Clinic Day- Part 2

So the Clinic was really crowded. But the lady at the front desk was really nice. Everyone working there was nice and approachable, and no one was weird or pissy like I thought they might be. Everyone did their best to be nice, sensitive, and explain anything and everything thoroughly. Yes, there were a lot of us in the clinic, but I didn't feel like I was ever treated with anything other than respect, and compassion. Never like a number.

K and I spent most of our day in the waiting room. I had a book of Soduko, and tore out some pages to give to other women in the waiting room. Having a buddy I think really helps. Bring a buddy if you can. If you don't have a buddy you can bring, maybe ask one of the escorts if they will come in and hang out with you. I bet they would. Or just maybe just befriend the person sitting next to you. Or just bring your favorite book.

Eventually they called my name to take my blood and do the ultrasound. Ok ladies- this was my first surprise of the day. I really thought ultrasound was like in the movies where they rub jelly on your belly, and rub some thing around on the belly. Like this, right?



Well... perhaps that's what they do in the third trimester. But in the clinic, the ultrasound involves getting this dildo thing (thin, plastic with a well lubed condom thing on it)put in your coochie snorcher and wiggled around a bit.



She asked if I wanted to see, and I said yes.

But she couldn't find anything. She looked at my chart and saw that my last period was only 5 weeks ago. "Hmm.. " she said. "The doctor will have to make a decision, but you may have to come back later, or this could be an ectopic pregnancy."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" I screamed. Ok, actually I just nodded calmly. But I screamed in despair on the insides. Ectopic pregnancies, outside the womb, are all sorts of complicated. That would suck so very much. And I also really didnt want to come back. Uggghh...

Surprise #2. The blood test showed I was Rh negative. I'll expand more on this at some point, but I'm getting tired of typing and trying to get to a few more things before I close up the blog for the evening. But I wasnt happy about it. It meant more money, an intramuscular shot, and for a brief moment made me panic and think I would not be able to have other kids. I'll be fine, it turns out. If I had tried to do an herbal abortion at home (which I briefly considered) or if the laws were different and I didnt get to do this in a medical setting, I might have ruined my ability to get pregnant again.

So.. then there was a lot more waiting around and then I guess what was my "counseling session." This was an entirely good thing. I was asked if I had any questions or concerns, and I told her I was a little weirded out about the rH thing. So she got me more info about that, and we talked for a while. She explained about the possible side effects of the pills, and how to make sure I do everything right. I was never asked if I was considering adoption, or why I wanted an abortion. It was all just helpful, never condescending or inappropriate. Mostly medical information that I needed to sit down and talk with someone about. I liked her, and she made jokes and stuff. It was very relaxed- which was good, because as she noted, my blood pressure was a little high that day.

She told me I couldn't put anything in my vagina for 2 weeks. No nuva ring, no penis, no tampons, no nothing.

I said, "what, no sex?"

And she said, "just nothing in the vagina, you can have any other kind of sex.."

And I said, "yea, ok. We'll get creative." And she laughed. She was just easy to talk to. Typing that makes me blush (OMG my readers will know I have sex!!) but she was good at her job, so I felt very comfortable talking to her about whatever.

I asked her if it was safe to take prescription pain killers for the pain that were left over from another surgery I had. She said yes, but to check the expiration date. She told me I probably would be fine with just ibuprofen, and that's what she recommends, but told me it wasnt any more un-safe then usual for me to take those painkillers if I felt that I needed them. I'll try ibuprofen, but I've got the stong stuff on backup if needed.

She also told me that most women just stay on the toilet while their uterus empties.. sometimes for several hours, and that I should plan to be occupying the loo for quite a while. This was bad news. I live with 3 dudes, and we only have one bathroom. I wasn't planning on making a house announcement that I would be emptying my uterus, so trying to tell everyone they had to make other arrangements because I was taking over that spot for hours might not work. Well, shit.

I might end up getting a hotel room with my boyfriend. We'll see... that's currently what I am stressing about. Where oh where can I bleed continuously for hours?

So.... then more waiting in the waiting room, then I talked to the doc for a short while (a dude, surprisingly enough). He told me there was a small chance I had an ectopic pregnancy, but he wasnt too worried about it because I was probably just too early for anything to show up on the ultrasound. So he wasnt making me come back in 2 weeks (SWEET!!!).

I asked him more questions about rh, swallowed the pill, got my brown paper bag of other pills to take. The pills I will take tomorrow arent swallowed, they are "buccal" which means you leave them in the side of your cheek until they dissolve. ewww... apparently they taste gross.

Also, before those pills I have to take a suppository for nausea. Suppository means you stick it up your butt. Since you might be nauseous and pukey, having an oral anti nausea thing just might not work. But in some places they will give you oral, other places will give you the butt kind.

I made a followup appointment for 2 weeks later, to make sure things worked and to get birth control. And off I went. The protesters apparently dont stay through the afternoon, at least not on cold days, so I was able to leave the clinic without being bothered.

So, wish me luck tomorrow! I'll keep you updated.