Medical abortion - positive experience

I wanted to share my experience for anyone who’s about to go through a medical abortion and is feeling scared or overwhelmed by all the horror stories out there. I know how easy it is to worry, so I hope my positive experience can give someone a little comfort.

A bit of background: I was around 7–8 weeks pregnant. I contacted reproductive services, had a call with a nurse shortly after, and then received my pills soon after that — mifepristone (the first pill) and misoprostol (the second set of pills).

Day 1 (Saturday): I took the mifepristone on Saturday afternoon. I felt totally fine afterward—no bleeding, no pain, nothing unusual.

Day 2 (Sunday): I woke up feeling slightly nauseous, but I’d also been feeling pregnancy nausea before this so I wasn’t sure what caused it. I felt a bit out of it and slightly feverish, but nothing dramatic.

About 24 hours later I started very light spotting. In the evening I took the four misoprostol pills. About half an hour beforehand, I took painkillers: 2 ibuprofen, 2 paracetamol, and 1 codeine.

I inserted the misoprostol pills vaginally. I wasn’t sick or anything after. I just laid in bed, got comfortable, and watched some shows. After about 1–2 hours, I started to get light cramps (maybe a 4/10) and a bit of bleeding. Honestly, it felt like a normal period in terms of pain and bleeding.

After three hours I took the next two misoprostol pills. The whole night I kind of drifted in and out of sleep, not from pain, but from anticipating something dramatic happening (big clots, heavy bleeding, etc.). But none of that actually happened. The bleeding stayed pretty light, the cramps stayed mild, and I just continued taking painkillers every four hours, which helped a lot.

Day 3: The next day, I felt fine, tired, but okay. Bleeding continued for about a week, similar to a heavier period, with some clots here and there. After the week, it turned into dark spotting and gradually tapered off.

Overall: My experience was very positive. I had been so worried beforehand, but for me it was just like a stronger period. The pain never went above something I’d describe as manageable, especially with painkillers. I know everyone’s experience is different, but I hope this gives someone a bit of reassurance.

If you’re about to go through this, please don’t be afraid. You’ve got this, and you’re going to be okay. 💛