal.

think4yourself

replied on August 26th, 2007

New User

crap! i was afraid you'd say that about the nerve block.
i think it will be a problem finding a clinic around here that offers IV sedation. i havent heard of any clinics that were actually recommended by anyone other than the one i'm going to Confused

all i've heard from other girls is, "they didnt give me any anesthesia! it wasnt even an option even if we were willing to pay for it. it was like they wanted to torture us so we wouldnt do it again!"

have any of you heard of any decent clinics in louisiana? i went to the site that you frequently post on here but it doesnt have ANY clinics listed at all. i actually had better luck finding a lot more listings on an pro-life site, lol!

Carifairy

replied on August 26th, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

You can PM me..

What cities are you close to?

Are you close to another state?

NOT offering IV sedation is cheaper, because they do not need as much monitoring equipment, and they can see a lot more people.

Sounds kind of 'herdy'.

ANYTHING, even a high dose of valium would be better than nothing.

Bossier City - Bossier City Medical Suite 318-747-0330 / 800-749-7267
Metairie / New Orleans - Causeway Medical Suite 504-837-1272 / 800-749-7265

Shreveport - Hope Medical Group For Women 318-221-5500 / 800-448-5004

These are some places you could call and ask =) Maybe they offer it.

If you can travel to another state, many other options do exist.

Carifairy

replied on August 26th, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

Texas has a lot of nice abortion clinics, every one of them offers IV sedation...

Can you travel to texas at all?

Carifairy

replied on August 26th, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

Here are a few more.. You may have to call to make sure addresses and phone numbers are correct. Women may have used them before hurricane katrina, but they could have had problems and rebuilt elsewhere.

This one offers IV sedation..

Delta clinic of Baton Rouge
756 Colonial Dr
Baton Rouge, LA Map

* (800) 937-3242

Gentilly womens clinic
3030 Gentilly Blvd
New Orleans, LA 70122 Map

* (504) 943-2423

think4yourself

replied on August 26th, 2007

New User

Carifairy wrote:

You can PM me..

What cities are you close to?

Are you close to another state?

i am 45min from Baton Rouge (which is where my best friend lives and whom i will be staying with.)
i am 2hrs from New Orleans, 3hrs from Shreveport/Bossier, and 2hrs from Beaumont, Tx.

Cost is a major issue here. To have it done with IV sedation - my most likely option would be Baton Rouge. I've already paid $150 for my consultation at the 1st place and Im sure i'd have to pay for another consultation should i go elsewhere; plus i'm guessing the cost of the procedure will be much more expensive.
After that, I definitely would not be able to afford a hotel room & gas - not to mention the change in plans would mean i'd have to come up with a new alibi to tell my parents, (which sadly is the most complicated part of the task at hand).
But it sounds like having IV sedation would certainly be worth the trouble.

Quote:

NOT offering IV sedation is cheaper, because they do not need as much monitoring equipment, and they can see a lot more people.

Sounds kind of 'herdy'.

thats what i was thinking. when i asked about general anesthesia, they said it was too dangerous which sounded sketchy to me because i'm no stranger to general anesthesia; all of my surgeries have been outpatient (minus the c-section) so i know its not that dangerous - like you said, its just a matter of monitoring equipment, cost, & recovery time.

think4yourself

replied on August 26th, 2007

New User

also if you had to guess, how much can i expect a procedure w/IV sedation to cost?

just to give you an idea...
the one i'm scheduled for (which is just a nerve block - local anesthesia) costs: $375 (thats including the $150 i've already paid for the initial consultation.)

Carifairy

replied on August 26th, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

IN TEXAS, IF you can travel 2 hours...

NO CONSULTATION. They do everything in ONE DAY. The ONLY thing you have to do is LOOK at 'government mandated material' that the clinic provides, and that would satisfy any needs.

The website explains everything. MANY clinics have to do a 24 hour waiting period, because PL'ers hope that it will deter women seeking an abortion.

TEXAS has very inexpensive clinics. You would pay about 375-420$ for IV sedation abortion.

One clinic in Dallas only costs 295$ for the same service.

Here is one in beaumont-

They charge 373.. 350 for the abortion PLUS 25$ for twilight sedation...

That might be better if you want a little more 'comfort'..

They have a few other locations, so that is why it says 'austin abortion', because austin was where their first clinic was =)

http://www.austinabortion.com/beaumont/ind ex.html

They tried to get a "Mandatory 24hr" period in Texas, like louisiana, but it did not work.

So you don't have to pay for any extra couseling =) All you have to do is 'listen' to a recording, or 'say' that you did.

It might be better to go to Beaumont, because it is only 375$ for an abortion with sedation, and you do not need a consultation, they do everything in one day.

Mabel

replied on August 26th, 2007

Moderator

It isn't that bad with a local. Take a valium beforehand and you'll get through it fine. You said you have a high tolerance for pain and, honestly, it isn't that bad. It only lasts a few minutes then it is over. Why spend more money, more time and energy on something that is only going to take a few minutes?

Carifairy

replied on August 26th, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

How is she going to get Valuim?

The clinic does not offer ANYTHING.

Most people do not keep valium around just in case.

IV sedation costs just as much as an abortion without, in many cases. It is just that the clinic wants to keep recovery LOW, and patient count high.

think4yourself

replied on August 26th, 2007

New User

Carifairy wrote:

IN TEXAS, IF you can travel 2 hours...

NO CONSULTATION. They do everything in ONE DAY. The ONLY thing you have to do is LOOK at 'government mandated material' that the clinic provides, and that would satisfy any needs.
The website explains everything. MANY clinics have to do a 24 hour waiting period, because PL'ers hope that it will deter women seeking an abortion.
TEXAS has very inexpensive clinics. You would pay about 375-420$ for IV sedation abortion.
Here is one in beaumont-
They charge $350 for the abortion PLUS 25$ for twilight sedation...
That might be better if you want a little more 'comfort'..
They have a few other locations, so that is why it says 'austin abortion', because austin was where their first clinic was =)
http://www.austinabortion.com/beaumont/ind ex.html

They tried to get a "Mandatory 24hr" period in Texas, like louisiana, but it did not work.
So you don't have to pay for any extra couseling =) All you have to do is 'listen' to a recording, or 'say' that you did.
It might be better to go to Beaumont, because it is only 375$ for an abortion with sedation, and you do not need a consultation, they do everything in one day.

Sweet! Thank you soooo much! I was really impressed by the site. I emailed them to schedule my appointment. Hopefully, if they can take me tuesday or wednesday, i'll be able to do it there.

thank you so much for your help, i really really appreciate it!

young Girl

replied on August 26th, 2007

Especially eHealthy

think4yourself wrote:

Carifairy wrote:

IN TEXAS, IF you can travel 2 hours...

NO CONSULTATION. They do everything in ONE DAY. The ONLY thing you have to do is LOOK at 'government mandated material' that the clinic provides, and that would satisfy any needs.
The website explains everything. MANY clinics have to do a 24 hour waiting period, because PL'ers hope that it will deter women seeking an abortion.
TEXAS has very inexpensive clinics. You would pay about 375-420$ for IV sedation abortion.
Here is one in beaumont-
They charge $350 for the abortion PLUS 25$ for twilight sedation...
That might be better if you want a little more 'comfort'..
They have a few other locations, so that is why it says 'austin abortion', because austin was where their first clinic was =)
http://www.austinabortion.com/beaumont/ind ex.html

They tried to get a "Mandatory 24hr" period in Texas, like louisiana, but it did not work.
So you don't have to pay for any extra couseling =) All you have to do is 'listen' to a recording, or 'say' that you did.
It might be better to go to Beaumont, because it is only 375$ for an abortion with sedation, and you do not need a consultation, they do everything in one day.

best of luck to you and i hope it all goes well!!!!! Very Happy

Birch

replied on August 26th, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

Re: Abortion Scheduled For Tuesday Need Questions Answered A

I'm a little late on the fly for this, but I just wanted to say a couple things....one is that you don't have to justify your reasons for getting an abortion, to anyone, period.

The second is that your bpd/o meds may not react well with anesthetic. You need to find out from your doctor and s/he will take into account your dosage and the exact nature of the medication. If you are on anti-depressants, this is very important. If you are on antipsychotics, it's also very, very important. Drug interactions could cause a spiraling one way or the other or other adverse reactions.

The other one is that, and maybe Carifairy knows more, I have read that general anesthesia is the root cause of abortion-related serious issues. Any surgery that requires general has an elevated risk due to the nature of the anesthestic. I would stick to local. It is not so painful as it is an...well, odd sensation.

Best wishes!

think4yourself

replied on August 26th, 2007

New User

Re: Abortion Scheduled For Tuesday Need Questions Answered a

Birch wrote:

I'm a little late on the fly for this, but I just wanted to say a couple things....one is that you don't have to justify your reasons for getting an abortion, to anyone, period.

oh i know

i just wanted to avoid any questions that may have risen and possibly sidetracked my goal here. i'm a nursing student - i'm very thorough, heh.

Quote:

The second is that your bpd/o meds may not react well with anesthetic. You need to find out from your doctor and s/he will take into account your dosage and the exact nature of the medication. If you are on anti-depressants, this is very important. If you are on antipsychotics, it's also very, very important. Drug interactions could cause a spiraling one way or the other or other adverse reactions.

yeah, i made sure to address that with him and he did not seem concerned, probably because it is only a nerve block i suppose.

Quote:

The other one is that, and maybe Carifairy knows more, I have read that general anesthesia is the root cause of abortion-related serious issues. Any surgery that requires general has an elevated risk due to the nature of the anesthestic. I would stick to local. It is not so painful as it is an...well, odd sensation.

Best wishes!

yes general anesthesia would be the root cause of serious abortion-related complications due to the fact that abortion itself is a low-risk procedure so there's not a whole lot that can go wrong until you throw general anesthesia into the mix.
as we all know, general anesthesia is one of those things that works fine most of the time but also causes things to "go to hell in a handbasket" a small percentage of the time.
so naturally, if there is going to be a serious complication with an abortion - you can bet its probably due to general anesthesia.
i've had it enough times to know that i'm not scared of it; the only thing i hate about it is waking up with the "shakes" and feeling like an ice cube. but i'll take that over having to 'experience' the procedure, any day of the week.

listen, i just wanna say thank you to you and all of you ladies here today. you guys are so great. just talking things out with you all is a great way to prepare for this and such a learning experience. this is better than any physician's consultation (well i mean outside of the technical medicinal info which they really dont go into detail with you anyways.)
i hope they pay you for this because if they dont, they should! Cool

Birch

replied on August 26th, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

Re: Abortion Scheduled For Tuesday Need Questions Answered a

think4yourself wrote:

Birch wrote:

I'm a little late on the fly for this, but I just wanted to say a couple things....one is that you don't have to justify your reasons for getting an abortion, to anyone, period.

oh i know

i just wanted to avoid any questions that may have risen and possibly sidetracked my goal here. i'm a nursing student - i'm very thorough, heh.

Quote:

yeah, i made sure to address that with him and he did not seem concerned, probably because it is only a nerve block i suppose.

Quote:

I'm glad that you feel that way. I'll be happy to send ehealth my paypal account if they want. Very Happy

Can I ask why you would choose to do general even though you know it's risks?

If you are worried about 'experiencing' the procedure...and I know this may not come off very well to anyone, but I gotta ask... maybe more thought is needed before you do it?

monkeygirl22

replied on August 26th, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

I just wanted to wish you well and hope everything is done soon for your sake.

think4yourself

replied on August 26th, 2007

New User

Re: Abortion Scheduled For Tuesday Need Questions Answered a

Birch wrote:

I'm glad that you feel that way. I'll be happy to send ehealth my paypal account if they want. Very Happy

oh no, i dont mind you asking....the reason i would do it regardless of the risks involved is because to me:
general anesthesia poses that risk no matter what kind of surgery is performed. i'm better with examples so let me explain like this:

in my mind, that risk is the same as the risk you take by driving on the interstate Dec 23rd/24th. like surgery, its not something you do very often, rarely if ever. but if you do, you do so knowing that you'll most likely get to your destination just fine. however you also know there is that possibility you and your whole family could die from a head on collision with a drunk driver. (sorry, but my mom has been a medic for 20 years so i grew up hearing these kinds of stories. yes, i know that could happen any day of the week but the odds are slightly greater due to the number of travelers, impatient shoppers driving, & holiday parties = more drunk drivers.)
personally, i'd rather go under general anesthesia than get on the interstate during the holidays, or any day for that matter. Wink

as for not wanting to 'experiencing the procedure':
i simply mean, i already loathe going to the gyno and lying on my back with my legs open, exposing myself for strangers to look at and dig into. so i'm sure that i will like this even less due to the emotions that will be tied into this event. going under general anesthesia would spare me this discomfort and the painful memory of having to witness what would have been a beautiful child sucked out of me.
i cant imagine how anyone having an abortion could do so without some degree of emotion. so i dont see how this would require more thought.

Carifairy

replied on August 26th, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

BIRCH, AND think4yourself.

IV sedation is IV sedation, NOT GENERAL ANESTHESIA.

It is a good powerful narcotic medication, along with another medication to make you relax.

GENERAL and IV sedation are different.

I personally have always chosen IV sedation.

Your breathing will be intact, and you will be in a "high state", very floaty.

You may feel like you were alseep and have no memory, but you would not be under GA.

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