I promised myself that if I had a good experience I would share it. So here I am.

I found out I was pregnant on a Monday. I was working from home, and was feeling really tired and a little crampy. My period was late but this wasn’t a weird thing for me, it wasn’t a very consistent cycle. I had been on and off BC pills since I was fourteen to treat acne. I knew I had a pregnancy test under my sink and thought, “Why not?” I took the test and walked away to do something else. I came back and boom PREGNANT. My heart sank to my stomach, and I called my fiancé right away and told him.

We want kids, and had always talked about kids. When he got home we talked about it a little more and what our options were. I am going to be honest, I have also supported the thought of an abortion, there is nothing wrong with planning when you want to start your family. But I never thought I would get one myself.

The following day, I just could not stop crying, I knew I wasn’t ready to be a mother. I knew that we were not financially ready to have a baby. And with the pandemic still in its prime, I wasn’t sure how much longer I would have a job. When my fiancé got home, we sat on the couch and talked it over. We ultimately decided on abortion. I booked an appointment at my local Planned Parenthood and started the process.

The day of the appointment, I was so very nervous. Like we all do, I googled a little too much. I came across stories of women who endured tremendous pain during their medical abortion (pills). My head was filled with all the horror stories and nothing really uplifting, I decided to do it anyway. I walked in, gave a urine sample and then sat in the lobby to wait. I had no idea what to expect.

Once I was called back, I was greeted by the kindest MA. They took my vitals and began to ask me all the questions, so many questions. Next was the ultrasound to see if I was able to go through with the medical abortion (pills). I opted not to see the ultrasound, and not to know how many weeks along I was. After a really long wait for the NP, I was given the first pills you take at the clinic, and the sealed pill bottle that you take 24-48 hours after the first pills.

During the first 24 hours, I felt completely fine, maybe a little crampy. Next came the scary pills, the ones that I read terrible stories about. I was so nervous to take these pills, I told my fiancé I was going to wait to take them until he got home, just in case I needed to go to the hospital. I didn’t wait for him, I was way too anxious, I grabbed the pill bottle and popped them into my mouth. I decided to just lay down in my room where I could be close to a bathroom.

I kept waiting for the horror to happen. It never did. Within the first 2-4 hours of taking the pill I started to spot a bit, then about 5 hours later (10pm) I felt a little nauseous. I puked once. Had diarrhea once. And I didn’t bleed heavily at all.

I had a check up appointment 2 weeks after the initial appointment, and they told me that the pills were successful. I was no longer pregnant. I felt like I got my life and body back.

If you are nervous about going through with medical abortion, don’t be. You can do it.  You are stronger than you think!