Hi Joan,
I just posted my story on another forum about bleeding after medical abortion, its quite long and I am tired so cannot rewrite it now. If you can find it you are welcome to use it. I had a horrible experience but got through it...it was so much worse than I imagined and the pain was unlike anything I had ever felt. I am bleeding and clotting and it is 54 hrs after I took second pill, worried a little but its prob normal.
hope your research goes well,
V

I agree with you and like your idea. I posted my story in this thread:

http://ehealthforum.com/health/topic78169. html

And you are welcome to use it.

I am age 30 in the very early stages of recovery from a long and drawn out medical termination, having feelings that I made the biggest mistake ever.

I took the morning after pill within 7 hours of conception only to find out this did not work.

When I first went into the clinic for my termination I was roughly 4weeks. I took the first of tablet as advised. Waited for a while and was then told to come back 2 days later for the 2nd lot of tablets to expel the baby. When I arrived back to the clinic early that morning I was so tired because of the worry and anxiety from the night before. Anyway I took the 2nd lot of tablets all in all I had 4 of these tablets as I had not started to bleed as yet, Just before I was leaving I passed a small clot which was not what the nurse described it would be like it was dark. I was then discharged from the clinic and told to go home and look out for if I was to pass anything more. I also had to ring back in 7days with my findings. 7 days passed and nothing I still felt the same so I was told to come back in for a scan were they could check if I had passed my baby or not. I was told there was still a heart beat I was still pregnant, as you could imagine I was so upset.

I was advised to book another appointment to perform this procedure again. So reluctantly I did so again.

Part of my reason for choosing to have a medical termination was due to the fact I have recently been diagnosed with fibroids, endometriosis also my womb is tilted, all these issues I have been told may in future cause me fertility problems so I chose to have a medical termination because I was scared and this way was less invasive on my womb.

This procedure had now failed with me twice, I had 2 failed medical terminations, only to be told again at my check up that there was still a heart beat.


Making the decision in the first place was the hardest thing Ive ever had to do, and in so little time.
My pregnancy was a result of a brief fling with a man who now doesn't want anything to do with me and has told me he cant show me or my child anything long term.

I was told by more than 4 nurses of the likely damage caused to my baby by now after 2 medical termination treatments and couldn't undestand why my baby was still alive but as the weeks went by I found myself becoming so attached. My biggest worry was the amount of damage I had caused to my baby by taking 2 courses of the treatment, I'm not sure I could live with myself if because of me I had badly damaged my baby. I wasn't sure if this was a sign my baby was still alive,

After ignoring the nurses advice at 11wks I booked into the fetal medicine clinic to see if I could get any further advice or information on the likely damage caused to my baby cause as you could imagine I had now changed my mind I thought there may be a chance of keeping my baby as this procedure had failed on me twice. I was not able to get any solid reassurances that my baby would be ok as 11wks was to early to tell and if their was any damage it probably wouldnt show till my baby was born if I carried to term. I was devastated I saw my baby on the scan I saw her move and I will take this picture to my grave with me.

On my next visit to the clinic in the end I had to have a surgical termination, By this time I was distraught and wanted to keep my baby as I had grown attached however these tablets were very toxic to my baby and I was advised to continue with termination for a 3rd time. I now have to pick up the pieces of my life and carry on.

Three terminations to end One pregnancy.

This is not a common situation which was why I couldn't really get any positive answers I was just told it was an unfortunate event that only happens to 3%-5% of women choosing this type of termination. Im devastated with the procedure and the out come, it feels like it has totally destroyed my world. I cry for my baby everyday and I feel so cruel for what happened to her. I cant believe this happened in this way.

hi i read your story. i'm so sorry to hear the emotional pain you're going through. there is a great site. passboards . o r g. everyone on there is really supportive and it can help to express yourself and talk to others in similar situations.

Hi Joanne. Thanks for posting.

I definitely I wasn't adequately warned about the possible complications and repercussions of medical abortion. I'm twenty-one years old and I have no medical insurance, so I had to go to Planned Parenthood. It's been just over a month since my abortion and I'm still dealing with a lot of physical pain, which is making it harder to deal with the emotional stress of the procedure. I feel like my body won't let me forget what I did.

I found out I was pregnant when I was 6 weeks along. I had severe morning sickness (throwing up 4 to 5 times a day), so I just wanted to end it so I could feel normal again. The clinic couldn't fit me in for over a week, so I was bed ridden for an extra eight days due to the vomiting and nausea.

When I went to the clinic I was very emotional, and none of the nurses seemed concerned. They were pretty impatient with me. They advised me of all the normal symptoms of a medical abortion (nausea, vomiting, passing large clots, etc.) and they watched me take the first pill. They sent me home with the next four pills, some advil, antibiotics, anti-nausea meds, and a prescription for tylenol with codeine.

Within the first twelve hours of the first pill (before I took the next round of pills), I started passing large quantities of blood and cramping like crazy. I didn't have any clots yet. I was really scared by this, as they had told me I wouldn't start bleeding until I took the next pills. I called the hotline and they told me that this sometimes happens and that I should go ahead with the next round of meds.

I had to hold the pills in my cheeks for thirty minutes. As soon as I swallowed the pill fragments I started vomiting uncontrollably and then got severe diarrhea. I ran a slight fever for a few hours, and I couldn't even think of taking any of the pain meds they had given me, because I knew I would throw them up, so I had to deal with really severe cramping. I also threw up the anti-nausea meds and the first two doses of antibiotics.

I passed so many huge clots that it was hard for me to tell whether I was soaking through too many pads, because the clots would just sit on top of the pad rather than soaking in. I changed my pads every thirty to forty-five minutes for the first 4 or 5 hours. I was terrified to even stand up, though, because every time I did I would experience contraction-like pains accompanied by a large clot dropping out. It was a really terrifying experience, so I was relieved when I was finally able to take the anti-nausea meds because they knocked me out.

The next day I had a strange sharp pain in my pelvic area, accopmanied by a stabbing pain and pressure near my belly button and shooting vaginal pains. To this day I still am experiencing these pains.

I went for my follow up only to find that there was still a clot in my uterus. The doctor wanted me to do another round of medication to cause more uterine contractions. I was terrified and really upset because I really didn't want to go through it again, but the doctor didn't seem to care.

So I had to go through it all over again. I didn't bleed very much. I only passed very small clots, but I again experienced severe cramping, nausea, diarrhea, and fever.

I went back again for another follow up and the clot was still there. This time it was a different doctor and she said it was fine, and that I would probably pass the clot during my next period. I told her about the weird stabbing pains that I was still having, and she didn't care.

Now I'm having my first period since. The cramping has gotten worse, and the pain/pressure around my midriff is a lot more uncomfortable. It's not like my normal period cramps, because it's such a sharp pain. I'm having trouble sleeping because I just keep thinking about all the things that could be wrong. This is far heavier than my normal periods. I'm just hoping that I pass the clot and that this relieves my pain. I really just want to feel normal again. I feel like I should go back, but the clinic is so high volume that they don't really listen or respond to complaints like mine.

I definitely wasn't expecting to feel this awful a month after the procedure. They told me the cramping would be gone after two weeks. I really would like to just get on with my life, but my body won't let me.

I've read too many horror stories online, and question the validity of some of them.

I kept a timeline on my BlackBerry so I could keep track of how long things were taking/lasting, when I took medication, and how I felt and what I saw, because I really wanted to share an accurate description with women who are considering this, and might be scared to death as I was after reading terrible stories on line.

I was 5 weeks gestational age when I underwent a medical abortion. Received my first pill at the clinic at 9 a.m. and took the second set of 4 pills vaginally 6 hours later (3 p.m). I also took a mega antibiotic at the clinic, which I think was Cipro.

One hour before I inserted the pills I took a Darvocet (got the extra pain meds at the clinic).

Within 50 minutes I started to feel a few "twinges"

At 5 pm, two hours after inserting, I took another Darvocet

I was using a heating pad on high or medium on my abdomen, and drinking lots, and I mean lots of water. Between 2 pm and midnight I counted 12 regular sized bottles of water. I ate light and easily digested foods - buttered noodles, crackers, some chips, bananas.

3.5 hours after inserting I started having heavier cramps, but would rate them a 2/10.

4 hours and 15 mins. after inserting I had some drops of blood when urinating.

30 mins after that, I had some more drops of blood and a little heavier bleeding and cramps that were a 2/10.

5 hours after inserting I took an 800 mg ibuprofen

5.5 hours post insertion cramps were 5/10 and had heavier drops and blood when urinating

6.5 hours post insertion cramps were every 5 mins, blood and tissue (very fragmented, like small pieces of a squished tomato - nothing recognizable) and I was feeling a little woozie and starting to drift off.

7 hours post insertion I had blood on the tissue only after I would use the bathroom.

8.5 hours post insertion I took another Darvocet and went to bed with the heating pad on my abdomen

9 hours post insertion I was feeling a little sick to my stomach, but attributed that to the Darvocet and ate some toast with peanut butter. Cramps were still in the 5-6/10 range, but very, very tolerable. One last trip to the bathroom (I had chills for a minute or two when I got out of bed, but that was it)and had some heavier blood when using the bathroom, but still had yet to even spot on a pad. (and I went out and bought all kinds of heavy duty pads that proved to be useless)

Slept all night - got up at 7:30 a.m. the next day and took an 800 mg Ibuprofen, and kept a heating pad on my abdomen on medium or high during the day while I relaxed on the couch and watched movies most of the day. I was still a little crampy, but nothing terrible.

I started my course of 2 doxycyline antibiotic pills that morning as well - one in the a.m. and one in the p.m. I experienced nausea and gas from the pills - made sure to take them with food and avoid dairy, and drank lots and lots of water - found myself somewhat constipated which was probably from the Darvocet. The worst part of all of this was the side effects of the antibiotic! I did, however, finish the entire course.

Also, I took another Darvocet the next day, and that was a mistake. I had a bit of a freak out from the Darvocet (anxious, jittery, jumpy) and promptly put away the rest of the Darvocet I was given and did not take another.

I kept a digital themometer by my side and monitored my temperature, which never went above 99.0.

The next day I had bleeding only when I went to the bathroom - nothing whatsoever on the pad. I was wearing pantyliners by now. When I went to the bathroom, I would not describe what I saw as clots - but rather drops of blood or sometimes a very small trickle of bright red blood, with very small pieces (like centimeters) of tissue that came out in the drops. No big clots, no identifiable tissue, never "felt" anything happening.

2 days after insertion, which was Sunday, I was again only having bleeding when going to the bathroom - just very small drops - no blood on the tissue. Still felt a little tired, but was off any pain medication, and used the heating pad just as a precaution every now and then. I took it easy again that day, spent most of the day on the couch, with a little housework that tired me out.

Monday, 3 days after insertion, when I woke up and went to the bathroom, I had much more blood - similar to a period. The bleeding was similar to a moderate period, and I changed my maxi pad three or four times that day - only once was it close to being "soaked" in one area, and that was because I could not change it. At no time did I need a towel on the bed or couch, and I never soiled my underware or pants.

The bleeding slowed the next day, Tuesday. By Thursday I was barely spotting brown blood and was wearing a light and very thin pad which I changed more for hygine reasons (and because I bought too many and might as well use them).

By Friday (one week later) I was just using a panty liner, and by Saturday, didn't need to use anything at all. I have not had any additional bleeding, cramping, etc. Life is pretty much back to normal. No more feelings of food aversion, swollen boobs, or bloating. That all went away within a week.

Took a pregnancy test a week after insertion, knowing full well it would likely be positive, but wanted to keep track given I was taking notes - positive.

Took a pregnancy test two weeks after insertion - negative.

Have to report back to the clinic with the results of a pregnancy test next week (3 weeks). I also started YAZ a week after insertion so as to get my hormones back on track.

All in all, a very positive experience. I realize this is not everyone's experience, but mine was very positive, realtively pain free, and not like a lot of what I read about - and I didn't have to drop my pants for anyone and take the risks associated with surgical. I was really second guessing my decision to go medical, thinking that surgical would be som much quicker and reliable, but I am so glad I went this route.

I hope this helps some women.

Firstly, hello to you all. I thought that after reading so many negative posts about medical abortion i.e the pain, the blood loss etc I would share my story. This morning I had the second part of my medical abortion. At 7.45am I inserted the four tablets vaginally - apparently this reduces the side effects of nausea and shivers etc. I was advised to rest for 10 minutes then walk about as much as I could. After about an hour I started to bleed moderately - like a normal heavy period with very slight pain so I took a codeine and paracetomol tablet. This pain disappeared and the bleeding continued. By 2pm nothing was happening and I was beginning to wonder if it was working, the nurse told me to walk around a bit more and run up and down the stairs.... I did this and within 10 minutes felt like I needed to wee so I went to the toilet and gave a slight push and there it was, my 10 week old fetus and the placenta. Nowhere near as traumatic as what I expected. I saw my baby and said my goodbyes before calling the nurse to come in and take my baby away. It's now four hours since that happened and I left the hospital. I can honestly say that the bleeding hasn't been to bad at all - no gushing or flooding, the pain has been a slight niggle if that and emotionally I feel fine. I hope my story gives hope to some of you out there xx