Expert: Doctor Early Options - 1/9/2008

Question
Hi Dr. Joah,

I'm scheduled for my first surgical abortion in a week. I was wondering how soon after my abortion will my hormones go back to their pre-pregnancy normal... and how quickly will my weight and body, mood, stomach-shape, etc go back to normal too! I hate being exhausted all of the time and nauseated... and the weight gain and moodiness too. I understand it may have a lot to do with diet and exercise, I compete in figure competitions so I am very anxious to get my body back to where it normally is, it has been very frustrating and honestly futile to try and keep  myself in top shape while pregnant. I know this might sound like a shallow question, but it has been the most difficult part of this ordeal, mentally, for me to handle, and I am just anxious to have an idea of how long it will be until my body gets back to "normal".

Answer
Dear Elizabeth,
This is an excellent question, and not shallow at all.  It usually takes a week for your hormones to be completely back to normal.  If you do an aspiration procedure or a surgical abortion, your hormones will drop by 50% in four hours, but it takes a while to have them go down completely.  
I am wondering why you are waiting a week to get it done, given your situation.  You may look at earlyabortion.com to see if there are any locations near you who will do it sooner.  
I hope this is helpful,
Doctor Joan