Misoprostol and Diarrhea: What Users Say (Page 2)

• Anonymous
• October 14, 2019

For Abortion "Please don’t let the reviews on here scare you. I wanted to share my experience to help someone be less freaked out because I was so freaked out reading them. This was my experience: Friday: Took the first pill in the clinic. Felt a little nauseous on the drive home, but that could have been because I was nervous and carsick. Saturday: 12 pm - Took the 4 misoprostol pills, then fell asleep. 2 pm - Woke up to a little bleeding and mild cramps. Took Ibuprofen. 3 pm - Heavy bleeding started with more intense cramps. 3.5/10 pain. 4 pm - Had diarrhea. 5-6 pm - Passed some huge clots (about the size of a lemon and one was the size of an apple). Very heavy bleeding. 7 pm - Had diarrhea. 9 pm - Clots slowed down but bleeding was still heavy. Took Ibuprofen again. Sunday (today) - Heavy bleeding all day but no clots. Did not take Ibuprofen. Very mild cramps. Completely functional and able to do all my normal activities (other than go to the gym)."

• Sol...
• January 10, 2019

For Abortion "Well, this is my second time doing it. The first time, I was 8 weeks, went to PWC clinic, and they gave me mifepristone in the office, and then I had to take misoprostol at home the next day. Put four of them under my tongue. Let sit for 30-45 mins, swallowed the debris. It happened within an hour. Big clots, bad cramps, after an hour, boom, baby gone. Got a vaginal bacterial infection that smelled putrid, but they gave me metronidazole, so it went away. This time, I am 9 weeks, did the exact same process, and the only difference is diarrhea this time and longer bleeding time. It's been 4 hours, and I'm still passing clots, but it's calming down, so I'm figuring the baby is gone now. I recommend this if you can deal with the blood and the pain and if you have somebody here with you. It's no walk in the park, and it is exhausting, however, the pill does what it is meant to do, and afterwards, the relief of everything is the most rewarding part."

• Tee...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 12, 2020

"I had a pregnancy loss at 10 weeks. Pregnancy would not pass naturally, so I had to take misoprostol to force the tissues out. I inserted 4 tablets vaginally. Within 2 hours, I had experienced the most severe pains of my life. Tissues came out within 4 hours. These were literally contractions! I had severe pain right through the night. 3 days later, I am still cramping. The bleeding is manageable, though. I am wondering if the pain is less excruciating if taken orally. Most people who had mild pains took the meds orally and had diarrhea."

• Dov...
• June 14, 2020

For Abortion "I've had three medical abortions, all terrible! The first at 20. The second, for a miscarriage. The last, because I had just started clinicals. I threw up every time. I think it had something to do with the consistency of those 4 pills as they start to dissolve and not the actual medication itself (not sure). Please know that unless you have some strong medicine, you'll still feel the pain from the contractions. On the plus side, it'll only be pain that lasts for about 2 to 3 hours tops. I also had diarrhea. I literally had the worst of the worst each time, but I honestly couldn't imagine having a surgical abortion because it just seemed a little more aggressive. Regardless of what procedure you go with, the choice is still yours to make. Good luck, ladies!!!"

• Net...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 9, 2021

For Cervical Ripening "So I took the medication at 7:30 this morning as I had a scheduled endometrial biopsy and IUD insertion at 10:40. I inserted 2 pills into my vagina, and 10 minutes later, I felt mild pressure. Within 30 minutes, I had full-blown horrific cramps. I developed gas and diarrhea. Longest car ride to the doctor ever. I felt every bump. The pain continued to intensify even through both procedures and even after I took a muscle relaxer at 8:30. After the procedure, I threw up 3 times. I cried all the way home and finally got relief 8-10 hours after first taking the medication with Percocet. And from the violent diarrhea, I now have a hemorrhoid. I have fibroids and suffer from heavy bleeding and cramping during my cycle. Hoping the IUD will work. Be wary of what your guy tells you about this medication. My gut told me not to take it. I should have listened."

• Mir...
• May 19, 2020

For Abortion "In the 7th week of my pregnancy, it turned out that the embryo did not have a heartbeat. I was informed about my options: 1) natural miscarriage, 2) pills, 3) operation. I consulted with 3 different doctors, and they all recommended option 2, the pills. I placed 4 pills in my vagina, and after 3 to 4 hours, it started. I had diarrhea, I felt really sick, the pain kicked in without any transition. I wanted to take some pain relievers, but that was too late. When I swallowed them, I started to vomit immediately. I was pooping and vomiting, it felt like my body wanted to reject everything. The pain was non-stop for an hour and very heavy. It must have been similar to delivering a baby. In the second hour, I noticed cycles: 2 minutes of pain, 2 minutes of pause, and after 2 hours of agony, the pain started to be less. After a total of 2.5 hours, it was over, and I guess I was lucky. The blood came only after 2.5 hours, a bit more than usual. I bet if I were waiting for nature to solve it, it would have been less painful."

• JuJ...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 7, 2020

For Cervical Ripening "I was given misoprostol to widen my cervix for IUD insertion. Swallowed 4 in the morning with food, 3 hours before my IUD insertion. My first IUD wasn’t in properly, so it was removed. They wanted to complete this insertion guided by ultrasound while using this med. Mild cramping at first and no nausea. After the insertion, I cramped quite a bit, but it never reached the discomfort of my typical period cramps. It was odd that they would come in regular intervals, much like contractions, but that happened after my last insertion too. The weirdest thing is that when I’d burp, it tasted really weird. Almost like chemical fertilizer, but luckily the taste didn’t linger. I had a little bit of diarrhea several hours later. I bled a bit, but I was unable to tell if it was cycle-related, related to the IUD, or related to the meds. I didn’t read anything about it beforehand, and I’m glad I didn’t. I would have psyched myself out badly."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 4, 2021

For Cervical Ripening "By far the worst experience of my life. Inserted 4 pills vaginally. About 15 min after, I already felt a little cramping. I thought, OK, I guess this is what happens. Little did I know I was about to go through the most horrific pain ever. As the 'cramping' intensified, I began to feel cold, I was shivering, teeth chattering, and all underneath a blanket. This lasted about over an hour, meanwhile, the cramps were becoming unbearable. I went to the bathroom, had streaming diarrhea, and a while later began projectile vomiting, barely making it to the bathroom in time. The intensity of the cramping was so severe that I cried out for God, hoping this pain would lessen or end. But it didn't. I called the doctor, and they said this happens sometimes and to take the pills out. Unfortunately, I was only able to get two out while urinating. The horrific pain continued as I writhed in agony and torture. 4 days later and still battling severe body aches, weakness, pain on my side, targeted cramping, fevers."

• Mee...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 19, 2021

For Cervical Ripening "Took misoprostol before an IUD insertion to soften my cervix since the first try didn't work. Was told that all my doctor's other patients had some nausea at worst, and most felt nothing. I was instructed to take it buccally (dissolved in my cheek) a few hours before the procedure. I was in a college class at the time and had to run out to the restroom within 5 to 10 minutes of taking it. At first, I was dizzy, then got every symptom on the bottle to the worst extreme. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and the absolute WORST cramps of my entire life. I literally writhed on the bathroom floor at college. This was literally the most painful experience of my entire life, to the point where they listed it on my file as an allergy. I got my IUD inserted successfully afterwards and have had it for almost 5 years now."

• Mom...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 20, 2019

For Abortion "I was terrified to use misoprostol after reading endless horror stories on the internet. However, my experience was far from that! I put the 4 pills in my cheeks about 10:15 a.m., started bleeding by 10:35, and passed the pregnancy tissue by 10:50 (I was 7 weeks 3 days). Continued mild cramping, passing clots (not much more than a regular heavy period) until about 5:30 p.m. and am now just bleeding like day 3 of my period. I did notice that if I tried to sit or lay down, the pain did intensify, but if I kept moving, I felt much better. The only real negative side effect was a bit of diarrhea."

• Afd...
• June 13, 2021

For Abortion "I was 7 weeks. I was so afraid after what I had read on this website, and my experience was nothing like the others on here. For a few hours, I felt like I was having a normal period. The cramps intensified only when I was about to pass clots and heavy tissue. No huge lemon-sized clots! It was uncomfortable but so much more bearable than I thought. A heating pad helped, and I was instructed to alternate between 800 mg ibuprofen and 1000 mg Tylenol every 4 hours. One thing my nurse told me that I am thankful for is that if you insert the pills vaginally, which you can do up to 9 weeks, you are less likely to have negative side effects. I took the pills vaginally, and I had no nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, etc. I even ate dinner during the time that I was bleeding. It felt like a period that became heavy and more painful intermittently. Make sure you are at home, in a comfy place. If this is the option you choose, you really will be okay!"

• Ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 3, 2020

For Abortion "I took the normal single dose of misoprostol at the clinic. The next evening, I put the 4 pills in my cheeks. Roughly 15 minutes in, I had painful cramping. It was like severe period cramps, at first constant, then in waves of every few minutes or so over 45 minutes to an hour. Sitting on the toilet helped, and I had some initial bleeding. After, the cramps ceased for roughly 45 minutes. Then I had major cramping beginning in my stomach similar to gas pains. What happened next was the absolute most insane and explosive diarrhea I have ever had. Shocked that the toilet didn’t split in two. During the episode, I got chills and nearly lost my breath. If you feel gas pains, just sit in the bathroom or you WILL NOT make it to the toilet. I had major bleeding during this, but after, no more diarrhea and mild cramps continued into the night."

• Ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 21, 2025

For Abortion "I read a lot of the reviews on here… and they made me very nervous to take these pills… so I thought I’d jump on and tell my experience. I was about 6 weeks pregnant. Took the first pill as directed… no side effects from the first pill. Took the second step (4 pills in cheeks of mouth for 30 mins) 24 hours after. 30 minutes went by and started to cramp mildly, not painful at all. Another 30 minutes went and started to bleed a bit with still mild cramping. I did experience the chills and felt nauseous at this point. I laid down with mild cramping, bleeding, and chills. At about the 2nd hour into things, I passed a clot about the size of a grape. I felt instant relief. After, I did experience diarrhea and mild cramping for the next 6 hours, but the next day I felt completely better with mild bleeding like a period. I’m hoping this review will help others, as the pain was very temporary! You got this!!"

• Jay...
• December 23, 2020

For Abortion "I took this pill at approx. 4/5 weeks pregnant. I took the first pill at the clinic Friday @ 2:30. I didn’t have any symptoms other than slight cramps & tiredness. I took the second pill Sunday @ 9:30 AM. 30 mins later, I was on the toilet throwing up with diarrhea at the same time. My cramps were very intense. I usually get bad PMS, so I thought I’d be fine, but definitely a lot stronger, so I would definitely recommend a strong pain reliever (I took naproxen) & definitely something for nausea, which I did not do. Pain lasted for maybe an hour, then eased up & I was able to sleep. I was fine by 3 pm. Also, do not read the reviews before taking because everyone is different. Doing that made me cry, I was so scared, but you’ll be fine!"

• Ann...
• March 1, 2020

For Abortion "As soon as the pills dissolved (in less than 10 minutes), my throat and cheeks started to hurt. I felt cramping so bad and started to shake uncontrollably to the point I felt I was convulsing. I started throwing up, and the pain was unbearable. I laid in the fetal position. Then started the diarrhea. I was sitting on the toilet with my legs shaking violently and throwing up at the same time. I managed to get back to the foot of my bed and laid there in agony. I threw up all down the side of my bed. I had a heating pad on me, and I was laying bundled up in a jacket, and all of a sudden I felt extremely hot. Burning up. Temperature 101.6. About an hour later, I started bleeding, was too weak to get up. About an hour later, went to the bathroom and plopped a lot of blood. The cramps became bearable. The next day, I woke up feeling better. The next night, I felt like I was hit by a truck. My body felt bruised. Today, cramping bad and still bleeding 3 days later. A little forgetful today and my head feels funny."

• Hey...
• August 19, 2019

For Abortion "The misoprostol medicine does work. I kept hearing that the pain associated with this drug felt like period cramps. Hell no! I literally was rocking and moaning in pain for at least 2 hours, and then it calmed down. I took the medicine orally, and prior to that, I took ibuprofen for pain. The ibuprofen did not work... and I have a high pain tolerance. I’m not trying to scare you, and it’s true everybody’s body will respond differently, but the pain I felt was indescribable... I couldn’t even stand... all I could do was rock and moan. I was early too... 5 weeks... so I was expecting minimal pain... yeah right. I also got diarrhea and the chills pretty bad. When I felt the “plop,” I knew it was over... but even as I write this, I’m still bleeding and cramping... never again."

• ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 18, 2022

For Abortion "Most painful thing I've ever experienced. I read the reviews saying it wasn't that bad, so I felt okay to take it. I was 5-6 weeks pregnant when I took the cervix softener, and 30 hours later I took 1 anti-nausea, 2 Panadol, and 2 ibuprofen, then an hour later dissolved 4 misoprostol in my gums. After 30 minutes, I got bad period cramps, which steadily increased to the most extreme pain I have ever felt, and I normally have painful periods. I vomited a few times, had diarrhea, the pain was so extreme I thought I was going to die - my body couldn't handle it. I had to lie down in the shower, where I passed out for over an hour and couldn't move, codeine didn't help. I got 20 minutes of extreme chest pain a few hours in. I bled but with no clots, which led to a trip to the ED where I found out the pills had not expelled the pregnancy, and a week later I got a surgical abortion. Overall, worst experience, wouldn't wish it on anyone. I wish I knew it wouldn't work for me, so I could've had the surgery instead."

• VHH...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 12, 2021

For Cervical Ripening "I was prescribed this for an IUD insertion. I took the medication as directed the night before the procedure (inserting it). An hour later, I was nauseous and had a stomach ache, which led to the entire night spent in the bathroom throwing up and with diarrhea. I also experienced extreme cramping, my husband was going to drive me to the hospital as the cramping was so bad. I didn't end up going as I was so nauseous and couldn't even get dressed. I had to reschedule my procedure to a later date. I have never been this sick in my whole life, I am a healthy 40-year-old."

• Nen...
• December 13, 2019

For Abortion "I have taken misoprostol, 4 tablets. As soon as I got home, I took them orally with water, and pain, diarrhea kicked in so quick. I was on the floor of my bathroom with hot flashes and felt like I was about to die. For me, it was the worst thing in my life. I had the most intense pain. I had to rush to the ER after 5 hours of pain and no relief. I had morphine to calm the pain down. Now I wish I would have gone there much earlier. I had already passed 2 clots only in my house but still yet have no clue if I have expelled everything. I hope everything has come out so I don't have to take these nasty pills. Literally, if I knew it was this painful, I would have just done a DNC. That's how horrible this experience was for me. I was literally in the worst pain on my bathroom floor."

• Iva...
• March 11, 2019

For Abortion "First off, I believe that doctors need to provide far more information than they do in regards to what to expect using misoprostol. Expect to see pregnancy tissue. I was only 5.5 weeks when I took this pill, and I still had extreme pain followed by pregnancy tissue, which could be very disturbing for many people. It is also expected that around 8 weeks and further you will see an actual fetus, which resembles a very tiny baby, and this may be far too much for many, and all of this I was not told. Second, 'severe cramping, similar to period cramps' ummmm no, this was FAR BEYOND that. It was mild at first, just on and off cramps, but when my body started passing the pregnancy tissue, there are no words to describe what I was feeling, and I was vomiting and having diarrhea all at the same time, it was awful for me. All in all, this lasted 3 hours of bad pain, but it was in the privacy of my home bathroom, toilet, and bathtub."

• Ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 3, 2021

For Abortion "4 weeks pregnant, inserted 4 pills vaginally, took 2 orally since Saturday. I only experience slight cramps, diarrhea, and nausea. I passed nothing. No blood, no clots, nothing. I don't believe this has worked."

• SJ6...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 16, 2022

For Cervical Ripening "Just prior to having my hysterectomy, resection of endometrial polyp (Myosure) and Mirena insertion under general anesthetic, my surgeon came back into the room and gave me 2 tablets to insert into my vagina, saying they would help open my cervix. After approximately 30 minutes, I started having strong cramps similar to very bad period pain. This was shortly followed by diarrhea and sickness. Thank God the hand basin was next to the toilet so I could rest my head against it during the spontaneous diarrhea and sickness. The cramping pain continued, and I broke out in a cold sweat. After my 4th or 5th journey to the toilet, I asked the nurse for some painkillers. I told her what was happening, and she told me that this was not unusual after being given misoprostol suppositories. The surgeon had not mentioned any possible side effects to me. I ended up throwing up the paracetamol. Shortly after, I was taken down for surgery. I woke up in the same pain, and my blood pressure was through the roof."

• Bra...
• June 13, 2021

For Abortion "I was terrified to take this medication, mostly because of the unknown. I decided to share my experience in hopes that it'll help someone else through. I was around 7 weeks. I took the 1st pill at the doctor's office around 1:45 pm. I took the other 4 vaginally at 12:45 am. 30 minutes prior, I took Tylenol and ibuprofen 800. Approximately 30 minutes after insertion, I started to have mild cramping and a little nausea. About an hour in, the cramps got a little more intense, like heavy period cramps. Around 2:48 am, I got up to use the bathroom and began to vomit and had mild diarrhea, and there was one little blood clot. I dozed off and got up around 4 am to use the bathroom, and at this time, I expelled 4 large clots (which I believe were the pregnancy), still with heavy period-like cramps. At around 4:48 am, I got up to use the bathroom again, and at this time, I passed another large-sized clot and had some more mild diarrhea. Finally, around 9:30 am, the cramps began to subside."

• Swe...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 17, 2019

For Abortion "I was about 5-6 weeks pregnant, and it was just not the right time for us to have a child. On Thursday, I took the first pill at the clinic, and Friday night I started to bleed very lightly. On Saturday morning, I took the Tylenol and the anti-nausea pills 30 minutes before the second pill, about 10 a.m. At 10:50 a.m., I started not feeling well and went to get up to go to the bathroom. The second I got up, I was in agonizing pain! I then spent the next hour and a half in the bathroom with diarrhea and extreme pain that had me howling. Tylenol with codeine did not help. I ended up throwing up a few times from the pain. I tried to get up to go lay down in the bed and couldn’t even stand up straight, and the cramps came every minute to minute in agony. This continued until about 1 p.m. when I had a painful contraction and felt oozing come out. Now it’s 1:22 p.m., and I don’t have the excruciating pain and just feel as if I have a normal period. Hope to never go through this again."

• Tin...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 7, 2024

For Abortion "24 hours later at 3 pm the next day, I put the 4 pills in my cheeks. I took anti-nausea medicine 30 minutes before and diclofenac 100mg. I also had my hot water bottle with me. I was ready, bracing myself for the worst while hoping for the best. 30 minutes later, I chugged down what was left of the medication in my mouth with water. I had already started cramping at this point. 5 minutes later, it started getting worse. 10 minutes later, it was really painful. I was rolling around in bed. Another 10 minutes later, I was kind of screaming and also on the toilet. After 5 minutes of sitting there, I was throwing up and having diarrhea simultaneously. I was shaking and sweating because of the pain. Everything was unbelievably painful. 1 hour later, I was still not bleeding. That was worrisome to me because I was already exhausted. I eventually bled a lot, with lots of blood clots and spent lots of time sitting on the toilet. I threw up twice. Pain level: 100."