QuestionQUESTION: ultra sound showed that i was only 3.5 weeks pregnant, gestational sac was visible through vaginal ultra sound. i had medical abortion on friday(took misoprostole on friday morning), then took mifeprex buccally on saturday night as instructed. i followed instructions EXACTLY. had light bleeding all night and all day sunday, and some cramping. not really enough to fill up one pad, but when i go to the restroom then i have passed tissue (about quarter size) a few times. i'm worried that the medication is not working since there's very little bleeding. i heard that there's supposed to be "gushing" amounts of blood. i have not experienced this and am generally feeling just fine. planned parenthood is closed tomorrow and the day after and i'm not really sure what to do. thanks.
ANSWER: It sounds like you're among the small percentage of women who are immune to the the pills that induce abortion medically. I underwent the same thing. You have nothing to worry about right this moment, but you do need to go back to the clinic as soon as it's open. You will develop an infection if you wait longer than 2 weeks to have the pregnancy expelled.
If you develop a fever of more than 100 degrees F, or if you experience an abnormal amount of vomiting (greater than your morning sickness, if you have it), go to the emergency room immediately. These are signs of infection and must be treated right away.
The abortion is certainly not complete, and you are still pregnant. The fetus may or may not be alive, there is no way to know without a comparative ultrasound. However, it is almost certainly very damaged, and if you choose to continue the pregnancy at this point, the chances of the fetus surviving the pregnancy are very low. Even if you give birth to a live baby, chances are s/he will be severely deformed. The best course for you to follow now would be to have a suction abortion at the clinic.
Suction abortions, in my opinion, are far better than medical abortions. For one thing, they are almost completely reliable and there's less than one chance in 10,000 of an incomplete abortion when performed by a doctor. It also lasts only 15 minutes in all, and is far less painful. You do not bleed as much or experience cramping at all. Suction abortions are very safe, with a lower chance of complications or infections than medical abortions. You have nothing to worry about especially since your pregnancy is not very far advanced.
Take care, and let me know if you have more questions.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: hey i just wanted to let you know that i went back to planned parenthood, the doctor did an ultra sound on me and a pregnancy test and the results of both were negative. the doctor said that since i was so early in my pregnance (less than 4 weeks) that he didn't expect much blood/tissue. overall the experience was as painfree and minimally invasive as i could have wanted. please don't think that everyone who says they have "little bleeding" is a botched attempt. you said "the abortion is certainly not complete, and you are still pregnant" with such certainty, it's enough to put someone into a panic.
AnswerI'm sorry that I misled you. In my experience, not enough bleeding to even soak one single pad is always an indication that the medical abortion did not work. But of course nothing is for certain when it comes to medical issues, and all our bodies are different. Thank you for educating me - I won't be telling people that the abortion is incomplete for certain any more if their experience is similar to yours.
Just so you know, I am not a medical professional. From my profile you can see that my direct knowledge of abortion is from personal experience. In addition, I speak to doctors and women who have had abortions about their experiences, and that is where I get most of my information. But I don't claim to be a doctor or a nurse, or even educated in medicine (I am a computer engineer).
This is the case everywhere on the internet, and though I personally do my best to answer all the questions I get as accurately as I can, I would advise you not to trust any answers you get from this site or any other site completely - always consult a doctor.
I'm sorry again for misleading you and making you worry. Thank you for correcting me.