Expert: Pat G - 6/29/2010

Question
I am a 23 year old who recently discoverd I was pregnant. After that I ordered the abortion pill online and received three fo them, I took two monday and one tuesday but I have not received any more medical help and I still feel like I am pregnant. I have no insurance to pay for an actual abortion so what else can I do.  Please I am in desperate need of help

Answer
Hello, Courtney,

How far along are you? What pills did you get? Ordering abortion pills online is pretty risky. You don't really know what you are getting, because ethical people don't sell those pills to pregnant women. Providing those pills is really malpractice because the manufacturer of one of them says a pregnant woman should never take it, and because those pills can kill a pregnant woman.

If you aren't bleeding, you probably are still pregnant, but you could start to bleed later. You would also experience cramps.

There are several things that concern me that I need to warn you about. As I said, those pills can kill you. There is a reason why in the United States doctors have preserved the ability to keep harmful drugs from being sold over the counter. In particular, if you put any pills into your vagina, you are greatly at risk. It is even illegal in the United States to tell women to use these pills vaginally. They can cause toxic shock syndrome. This is a massive infection that kills within hours. It is caused by Clostridium sordellii. So you need to be tested IMMEDIATELY for Clostridium sordellii if you took any pills vaginally. If you have this infection, you need aggressive treatment IMMEDIATELY. Don't want for symptoms to start. I am not aware of a single case where symptoms started, where they were able to save the life of the woman.

Some of these pills suppress a chemical your body naturally makes that controls uterine bleeding. Suppressing this chemical can cause a woman to hemorrhage or otherwise bleed to death.

Some of these pills can also cause a woman's uterus to rupture.

In addition to all of that, having a successful abortion by means of the pills means you will be much more likely to get breast cancer. It usually strikes a woman while she is still young, such as in her 30's, and it kills 1/4 of its victims. If you have any close relative who has had breast cancer, and this is your first pregnancy, getting breast cancer is a virtual certainty.

You need immediate medical help, and there are organizations that will make it available to you. These organizations also provide counseling, and help with whatever needs you have. You really don't have to risk your life like this, and I only hope and pray you haven't done yourself too much damage. But please get that help! You can find an organization near you by going to this web site:

http://www.pregnancycenters.org/

You deserve better. You owe it to yourself to talk to these folks; they can be very, very helpful. Please let me know the answers to your questions so I can be more specific. Please take care of yourself, and don't do any more damage. I will be praying for you. Let me know what happens.