Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I love you, too. I think things are starting to look up, actually. I will divulge more later, and privately, of course. <3

glad to hear you're doing well. hang in there!!

Sending much love your way Una. I hope the Paragaurd treats you well!

More hugs! I hope things continue to get better for you.

I know many who love their Paraguard IUD. I'm glad you're feeling better!

Yes! Agreed. ((additional hugs))

I hope belated hugs are ok.

(((((HUGS)))))

I'm getting scared.

I have a friend who has, and she's right here in this office with me! Do you have specific questions about it?

I assume that by medicated abortion you mean a chemical abortion, rather than a surgical one using mifeprestone, right? I've had one and it was uneventful. Definitely feel free to pm me, but I won't be back at my computer until about 5 today.

There was a long thread about it that may be useful here: viewtopic.php?f=25&t=6609&hilit=Abortion

I'm nervous about the initial exam, I hate getting in those gowns and being poked and prodded by doctors, and I read it involves getting an ultrasound inside your vagina. And I'm nervous it won't work. And I've also read in forums after having googled it that women have bleed for 8 weeks straight, or they didn't get their period for months after the fact, and so on. And although, I'm obviously going to ask the doctor when I go in for the appointment, I'm unclear on what you're supposed to do and how heavy the bleeding is. Like, can I just put my diva cup in and hang out at home since I'll probably be miserable and crampy? Or do I need to sit on the toilet all day. And will I see a fetus, although I know it's super tiny this early on. And will I be in too much pain to do anything for myself? I think I'm going to end up alone most of the day that I take the actual pill.

Thanks Tofulish, I started typing that before your post showed up. I'll check out the other thread.

Since you've found the other thread and it's enormous, this discussion can continue there. Hold on to your butts, I'm merging threads!

edit: it worked! hooray!

Responding to your post:

Its very effective, as long as you are taking the 2 pill RU 486 combo. As far as the exam went, mine was really easy, and the MD was very kind. I don't remember much about it, past them confirming the pregnancy and how far along I was, which probably did necessitate a transvaginal ultrasound - basically they put a wand into your vagina and its not unpleasant and get an ultrasound of your uterus, so they know if the fetus is still in the first trimester/under 12 weeks.

The procedure itself was easy as well. I took a day off, hung out at home, and then ended up having cramps, and then basically expelled the fetus in the toilet. You wouldn't use a Diva cup, but it definitely wasn't a big deal for me. For me it was a lot less stressful than a surgical abortion/D&C, because I got to be home and relaxed during it, not at a doctor's office. I ordered take out and watched videos, and wasn't in any pain, but I could have taken Tylenol for the cramps etc.

I've never heard of bleeding for 8 weeks, but obviously that isn't normal. You would talk to your MD about risks, and if you were bleeding heavily etc, you should call the MD's office or 911 depending on severity and get help.

Good luck, and I hope you're able to relax. Don't google too much, but make a list of your issues and ask the MD when you get your appointment.

I'm also kind of nervous because I read that if you're overweight you might not be able to take it, maybe because of dosage and body mass I guess? I had a rough couple years and gained weight from depression (eating crepe and being inactive) which I'm now in a much better place and am working towards getting back to my normal weight, but I'm still around 30 pounds over my normal weight. I didn't qualify for emergency medicare so I have to pay for this out of pocket. The pill, including all the visits is already over $500, I can only imagine the surgical one is more like $900 or more, so I'm hoping that by overweight they mean morbidly obese or something.

So do you just hang out on the toilet or do you know when it's coming and can run into the bathroom when you know you're ready? Everything I found online hasn't really described that actual part, but from what I gathered it seemed like the first pill makes you start bleeding so I figured there would be some need to somehow catch the blood when you're just hanging out on the couch or in bed, or eating, etc.

30 pounds overweight is not going to make a difference, not if they give you the same stuff over there as we get in the UK.

I hope so, I can barely afford this option. I actually really can't afford it at all, but I don't have a choice (I have even less ability to afford kids, don't ever want any, and can't afford to be pregnant) and I'm just lucky that I've been saving money lately....was hoping to pay off more of my credit card with it, but an abortion it is. This thread has helped, being able to read other people's experiences. I'm still kind of nervous that I basically have to go through all of this on my own for the most part, my boyfriend will be at work and can't really get out of it. I figured it would be really boring and torturous to try and get a friend to hang out with me all day when I'm going through the procedure at home, especially since I tend to relax in a hot shower to relieve stomach pain. I did have excruciating stomach pains when I was really young, like 11-14 leading up to getting my period, so bad that I had to go to the ER one of the first times it happened, so I have a pretty high tolerance for pain now. I'm hoping it goes off without a hitch. I'm just a major worrier when it comes to things like this that I have never gone through before. I usually freak out and then after the fact realize it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I am still totally freaked about the exam though, but it's because I have a phobia of being touched by doctors, you'd think someone was poking me with a hot iron.

If your friends are at all like me (and if they are, lucky you!), it might be worth asking. I would totally come over and hang out with you all day and make you cookies and just chill with you. That's actually pretty much my idea of a perfect day.

you should totally call up a friend to come over for support. i would for sure spend the day with any of my friends if they asked me to, and just bring a book or an art project or whatever to occupy myself if you were in the shower for a long time.

They will likely recommend that you use pads. It's the best way to keep track of how much blood is being expelled. You would be overloading a cup several times over and it would get uncomfortable to keep inserting and removing.

It's not fun, but it's not much more than a really, really intense period. Medication abortions are performed only when the embryo is still tiny. You will see all sorts of blood clots and uterine lining, and there's no way to determine what is what.

Good luck!

oh geez. I have never used pads in my life. Oh well, least of my worries.

Yeah, it's no party. Unless diaper parties are your kind of party. But you only need them for less then a day, then you should be able to switch to your regular blood containment system.

It's Bananas, I don't know if you've already paid or if anyone else needs financial assistance, but this organization is great: http://www.nroptions.org/
They lend you the money very quickly and you can pay them back in really tiny amounts each month if you need to. They are awesome.

I don't personally need a loan. I was hoping for getting financial assistance, but I have been seriously not buying anything over the last several months so I have some money saved up which was supposed to go towards credit card, student loans, apartment deposits, but I'll just have to build that portion of it back up in the next month or two and be even more strict with my spending.

I've stocked up on a package of pads, picked up some junk food and some not junk food. Ugh. Ready as I'll ever be, which is not very ready at all.