Misoprostol and Vomiting: What Users Say

• Li_...
• June 7, 2021

For Abortion "I was 8 weeks pregnant. I took the first pill at the doctor's office at 2 pm on a Friday. I didn't feel anything at all for that one. I took the other four in my cheeks the next day at 9 pm and by 9:30, they were mostly dissolved, but I washed it down with water. The only pain medication I took was ibuprofen 30 minutes before. As soon as it dissolved, I noticed a little bit of cramping for like 20 minutes and I also threw up my meal. But that was the only time I threw up, I didn't feel any nausea. My cramping started to get worse for the next three hours. I was sitting on the toilet for like 40 minutes with diarrhea and cramping with only a bit of blood. By 12:00 am, I was bleeding more and passed four clots. After that, my cramping had stopped, and then I was just bleeding like a normal period. Just have some water, relax, and a heating pad, and you'll be fine! Don't let these bad stories scare you away."

• 142...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 8, 2020

For Abortion "I’m 20 years old with a very strong stomach. I took the first pill at the clinic around 11:30. I was tired and slightly nauseous but I was prescribed promethazine, which helped with the nausea. By 9 am the next morning, I was bleeding a small amount. I decided to eat a meal, take 800 mg of ibuprofen that I was prescribed, and another promethazine for nausea. 45 minutes after taking the pain medicine and nausea medicine, I placed 2 cytotec in each cheek, which dissolved in 15 minutes. I felt the most intense cramping and pain and was honestly screaming in agony. The pain was so severe I threw up everything in my stomach and had diarrhea. This all lasted about 30 minutes and then I began to do breathing exercises that helped calm the pain and made me fall asleep. After that, I had very moderate cramping that was very manageable. Drink lots of water, sleep a lot, and stay calm. You can do it."

• Man...
• October 3, 2020

For Abortion "I was 5 weeks and 3 days. I read the reviews on here and almost talked myself out of it, but I had to do what was best for me. I spoke with 4 friends who also took this route, and they all said it was awful. I was terrified. I took the first pill to stop the pregnancy from growing on Friday at 10 a.m. There was some light cramping. I threw up my dinner that night and had slight nausea. I then took the other 4 pills on Saturday around 12:18 p.m. and swallowed the remaining at 12:48 p.m. Soon after I felt super mild cramping and just relaxed. I went to the restroom around 1:30, no blood, I went back around 2:15 and there was bleeding. Still no severe cramping. Around 3:55 p.m. I went to the restroom and felt clots and a couple plops in the toilet, I had passed the pregnancy. It is now 7 p.m. and I am just relaxing, slight cramping right now. Bleeding is heavy. Before taking the 4 pills today, I ate applesauce and took 4 ibuprofen. I drank lots of water and just took it easy."

• Man...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 1, 2020

For Abortion "Checking back in after the 2 doses of pills. My ultrasound following the 1 dose was not clear: “clots still remained but I passed pregnancy.” Ibuprofen and nausea meds 45 min before abortion pills. First-time experience was totally fine, except for the runs, and it wasn’t extreme painful runs neither. Relax, girls! Didn’t bleed right away as the first time! I was panicking, accepting I would need the procedure! But 24 hours later, bleeding started, lasted 2 days, normal period type. No pain! No vomiting! No runs this time! Just feeling drained. Clear ultrasound! Doctor approved me, and it’s all over now. Be strong!! I know this is a very traumatic experience, but don’t let them talk you into the procedure without doing a 2 doses first! Medical covered everything. I did mine at Planned Parenthood."

• Ab1...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 29, 2019

For Abortion "I'm sharing my experience to encourage those who are about to try the abortion pill. I was 6 weeks pregnant and wanted to do a non-invasive procedure, but reading the reviews here made me so hesitant and anxious. I did it anyway. I took the first pill in the doctor's office, this one was the worst pill, because it made me throw up all day, but nothing an anti-nausea pill couldn't solve. Make sure your doctor prescribes this to you. I then swallowed an anti-nausea tablet, 2 Nurofens along with the misoprostol. The trick to it was, as soon as I felt light cramping, I swallowed paracetamol and codeine that was prescribed by the doctor for pain relief. I'm glad to say my pain overall was like 2.5/10, slept through the bleeding, and about 4 hours later passed some clots, changed pads twice, passed more clots, and slept like a baby. It also helps to have someone there next to you for support, a hot water pack, hot chocolate, and some entertainment!! You've got this!"

• Can...
• May 24, 2020

For Abortion "I’m 18. I was 7 weeks pregnant. The first dose of misoprostol did nothing, but maybe an hour after, I threw up, and afterwards felt tired, and my lower stomach began aching slightly. The next day, I took an 800 mg ibuprofen and one tablet of promethazine, and 30 min later, I put the 2 pills on each side of my cheek and just laid back. I felt a quick sharp pain in my stomach when it was dissolving. 15 min passed after swallowing, and my back pains immediately started. They were only slightly worse than when I’m on my period. I laid on a heating pad. The first trip to the bathroom (maybe 20 min after the pills), I saw small droplets of blood, I threw up, and felt as if the side effect of diarrhea was about to kick in. It did in the second trip, and there was also more blood. This time when I went (maybe an hour after), a lot of blood clots came out, and one bigger one did too. This didn’t hurt at all, but I was almost sure it was the pregnancy. The next few bathroom trips were either filled with blood or just #2. I was really tired afterwards."

• No ...
• May 4, 2020

For Abortion "I swore I was going to write my experience, so here I am! Took the first pill at the office, felt fine in 24 hours. The others I dissolved in my cheeks. 15 minutes into them dissolving, felt light cramps, and about an hour in, I was in some pain. Felt like a period, so I laid down with a heating pad on my back. Then all of a sudden, I got hot and threw up and went to the bathroom, passed a clot the size of a lemon, went back to lay down, and by then, I was in a lot of pain. It didn’t feel like period pain, it felt like contractions for the next 3 hours, so I got another heating pad for my belly. I made it through, and I’m glad I chose the pill, but I guess everyone is different because the pain in my belly was 100 times worse than a period! Don’t be scared though, because you will survive, I promise, and good luck to you all! Much love."

• PDN...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 10, 2022

For Cervical Ripening "I was a little freaked out after reading the reviews, and my sympathies to those ladies. However, my experience was much more positive. Inserted two pills the night before my biopsy. Had a little cramping, like mild period pain, and also some light spotting. This was gone by the morning. Used the other two pills the next morning, prior to the procedure. Again, very mild cramping and also a little bloating and gas. Otherwise, felt fine with no nausea, vomiting, etc. The procedure went off without incident, and the doctor had no issues inserting the tool, so overall, the little bit of discomfort was worth it. Clearly, we all react differently to this drug, but just wanted to reassure readers that not all reactions are as severe as some of those noted."

• Sha...
• December 15, 2020

For Abortion "I can honestly say I have never experienced pain like it in my life. I had never quite heard of just how painful it would be. Like a lot of these reviews, I found people saying, 'It wasn’t that bad,' so I just want to share that it could be awful for you. I had to call an ambulance out, the sweats were that bad I became unresponsive when on the phone to the ambulance. I did not lose lots of blood, and the pregnancy passed within 4 hrs. I could not stop vomiting, and diarrhea did not stop. I wasn’t aware of just how awful this was going to be. I say this not to scare you, but I wish someone had shared this with me beforehand. Please make sure you have someone with you."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 10, 2021

For Abortion "Don’t be scared, you can actually do this. I was 4 weeks gone when I realized I was pregnant! I had no choice but to go for a medical abortion. I took 4 pills of Cytotec around 6 pm, and I allowed them to dissolve in my mouth for 30 minutes, then I rinsed it off with water! I nearly threw up, but I had to control myself! One hour later, I was sitting and eager to know how it feels. I was really ready for all the pain, but unfortunately, I fell asleep. Three hours later, I felt a very heavy cramp going on and off. Meanwhile, I had started seeing blood before the cramp started. I can’t even sit or lie down anymore, I was so restless. I only felt more comfortable while sitting on the toilet. I was there vomiting, pooping, and passing out big blood clots. It was such a great experience I will never forget."

• Aan...
• May 4, 2020

For Abortion "I knew I was pregnant immediately. In fact, the nurse told me it was the earliest time down to the day that I could ask for an abortion. The first pill did nothing, but the next day when I took the rest was, and I cannot stress this enough, the worst pain of my entire life. I dead seriously screamed and yelled out in agony. They only gave me ibuprofen, so my partner called the emergency room to get something else. I could walk, I was vomiting, I had a horrible fever, and it came in intense waves. The pain lasted from the morning all the way into the late afternoon. Thankfully, the next day I was completely fine. I know most women say it was just mild cramping, but if you have a sensitive cervix, or I guess low pain tolerance (I have 20+ piercings and a ridiculous amount of tattoos, so debatable), then I want you to know this is a possibility."

• Oce...
• July 11, 2021

For Abortion "Like many others, I was totally frightened by some of your experiences and wasn’t sure if I would want to go through with this. At about 4:20 pm on Friday, I took the first pill. A few hours after that, I had minor cramps and they disappeared. Not too long afterwards, I was nauseated the entire night and into the full next day until I took the next set of pills. An hour after I inserted them into my cheeks, I started feeling the cramps coming, almost four minutes after I sat down with a heating pad, they got intense. I would say 8/10. They felt like really severe period cramps and it lasted for about an hour before I sprawled myself out under the hot shower. For the rest of the night until 1 am, they hurt, but they were bearable. Now at 9 am, it feels like a regular period. I threw up once, got diarrhea, and had intense cramping for a short while. It’s not a walk in the park but you can do it, girls. Best of luck. Now on to mental healing for me."

• 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."

• Hol...
• January 10, 2020

For Labor Induction "At 8 weeks, we went in for our scan and unfortunately, there was no heartbeat. My doctor told me to take this medicine or a D&C. I picked this drug because I wanted to be at home when the tissue passed. I took tramadol 50 mg and ibuprofen 600 1 hour before starting the misoprostol pills. Within 30 minutes, I started bleeding lots of clots. Was fine until maybe 2.5 hours after taking the medicine. It was honestly the worst pain I have ever had. I had vomiting, sweats, shakiness, and extremely painful cramps. I was in so much pain I started making so much noise that the lady in the condo beside me came to see what was happening. If I knew I would have had so much pain, I would have had a D&C. However, after about 6 hours after taking the pills, the pain started to calm down. I found that once all the clots and placenta came out, the pain started to go away and just turned into a heavy period. If you are taking it for the same reason I did, I pray you don’t have the same experience I did. I am very sorry for your loss :( ❤️"

• 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."

• 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."

• 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!"

• MsW...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 13, 2024

For Abortion "So I got my pills through the mail and received them Monday. I decided that I would take the medication at 7 pm. I took the first pill and nothing happened, although I did vomit about 4 hours later. I also forgot to mention I was around 6 weeks pregnant. The next day, Tuesday, I put all four pills in my cheeks and let them dissolve. FYI, they don’t taste like anything, the texture just gets weird but nothing to make you gag (lol). After 30 mins, I swished my mouth around and swallowed the rest. Maybe about an hour later, I passed 3 clots and had heavy bleeding. Around 3 am, I had really bad cramping to the point I was rocking in pain. I took 800mg of ibuprofen and was okay an hour later. Today, Wednesday, I’m barely bleeding, no blood in the toilet but when I wipe and I no longer have any symptoms of nausea that I have had for the past week. I hope this helps!"

• Che...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 10, 2019

For Abortion "I was 7 weeks pregnant. So I decided to go for a medical abortion. First, I was so scared of these medicines. There are two sets of medicine. The first medicine is mifepristone, and the second is misoprostol. The first medicine is so strong. It gave me nausea, vomiting, and tiredness. I was not able to get up for 24 hours. As every case is different, I found the second set of medicine more helpful. They gave me no problems, no side effects. After taking the second set of medicine, within 20 minutes I started bleeding. I got pregnancy tissue out."

• Joa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 18, 2021

For Cervical Ripening "I had to take this medication for a biopsy and ended up in the hospital. I woke up in the middle of the night vomiting. I couldn't stop vomiting. It was horrible. I started to have chills and sweats, which is when I called the ambulance, being that I live alone. I'm still a little off several days later. Now I have to be tested for COVID because I'm wondering if I caught it when I went to the hospital. Horrible experience."

• 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."

• Jan...
• November 28, 2019

For Abortion "Took the second pill 34 hours later (I was 6 weeks). Took it by myself and asked a friend to come stay over. It took an hour to feel proper cramping after swallowing the pills. Make sure you take the pain meds 1 hour before, as that helped me. The second hour, I started bleeding like a slightly heavy period. In hour 3/4, that’s when I felt 8/10 pain. I vomited and was dripping in sweat from the cramps, got into the shower and put on warm water and sat on the floor for 15 minutes, which helped. This pain lasted 30 minutes. My friend helped towel me down, and I had a heat pack on my stomach and fell asleep for an hour. It’s now the next morning, and I feel back to normal, just feels like I did ab exercises last night. I just have light to normal bleeding. But if I can do it (my pain threshold is just below average), then you can too. I just would have preferred a quick thing instead of it dragging. But so happy to wake up normal-ish that it’s almost worth it."

• jrs...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 20, 2021

For Abortion "6 weeks pregnant. I was terrified and had worked myself up about this all week, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought. 9:30 am: Took 60 mg codeine, 500 mg paracetamol, and 200 mg ibuprofen. 10:15am: Took misoprostol 37 hours after the first pill. Threw up straight away. 10:45am - 11:30am: Intense, painful cramping and more throwing up. I have had very bad periods which were similar to this pain, though. 11:45am: Cramps completely stopped (so just 1 hour of pain). 1:45pm: Went to the toilet to check for bleeding... nothing. Was thinking it hadn’t worked. 1:50pm: Sat on the toilet again and I had started bleeding, felt something come out down there (weird sensation but not painful). I looked in the toilet and saw a small grey sac. It was done. 3:15pm: It’s been 1.5 hours since I passed the pregnancy and have felt completely fine. Overall, although not pleasant, at least I could be in my own home and it was just 1 hour of pain, and it was all over faster than I thought."