A medical abortion that went wrong
By anonymous on 10/05/2011
ATTENTION PLEASE READ BEFORE CHOOSING MEDICAL OR SURGICAL TREATMENT
I am 29 years old and for my own valid reasons I decided to go ahead with a termination.I feel I must write this post to try to help other women who are in my situation since I too read many of these stories before tentatively opting for the medical abortion.
I was 100% certain of the abortion however I tried to weigh up the pros and cons for both the medical and surgical procedure. I chose the medical mainly because the clinic was the closest to me (only 1hr drive) and I could get booked in for this a lot earlier, also I felt it to be a more natural way rather than surgical with general anaesthetic......
BPAS TOTALLY UNDERPLAYED HOW THE MEDICAL ABORTION WOULD AFFECT ME
When I got to BPAS for the first appointment I was shocked when she told me I would come back in two days to have the other 4 tablets inserted vaginally before being sent home immediately to abort. I had read on the internet that you stayed in hospital under medical supervision until the procedure was over. However by this stage I was already there and did not then want to wait another week or so to arrange another appointment so I went ahead and took the tablet. Two days later I was seen back at the clinic, and I was told that I would not feel the cramping for at least an hour after inserting the tablets. I knew I had an hour long journey ahead of me and I was tempted to keep the tablets and insert them when I got home...... however I did not...... to my deep regret now.I signed a form in front of the nurse at BPAS and she said "don't look so worried love", I replied saying that I wasnt looking forward to this and she said "it'll be over by bedtime, go home and do the ironing".
I will never forget her saying that to me and it is the one thing I roared out in pain as I was being driven to A&E in the ambulance less than an hour and a half later.
The staff at BPAS totally underplayed this method of abortion, they certainly did not make me aware of what to expect, I would rather expect the worst and anything less be a bit of a bonus.
I was in the car for 35mins exactly after inserting the tablets and severe cramping began, my body went into shock, I was shivering and sweating and the pain was incredible..... I had to keep myself from passing out twice whilst my partner drove like a lunatic to get me back to the house.
( At this stage I must tell you that I have worked with horses all my life, suffered broken bones and ridden home with no medication until I got to the doctors, I have a very high pain threshold level)
This pain was unlike anything I had experienced
It was a false , cramping, constant pain where you would want to vomit. As soon as I got out of the car my mum met me at the house where I sat on the toilet and passed out with the pain. Luckily she called me an ambulance and they were there within minutes . The paramedics could tell how much pain I was in as my eyes were rolling in my head and my body was in shock.I was taken to the hospital immediately for emergency surgery and a D & C.....
The hospital staff were disgusted at BPAS how they just gave me the tablets and did not wait to see if there were any adverse reactions and knowing that I had a long drive in front of me. I can understand that some women may take these tablets and everything goes smoothly but how many women is that? Who says that a lot of women are not sent home like me and are affected the same.I certainly will not be going back to BPAS for my two week check up. This is probably why BPAS do not hear of so many of these cases, women who experience rough symptoms probably never want to set foot through the door again. I will go to a reputable doctor for my check up. Thank goodness the medical staff at the hospital looked after me with such great care and concern for my well being. I CANNOT EXPRESS MY CONCERN ENOUGH TO WOMEN WHO ARE UNDECIDED ABOUT WHICH METHOD TO OPT FOR. THE MEDICAL PROCEDURE CAN CAUSE EXTREME CRAMPING AND PAIN. THIS CAN BEGIN EVEN AFTER HALF AN HOUR OF TAKING THESE TABLETS.
IF YOU HAVE A LONG JOURNEY HOME THEN DO NOT OPT FOR THIS METHOD. DO NOT DRIVE YOURSELF OR GET PUBLIC TRANSPORT. IT IS NOT WORTH IT.
NOT HAVING MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS AROUND WHEN YOU ABORT TO GIVE YOU THAT BIT OF CONFIDENCE THAT EVERYTHING IS OK AND ALSO TO MAKE SURE THAT THE ABORT|ION IS COMPLETE. CONSIDER OPTIONS CAREFULLY AND LISTEN TO OTHERS EXPERIENCES BEFORE DECIDING
Editor's Comment
This sounds a very frightening experience and particularly as you were so badly prepared for it. I agree with you that it is better to be told what could happen rather than someone making light of the procedure. It seems very irresponsible to give such poor information.I hope you are recovering now and it would certainly be worth registering your complaint with BPAS so that they are aware of experiences like yours.