Expert: Pat G - 5/7/2011

Question
QUESTION: Although I have made an appointment in two days, I just want to consult with you my situation.

I had an abortion on 4/2/11. I had very mild cramps the following days and did have bright red bleeding for maybe 5-7 days. Then the bleeding became lighter, but never went away. I  get dark brow spots on the liners. Starting today, 5/5, I started to feel cramping, and seeing more blood on my liner. It is now bright red again, although there isn't much, but could this be a period?

I took a pregnancy test on monday, 5/2, it is still positive with very faint line. I never had sex during this whole period so there is noway to get pregnant again. But right after the procedure the doctor did suspect the abortion wasn't 100% complete, and they took my blood sample and asked me to get another blood test after 2 days, the blood test was normal, and I went back on April 14 for a pregnancy test, although it was positive but the doctor told me the hormone level went down significantly so everything should be fine.

Should I worry about incomplete abortion or am I just getting a period right now? Is it normal to bleed through to the next period? Also I notice my breast tenderness never completely went away, it got much better but the pain to touch is not completely gone.

ANSWER: Hello, aeryn,

These are the kinds of sticky situations that cause me to wish women would find a better answer, one that will damage their bodies less. The problem is, abortion is a vicious assault on a woman's body, and it messes up her hormones. So nobody will be able to tell you how your body will react, because each woman is different. It seems likely that you are no longer pregnant. But we don't know what your periods will do now, or whether you are now safe from any consequences from bleeding. You didn't say what kind of abortion you had. If you had a pill abortion, you still could have very heavy bleeding, even to the point where it would be life-threatening. If you had a surgical abortion, the ongoing bleeding suggests you may have been injured more than usual. You will have to watch very closely. If you had a pill abortion, you should try to get some red hot peppers in your food, or take some cayenne, on a regular basis, until you know the bleeding has stopped completely. If you have an exceptionally heavy period, even though you had a surgical abortion, you should still get the red hot peppers or cayenne. Most likely you are having a period, but the problem is, you really won't have any idea what it is going to do until you see what happens.

Be careful about this claim that the abortion wasn't complete. Get a second opinion, from someone who doesn't do abortions. If they want more money where you had the abortion because it wasn't complete, I would smell a rat. They should make sure everything is done right in the first place, but that's very difficult, because if they're doing a surgical abortion, they really can't see what they are doing, even if they use ultrasound.

Just remember, having an abortion is not normal, and neither is anything that happens afterwards, including the bleeding for a month. Although you have less pain in your breasts, unfortunately, abortion causes significant harm to the tissues. If this is a first pregnancy especially, you are now much more likely to get breast cancer. It can strike while you are still young, and it kills 1/4 of its victims. To help prevent this, you should take Vitamin D3 for the rest of your life. A daily dose of 5000IU is a good place to start. You will need to have your blood tested to make sure you are not getting too much. Also, you should get regular thermograms. Do not get a mammogram. They can cause or spread breast cancer.

I hope everything goes well for you. Please let me know how things go. Please don't have another abortion. Abortion can kill you or cause you serious harm. It can also harm your future children. Please stay safe.

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

QUESTION: thank you so much for your concerned answer.
I think I am definitely getting the first period after the surgical abortion. The pain is deadly! I am not bleeding heavily as my normal period. I took Ibuprofen 600mg and it seems to calm down the pain just a little. Is this normal to have such a painful period?

Answer
Hello, aeryn,

You're welcome.

Be a little careful with some of those painkillers. If they relax the contractions of the uterus, they could cause profuse bleeding. The uterus clamps down painfully to prevent that.

As I said, having an abortion is not normal, so neither is anything that happens afterward. Abortions disrupt a woman's hormones, so it may well change the nature of your periods. The other thing to be concerned about is the possibility they caused injury above what you would normally expect. All abortions damage a woman's body. I have a couple of concerns. If you start to bleed profusely, you should get some red hot peppers in your food, or cayenne as a supplement, until the bleeding stops. If they perforated your uterus (which is common), you could be bleeding internally. This could be very serious. You need to be checked out to make sure none of this is the case. Do not go back to the people who provided the abortion. They cannot be trusted. Abortion is bad medicine, and if they are willing to do an abortion on a healthy woman with a healthy pregnancy, they don't care about you. They just want your money. They won't want to admit they harmed you because of the legal liability. There are a lot of really shoddy abortionists in California. Find a doctor who doesn't believe in abortion. Sometimes a doctor will prescribe birth control pills to try to decrease the pain. This could result in more problems, so I don't recommend it.

Since you had a surgical abortion, please be aware that this can cause problems with your future children. I will tell you what to look out for, so that you stand a better chance of having a healthy baby. If they scraped over the opening to a Fallopian tube and caused scar tissue to form, you could experience a tubal pregnancy. This is a life-threatening condition, and it is rare for a baby to survive. It will require emergency surgery. You would suspect a possible tubal pregnancy if you experience pain early in pregnancy, especially on one side, and especially if it suddenly stops. Repeat miscarriages and very early birth are also greatly increased after abortion. The doctor can do a procedure called cerclage to try to prevent this. You will want to make sure the doctor knows, because very early birth is a leading cause of some fairly serious birth defects. Having a surgical abortion can also cause problems during the birth of a future child. Two major things that can happen are placenta previa and prolonged labor. Placenta previa can kill both of you. Either of these may require that you have a Caesarian section. For this reason, you will need to be in a good hospital for birth.

There are organizations all over California that will provide you with referrals to decent doctors, counseling, and any other help you might need. To find one near you, please go to this web site:

http://www.optionline.org/

I hope everything works out for you. Please let me know how you do, and take care.