My medical abortion experience

I'm writing this because I initially wanted a surgical abortion, but due to circumstances ended up having the medical. I originally didn't want medical because reading others experiences terrified me. As it happens it wasn't as bad as I was expecting and I wanted to offer my experience if it will help others.

​

I decided I wanted an abortion when I was about 8 weeks pregnant. The waiting lists were long, and I was really suffering with pregnancy symptoms. By the time I took the pills I was 9 weeks 5 days, so just below the cut off in the UK for taking the pills at home.

​

I took the first pill on a Tuesday lunchtime. Felt absolutely no effects. No spotting or cramps, still had pregnancy symptoms. 

​

The next day I took 800mg ibuprofen and a diazepam  (I'm prescribed for anxiety) at lunchtime, and an hour later I inserted the 4 pills vaginally. I set myself up on the sofa with a blanket and hot water bottle. Within about half an hour the cramps started, which felt like regular period cramps. Not painful, just uncomfortable. Over the next few hours I napped on and off. 

​

After 3 hours the cramps were the worst they got. I'd say a 6 or 7 on the pain scale. Not unbearable, but not something I could ignore. By the 4th hour the cramps were almost completely gone, and I hadn't started bleeding. I inserted the remaining 2 tablets vaginally, the pain was almost completely gone at this point. About an hour later the bleeding had started and I passed a few clots. Shortly after I passed a large mass of tissue, with a decent amount of bleeding.

​

About 6 hours after inserting the first tablets, I had a significant gush. Soaked through a thick overnight pad and through my clothes. Went to the toilet and passed a lot of blood and a lot of clots and tissue. I'm not squeamish or a particularly sensitive person, but I would say that this part was potentially the most traumatizing part. You definitely couldn't ignore it or pretend it wasn't happening, and I needed to clean myself up. 

​

I had no pain or cramping when I was passing the tissue, and by roughly 7 hours after inserting the pills I was no longer passing any clots. Bleeding through the night and the next day was like a regular period for me. 

​

The day after, my pregnancy symptoms had completely disappeared. I felt more like myself than I had the entire pregnancy. I'm 9 days post-abortion now and still bleeding very lightly. I'm actually glad I had the medical abortion now rather than the surgical because I was comfortable at home and had everything I needed. 

​

For anyone considering medical abortion I hope this offers a bit of reassurance. I prepared for the worst case scenario and it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I expected.