After hours questions

This is by far the most common question we get. There is a very, very wide range of normal bleeding patterns and amounts after taking the medications. Though the heaviest bleeding is usually in the first 1-2 days, it isn’t the same for everyone. Many people can have light bleeding throughout or off/on bleeding. Bleeding may not follow a consistent pattern. That is absolutely fine. 

We see a large portion of people very early in their pregnancies. Please note many people who are 5 weeks or less may have minimal bleeding. That is normal, common, and expected.

We determine your gestational age by the first day of your last menstrual period, not the day you got pregnant. You can use our pregnancy calculator to find out how many weeks ago that was. If you have had an ultrasound, please go by the ultrasound result instead.

Medication abortion is very safe and effective through 11 weeks from the first day of our last period. If you are more than 9 weeks who may see tissue that you recognize.

YES! Please use all three doses of misoprosol, even if you are already bleeding.

None of the medications in your kit have interactions. It is safe to take them together. Please wait 3 hours between doses of misoprostol. There is a mild interaction between the nausea medication, ondansetron, some common antidepressants and antibiotics. We are not concerned about serious interactions in people who are healthy enough to be pregnant.

Please use the ondansetron in your kit up to every 6 hours for nausea. If this is not enough, you can take Benadryl (diphenhydramine) up to 50mg (2 tabs). Benadryl is available over the counter as an allergy medication and can make you very sleepy. Liquid versions of Benadryl can help if you can’t swallow the pill form. Do not use this method if you are taking antidepressants, anti-seizure medications or long term antibiotics. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery when using Benadryl. 

Nausea is an unfortunate and common side effect of misoprostol. So long as the misoprostol was placed under you tongue for at least 30 minutes, everything is working as expected for that dose. The vomiting is a sign that the medication was adequately absorbed. There is no reason to repeat misoprostol pills after vomiting so long as they were under your tongue for 30 minutes, even if they were not fully dissolved.

Please don’t hesitate to take the anti nausea pills in your kit. You can add Benadryl (diphenhydramine) to help calm the stomach and help you sleep through the some of the cramping. Do not drive while taking this over the counter medication as it makes you very sleepy.

A drug store pregnancy test can take up to 6 weeks to turn negative after an abortion. This is because the drug store tests detect a very low hormone level, and your body takes time to clear the pregnancy hormone. Please do NOT take a pregnancy test until you receive a reminder text to do so. 

We advise waiting 2 days from taking misoprostol before you use tampons. This is because it is much harder to gauge your bleeding from tampons or menstrual cups compared to extra large pads. If you call us about heavy bleeding, the first thing we want to know if how many extra large pads are you soaking.

A medication abortion less than 8 weeks from your last period will look like a medium-heavy period. There is nothing to look for as there is nothing recognizable. People more than 8 weeks may see recognizable tissue. This is often embedded in clots, which are very common. Blood is meant to clot when it is sitting still.

It can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months for your periods to get back to a predictable schedule. Your first period after a medication abortion may be much heavier that usual. That’s fine. It will go back to normal.

We do NOT advise using ovulation tracking as your primary method of birth control until you’ve had at least 2 months of predictable cycles. It is possible to get pregnant again before your next period and before your pregnancy test turns negative.

There are no food or drink restrictions while using any of the medications in your kit. You may eat and drink as you normally would.

It is safe to continue breastfeeding while using the medications, including misoprostol. You do not need to stop breastfeeding or “pump and dump”.

There are no activity restrictions after a medication abortion, including restrictions on when you can have sex. It is possible to get pregnancy again 7 days after a medication abortion.