QuestionHi Pat,
I'm from the UK and had a medical abortion on the 19th July. That was the date I took the first pill. On the 21st I went to my local hospital as an outpatient and took the vaginal pills and an oral one. On the 19th of July, I was 15 weeks pregnant. The NHS provides late medical abortion up to 18 weeks I believe.
The foetus and some remains came out a few hours later. And I felt well. I was discharged from the ward and returned home. Period like bleeding for 6 days. On the 7th day I had to come home from work and there was a lot of clots and bleeding coming out. The clots were sized of golf balls I'd say. (I'm a nurse so could hardly work while I was having this happen) I used 4 pads an hour for 3 hours. Then the bleeding stopped, i felt okay and then the bleeding was very light for a few days. Then the bleeding went brown and smelt very much like old blood. I thought that was it due to clear. However two weeks after the first lot of heavy bleeding, it happened again. This time the first clot was bigger then a chicken fillet. I was horrified at it. And then lots more clots and blood (golf ball size again) came away. This lasted for about 4 hours and used 5 pads a hour abouts. Since that (3 days again) every few hours small clots to medium clots are coming away. Today I've noticed the clots are not as deep a red as they were, do you think this is finally coming to an end? Thank you!!!
AnswerHello, Tina,
I am sorry to hear of the troubles you are having. Evidently, they didn't obtain your informed consent before they gave you the pills. They should have warned you about this possibility. They failed to follow the principle, Primum Non Nocere. It was also highly irresponsible to give you pills so late in pregnancy. They rarely cause an abortion this late. I am assuming you actually observed the foetus. You are trained, so you would be more aware.
It was also highly irresponsible for them to ask you to put anything into your vagina. If a woman puts Cytotec in her vagina, she is running the risk of toxic shock syndrome. I probably don't have to tell you this can mean death within hours. It is caused by Clostridium sordellii. The pills depress a woman's immune system. She won't develop a fever. Instead, her body just shuts down. You should be past that point now.
Any time a woman takes those pills, she can expect heavy bleeding without warning for weeks. It is scary as the dickens. I would be terrified. I can't assure you it won't happen again. You will have to be prepared. You're right. You can't work like that. It's been over 3 weeks, and the information I have is that these possibilities can last up to six weeks. As a nurse, you probably do a lot of lifting, and that can set it off because of the way in which lifting will cause your abdominal muscles to contract. This physical pressure may cause an unexpected bleed of blood already ready to bleed.
I have talked to women who have been given drugs that are supposed to stop the bleeding, but they won't necessarily work. You are also aware that this kind of heavy bleeding can be very dangerous. I tell women it may help if they eat foods with red hot peppers in it until the bleeding stops completely. Sometimes it helps, but again, I don't think there are any guarantees. The dose they must have given you would be hefty compared to what most women get, I imagine.
If you start to feel weak or dizzy, obviously, you should get immediate help. Drink plenty of fluids, and eat well. If you are a vegetarian, be sure and get some animal protein. Sometimes this heavy bleeding is caused in part by malnutrition.
There are organizations in UK that have doctors affiliated with them, that should have the knowledge to deal with your problem. I would recommend you find one near you and go talk to them. You can find such an organization by going to this web site:
http://www.optionline.org/
I hope you are able to get this under control. In the meantime, nobody can guarantee anything, and it would be difficult to work with this going on. No more pills. They are poisonous to pregnant women, and the manufacturer says a pregnant woman should never take them. I will pray for you. Please let me know how you do.
