Shared by: Michelle from Ohio
Did you have a pregnancy test? No/I did finally have a test at the clinic It was positive (I knew it would be)
How was the pregnancy ended? I went to a clinic for a medical abortion
Is this your first pregnancy? No
Do you cycle regularly or irregularly? Irregularly
How many weeks pregnant were you when the herbs were started? 3
Were you using birth control? No, foolishly, in the past I have had a difficult time getting pregnant. I also had miscalculated my cycle.
Did you experience any symptoms or signs of pregnancy? Yes
Please include a summary of dosage information.
Black Cohosh - 540 mg capsules added 1 with Vitamin C at 12:00 p.m. on 7/4/04 . Two 540 mg capsules four hours later (4 pm) and two more each at 8 pm, 12 am and 4 am (7/5/04)
Dong Quai - 565 mg capsules two at 8:00 p.m. on 7/4/04 ; two more four hours later midnight, and again 4 am.
How did the herbs affect you? Sometime between midnight and 3 am 7/5/04 I was feeling unwell. I had diarrhea around 3:15 and was considering not taking my 4 am dosage. I would awaken throughout the night and would, at times, eat a cracker to help settle my stomach. By 4 am on Monday 7/5/04 I was feeling extremely nauseous. I continued with the diarrhea but could not stomach the thought of swallowing any food. Between 5 am and 9 am I was shaky, chilled, feverish, crampy and weak but not in my abdomen, and had diarrhea and vomited several times. I really felt too poorly to remember exactly how many times each. I could not recline in a bed and sat up during that time.
In desperation I again began taking the Vitamin C in the afternoon of Monday, July 05, 2004 I continued with this, though I have to admit as my stomach was very sensitive by this time, I did not ingest them as regularly as I initially had. On Tuesday, July 06, 2004 I had added a parsley pessary. I do not like parsley and could not stomach the thought of drinking it as a tea, though that was my intention. By Wednesday, I was feeling so nauseous and had such an acidy stomach I had tapered off the Vit. C though I still took some when I felt better, more like 2 or 3 every 2-3 hours depending on how I was feeling. I also added Dong Quai, as I felt the DQ/Black Cohosh combo was what made me so ill last time. By this time, I was feeling pretty poorly between the side effects of the pills and the symptoms of the pregnancy. I ended up making an appointment at a pro-choice clinic.
I went Friday, July 16, 2004 and take the second round of pills on day three (tomorrow, Sunday). As I sit here typing this I have started bleeding and passing clots. I am sure the pregnancy has been terminated. This is my second abortion; the first was nowhere near this easy as it was at the 19th week, due to many different circumstances.
I certainly hope I do not find myself in this situation again, though I am so blessed to have found and supportive of this website. I would turn here first if I ever need it or would guide anyone here first who asked for help. I would highly recommend a medical abortion over a surgical one any day. If you know you are pregnant and know abortion is the option you choose and nothing herbal works, do not delay in getting a medical abortion.
Thank you so much for this web-site and for all the advice and brutal honesty. I send much love out to all the women who have shared and given of themselves.
Do you have any health problems or issues? I have a septated uterus and uterine fibroids
Submitted: July 17, 2004
Age: 40
Weight: aprox 200
Height: 5’ 4”
Would you try herbs again, or recommend them to a friend in the same situation? Yes
For how many days were the herbs used (total)? 6 Days
When did they start? I noticed them just before I was expecting my period, they are also typical signals, to me, that my period is about to start.
Vitamin C - 500 mg tablets, one every hour beginning at 8:00 p.m. on 7/2/04 I missed one through the first night awakening at a 2 hour interval. I was late once by ½ an hour the second night. I took these continuously until 4:00 a.m. on 7/5/04 . On the first day I was extremely sleepy, by the second day I noticed my breast tenderness and nausea had subsided some and my energy was back.
If yes, do you think it had any affect on the way the herbs affected you? No
How did being pregnant make you feel physically? Physically nauseous, exhausted. Emotionally angry, scared, resentful
