My experience at a Marie Stopes clinic was upsetting and stressful but not unbearable

I just wanted to share my experience of a medical abortion for those who are about to go through it. I know there are some scary stories out there but I hope mine will help.

I found out I was pregnant at around 6 weeks. I was absolutely devastated because this wasn’t the right time for me and my partner. I was in my final year at university studying to become a nurse and my partner had just started a new job. We also weren’t financially stable. However, we sat down and decided together on abortion.

Marie Stopes advised a medical abortion

I was so frightened about what to do next but my partner really helped calm me. I contacted Marie Stopes at which the nurse on the phone advised me to have a medical abortion.

2 days later I received a phone consultation from a nurse who talked me through the procedure and booked my appointment. Unfortunately, I had to wait 2 weeks! And these were the worst of my life.

Abortion procedure at Marie Stopes

When I arrived at the clinic all the staff were really friendly, I got called into my appointment at which I had to have the relevant checks and a scan.

The nurse advised taking the abortion pills over two days

At this point, I was 8 weeks. The nurse advised me to take the first medication and come back the next day for the following medication. When I got home I had no symptoms, I carried on as normal.

The following day I was scared again as I didn’t know what to expect. The nurse gave me 4 pills to place at the top of my mouth/gums and told me to let these dissolve for 30 minutes. Once that time was up I was to then wash what was left with some water.

I got home around 30 minutes later and I then swallowed what was left of the tablets with some water.

Intense cramping

Around an hour later I had some pretty intense on and off cramping but nothing worse than my usual period cramps. I took some ibuprofen which really helps! It took the edge off. At this point, I’d say the pain was more of an annoyance.

Bleeding started approx 4 hours after taking the medication

I didn’t start bleeding until almost 4 hours after I had taken the medication. But by this point, the pain had increased, although I wouldn’t say it was unbearable. I highly recommend getting a hot water bottle as this helped me throughout.

I then took paracetamol alongside the ibuprofen as I felt the cramps occur more often. I was bleeding pretty heavy, just like a heavy period. Again, nothing unbearable but still wasn’t pleasant. I passed a few clots nothing major.

Bleeding intensified after 6/8 hours

It wasn’t till around 6/8 hours after the bleeding got more intense that I then passed larger clots. The cramping was pretty bad at this point but soon disappeared. I’m sure I had passed the pregnancy at this point because it wasn’t long after that the bleeding had also become much lighter. However, I still had some mild cramping throughout the night. I didn’t take any pain relief after this because I’m usually one to deal with cramps but everyone’s different.

The following day bleeding was minimal

The next day I was still bleeding but this was very minimal, just like my average period I’d say. I wasn’t sure if this was normal. I was actually frightened that the treatment hadn’t worked because most stories that I had read, most people had experienced quite a heavy bleeding afterwards.

However, a few days passed and I was feeling so much better in myself. I gained my appetite back! And nausea had disappeared.

A week after my medical abortion

It’s now been a week since my medical abortion and I am still spotting. Every now and then I have mild cramping.

My experience was upsetting and stressful but not unbearable

My experience wasn’t unbearable although it is very upsetting and stressful.

I was lucky to have had the support of my partner throughout the entire process. I would try to make sure you have someone with you during the treatment. I also highly recommend a hot water bottle, this really really helped more than anything. Maxi pads you definitely need to have.

I advise having something small to eat once you get home too.

And most importantly try not to worry too much and stress yourself out like I did.

I hope this helps those who are thinking or about to go through this process. Everyone’s different and will experience various symptoms.

Wish you all the best!