I had a surgical abortion yesterday
By anonymous on 16/01/2014
I had a surgical abortion yesterday and I haven't told anyone so I thought why not tell it here? First off let me tell you my situation, I'm 17 and got pregnant with a guy I'm not with anymore. By the time my abortion was scheduled I was 16 weeks pregnant.When I went for my appointment to schedule my abortion I spoke with a lovely nurse who talked me through what would happen and gave me a scan. She was brilliant, she made sure not to let me see the screen and was as quick as possible. I was weighed and she took a couple of vials of my blood which didn't hurt at all and just made me feel very slightly tired a little while later. My appointment for a surgical abortion was scheduled for 2 weeks later.
I wasn't allowed to eat after 7.30am and could only drink water after that until 11am. I had to arrive at 8am as I had never had children so I needed 2 tablets through the day that went in my vagina to weaken my cervix which lowered any risk of damage during the procedure. I was greeted by a really nice nurse who made sure I felt comfortable and just took a few details. It was quite a boring day as I wasn't scheduled for surgery until 4.30pm.I was warned that the tablets I had taken could cause cramping but I felt no pain until about 2pm when the pain was really bad. I tried to breathe through it and lay in my bed but a nurse came by at about 3.30pm to check on me and could tell I was in pain, she brought me a hot pack which really helped.
I was taken down to surgery on a trolley after I had spoken to the doctor and anaesthetist. They gave me blankets and my pillow to make me as comfortable as possible as I was in quite a lot of pain again. When I got to surgery a cannula was put in my hand and I was given a drug that made me very woozy, it was a little like being drunk but just the nice parts. They then got me to breathe through an oxygen mask before giving me my anaesthetic.
I woke up about 45 minutes later and I was in recovery where they had let me sleep for a little while. I felt no pain at all from the surgery. The only pain I had was a dull ache in my arm where they had given me the implant as a form of contraceptive while I was asleep, they had already discussed this with me and it was definitely the right choice.
The only thing I felt was relief, I felt like me again.
I don't feel any guilt or shame because this was the right choice for me, having a baby just isn't an option. The nurse I liked from earlier in the day came down to take me back up to my bed on the ward.I was wide awake by the time I was back in my bed on the ward, the nurse told me I could leave after I had been to the loo and had something to eat and drink. I did all of this then got changed from my hospital gown to my clothes. When I went to the loo to pee there was a lot of blood but I didn't feel any pain. The nurse came back and gave me some antibiotics to take in order to prevent infection before telling me that bleeding shouldn't be so bad after a day or two.
A friend who didn't know why I was in hospital drove me home and I ate some pasta before lying on the sofa and watching TV. I didn't feel any pain but did feel a little sick for half an hour or so in the evening. I went to bed and slept better than I have for weeks.
Its now 10am the morning after and there isn't much bleeding and I still haven't felt any pain, not even mild cramps. And relief is still the only thing I feel. If you are planning on having an abortion and its what you want don't let anyone talk you out of it. Some people may not agree with abortion but the way I see it if you aren't ready to have a baby then that's your choice. I still haven't told anyone I had an abortion yesterday and my family have no idea but I like it that way, its easier for me to move on. I'm just happy to feel like me again.