Expert: Pat G - 11/18/2009

Question
I had an abortion on August 15th when i was 6 weeks. After the bleeding from the procedure stopped I began taking Nuva Ring as birth control. I only took it for the month of September and had a normal period once i removed the ring. During the month of October I had a very light period lasting 5 or 6 days which was on schedule from my previous period. The next week I experienced some more normal-like bleeding lasting about 5 days. The next week I experienced more bleeding lasting 4 days and the first days was heavier than the others. Since then, I have been experiencing some nausea and have not had a regular bowel movement in about 2 weeks. My face has also been breaking out. I've taken 3 tests (2 digital and 1 normal) and they all said negative. Could it been because I took them too early or is it just my hormones? Could I be pregnant again as I have had unprotected sex since the abortion? Any info to ease my mind would be appreciated. Thank you

Answer
Hi, Megan,

Your history is rather confused. It sounds like you were bleeding weekly since October. It sounds like you had a pill abortion, but you didn't say. It's common to have bleeding at strange times after a pill abortion. Those medications are very strong and dangerous. Since then, you also used Nuva Ring, and it has hormones in it. All of this adds up to a huge hormonal confusion for your body. Even if you had a surgical abortion (not as likely at six weeks, since it's hard for the abortionist to find the baby), your hormones still got a huge blow that will cause disruption. There's no telling what your body is doing at this point, and you really need to go have some tests with a doctor, preferably tests periodically, to see where your hormones are going.

You also didn't say anything about diet, and diet has a huge effect on bowel movements. Are you saying you haven't had a bowel movement in two weeks, or that it has been erratic, or what? Your face breaking out could be caused by this hormonal confusion. Also, you could possibly experience nausea either from the hormones or from lack of a bowel movement.

I just don't know enough at this point to say much more. You really seriously need to work with a doctor who really cares about you, and who believes in medical ethics. Also, having sex is not a good idea. If you are married, having sex is reasonable, but not if you are simply sleeping with someone. You are taking all kinds of chances all over again. Not only that, but pregnancy is not the only risk. Sexually transmitted diseases are also a concern. You could be at risk if you had a surgical abortion, from the abortion itself, or you could be at risk if your partner has ever slept with anyone else. And don't think "protection" will help. It won't. If you are married, you need to get your hormones straightened out (which will require the passage of time, since any medication a doctor might give you will probably just confuse your body even more), and then you can learn to tell when you are fertile, so you can have sex only when you are not at risk for pregnancy.

You can test three weeks after last intercourse, if you haven't had any bleeding. Most tests will be reliable at that point, but just to be sure, test a week later. But really, you need to go to a doctor and let him do some more extensive testing, because with such a confused history, nobody is going to be able to tell you anything without running tests, and obviously, we can't do that over the internet.

If you had a pill abortion, you may still be at risk of heavy bleeding or hemorrhage. This is a threat to your life. If you start to bleed heavily, you can eat some very spicy food (with cayenne or red pepper in it), or take cayenne, and this may help protect you. But you may also need to go to the emergency room. If you do, have someone take you.

I wish I could tell you more, but if I were in your shoes, I'd be concerned. The last thing I want to do is "ease your mind" under the circumstances.

Good luck. Please stop hurting your body and stay safe. Let me know how things go.