Every woman experiences an abortion differently. For some, the bleeding and cramping may feel like a regular period. Other women experience severe pain and excessive bleeding with blood clots.
Knowing when to seek additional help or visit your local ER is essential if you use the abortion pill method. At InnerVisions HealthCare, we want to safeguard your health and well-being. Here are some tips to help you know what to expect.
There Are Two Abortion Drugs
Calling it “the abortion pill” makes you think you take one pill and it’s over, but in reality, you take two powerful abortion drugs.
The FDA highly regulates the first drug, mifepristone. Only certified providers can prescribe it, and it’s approved for use only through 10 weeks of pregnancy.
Mifepristone blocks the hormone progesterone. All pregnancies need progesterone to develop. Without it, the pregnancy ends.
The second drug, misoprostol, causes bleeding and contractions to expel the pregnancy and tissue from the body. One study found that women were often caught off guard by the pain.
From a Random Reddit User:
“Posting this as I feel like this experience is completely downplayed, and I was not at all prepared for what this was gonna be like. I took my 4 tablets of Misoprostol yesterday afternoon, inserted vaginally. The cramps started about 60-90 minutes later, and became completely excruciating and unbearable very quickly.”
Knowing When to Seek Help
According to the Mayo Clinic, you should contact a healthcare professional right away if you have any of the following symptoms:
- Heavy bleeding.
- Bad pain in the stomach area or pelvis.
- Chills or body aches.
- Fast heart rate.
- Fever that lasts more than four hours or that starts in the days after you take misoprostol.
- Foul-smelling vaginal discharge.
Cramping and bleeding after an abortion are not unusual, but when severe cramping continues, it may indicate something more serious. If you are also experiencing some of the other symptoms mentioned above, it could be a sign of infection.
Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), endometritis, or an incomplete abortion can be a result of complications with the abortion pill method.
Severe pain can also add to the emotional trauma of an abortion. Seek post-abortion care if the pain you experienced added to your mental health issues.
What if I Change My Mind After Taking the Abortion Pill?
Deciding to take the abortion pill is a life-altering decision. If you’ve already taken the abortion pill but have changed your mind, it may not be too late.
The abortion pill reversal may be an option for you and your pregnancy, but the timing is critical. Reach out to the Abortion Pill Reversal hotline at 1-877-558-0333 or contact us directly during business hours to get the help you need.
How Can InnerVisions HealthCare Help Me?
If you are experiencing severe pain following a medical abortion, we encourage you to visit your local emergency room immediately. Untreated complications can cause serious health issues.
Although InnerVisions does not perform or refer for abortion, we can provide you with factual, medically based information about abortion procedures, the side effects to expect, and the potential physical and emotional risks.
Often, talking with someone about your abortion experience can ease some of the emotional trauma. Make a no-cost appointment with one of our caring client advocates to discuss your abortion. We understand and are here to help.
All abortion information sourced in this blog is based on accurate information at the time of writing.