Submitted: Dec 17, 2001
Shared By: Amy
Did you have a pregnancy test? Yes
Were you successful in using the herbs? Yes
Is there anything that clued you in that the herbs might be working before bleeding started? No, neither time. I was in panic both times.
Is this your first pregnancy? No, I have two boys, six and three. One previous miscarriage 10 years ago, and one previous herbal abortion.
What was the date of the first day of your last menstrual period? November 7th
What was the date when the herbs were started? December 5th.
Were you using birth control? No
If you were not using birth control, please share why not. Because I am really stupid and expected him to use something and got caught up in the heat of the moment. Stupid.
Did you experience any symptoms or signs of pregnancy? Yes, Irritability, boobs hurt bad, slight cramps.
Please include a summary of dosage information.
For my first herbal abortion (last year in November as well) I used pennyroyal, black and blue cohosh. I had taken a pregnancy test (positive), and started on the herbs 2nd day after missed period. Stayed on herbs at 20 drops each every four hours and the sixth day bleeding started. I also took some cotton root tincture on the 5th day. 10 drops every four hours. On the sixth day I experienced really bad cramps. I had to take pain medication which I hardly ever do (especially not for my periods). Bleeding lasted for approximatly 7 days. Cramped really bad for two days. In my experience it seems that the black/blue cohosh and pennyroyal work really well with a boost of progesterone dampening agent on the 6th day.
I would recommend herbal abortion to anyone that is contemplating abortion as long as it is started early in the pregnancy and the woman is willing to back it up with mechanical abortion is the herbal abortion fails. I think herbal abortion is much easier on the psyche than mechanical abortion. It is obviously not invasive, much easier on the body and costs much less. It is also much more private (I went with one of my friends a couple of years ago).
Is there anything you would have done differently? I would have started earlier in the pregnancy, i.e. when I thought fertilization had occured.
There are many lessons that can be learned from an experience such as this, Do you feel you have learned something from this experience? If so what? To use birth control. Always.
Weight: 105
Height: 5'
Do you smoke tobacco? No, but I chew tobacco (Copenhagen Long Cut)
When was it taken? First day of missed period
What was the result. Positive
How was the pregnancy ended? Herbal abortion
Would you try herbs again, or recommend them to a friend in the same situation? Yes, this is the second pregnancy I have ended with herbs.
Do you know the date of fertilizing intercourse? November 22nd.
What was the date you were expecting menstruation? December 7th.
How long do your cycles usually run? 30 days, does not vary by more than two days + or -.
Do you cycle regularly or irregularly? regularly
How many weeks pregnant were you when the herbs were started? two??
For how many days were the herbs used (total)? two weeks.
Or, what was the date bleeding started if herbs were successful? December 17th
What kind/method of birth control/contraception were you using? None
When did they start? 5th day after missed period.
Pennyroyal, Blue Cohosh, Black Cohosh
20 drops each every four hours. Started this on the 12/5. Ran out on 12/7. Started again on 12/10. Stepped it up to 20 drops of each every 3 hours on 12/15, the last day I was supposed to take it. That didn't make me feel very good. Nauseous, light headed etc. No bleeding occured and I had blue cohosh tablets (500 mg each) so I took those (two-three) every three hours to keep the level up. I had a bad reaction though and threw up everything about 1:00 p.m. after following that regime since 6:00 in the morning. Tapered off to 2 every four hours. No bleeding occured and I felt absolutely horrible. Light headed etc. I decided to go the Vitamin C/Dong Quai route next. On the morning of 12/17 took 1000 mg of Vitamin C every hour. At about 12:00 I started bleeding. Really bad cramps. Lots of blood.
