Expert: Pat G - 8/23/2009

Question
QUESTION: I got an abortion Aug.18. 6days later, I'm still bleading & cramping! How long should I expect this to continue?

ANSWER: Hello, lynnzie,

Nobody knows how a particular woman's body will react to an abortion. There are important pieces of information you haven't told me. You didn't say what kind of abortion you had or how far along you were. You haven't told me what, if anything, besides blood you may have passed. If you tell me these things, I may be able to tell you more. But the only way you can know how long this will go on is to wait and see.

If the bleeding is heavy, your life may be in danger. If you had a pill abortion, this is something to watch very carefully. The following herbs will help: cayenne, cranesbill, and cinnamon. Cayenne is red pepper; you can get it by eating spicy food that has red pepper in it. It is the most important of the three. You probably can get the others in a health food store. If you start to hemorrhage, get to an emergency room immediately. Have someone take you.

In a surgical abortion, damage to the uterus can also cause heavy bleeding, and again, it's not safe. Go to a doctor with these questions. Don't go to the person who supplied the abortion. Let me know more, and let me know what you find out and how you do.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I apologize for the limited info! I was just 7wks and the procedure was surgical. The bleeding isn't heavy and I haven't passed any clots, since the first couple of days. I do have a history of fibroids and they were present during my procedure, and not to mention the medicine is also making me sick!Do you think this my be contribute to my discomfort?

Answer
Hi, lynnzie,

Thank you for the additional information. I suspect the fibroids and the medicine are both contributing to your misery. I imagine it would be easy to injure your uterus with fibroids present. You might want to seriously consider having your children as soon as you can, because fibroids is a major reason for hysterectomy. Any kind of invasion like that into the uterine muscle can set up bleeding problems, and sometimes the only way to stop this is hysterectomy. I recommend you go to the doctor with these issues, and like I said, go to someone other than the person who supplied the abortion. I'm not sure if I would even consider an abortion in a woman with fibroids, if I would do one otherwise. Good luck, and let me know what you find out.