I would recommend reading all of the following links before proceeding any further. The better knowledge you have a del em and how it works, the better prepared you will be.
Helpful sites:
• Sister Zeus - Menstrual Extraction
• Janis Cortese - Menstrual Extraction (Diagram of the del em)
• How to preform an ME
I would highly recommend reading the last link over a few times because they can probably describe the procedure better than me. However, I will tell you personal experiences and troubles we had to help make your experience easier. You must have someone else to do this with you. I do not recommend doing it alone; it would be very dangerous. Things you should be aware of are infection and puncture wounds. These are not likely to happen if you read everything you can and do not go past your comfort level in one sitting.
We used alcohol to sterilize the cannula at first. Be sure to rinse the cannula off with clean water afterward. We forgot to do this and it burned horribly when my boyfriend put the cannula inside me. Be sure to take ibuprofen or some kind of non-drowsy pain killer at least 20 minutes before you begin. Another tip I would recommend is actually having sex a few minutes before you begin if you can. A condom will help avoid mess, but is not necessary considering you are about to suck everything out of your uterus anyway. This softens up your cervix and makes it extremely more easy to enter the cervix. The first few times we did the procedure, we could not get into the inner cervix because it hurt me too much (Here is a link to a wiki page with diagrams of a cervix). It is not a horrible pain, but it is a horrible cramping sensation. It still cramped pretty badly after we had sex, but it made it go in quicker.
Here is a quick run through of what we did. After sex, we cleaned myself up and I laid on the bed with my butt to the very edge and my feet pulled up resting on the edge of the bed. My boyfriend placed a chair in front of me and had a small desk lamp in between his legs. You could also use a flash light, but this allowed him two free hands. He placed the speculum inside me. After sex was always when my cervix would be most easily viewable and closest. If the person in the chair cannot see the cervix, gently rock the speculum up and down until you can see the hole. The woman should relax because the more tense you are, the more stiff your cervix will get. I understand it is not a comfortable position or procedure, but remember to keep breathing and try to keep your mind some where else.
My boyfriend then carefully put the cannula in, avoiding the walls of the vagina. If you touch the walls, you are at greater risk of infection. Think of it as a game of Operation. You know, the guy with the red nose that buzzes when you touch the sides.
Once you make it to the outer cervix, also known as the OS (don't ask me why), gently push forward. The woman should say if the pain is too much for her. If it gets to be like this, she should say to stop, and the person preforming the ME should hold the cannula as still as possible. The woman should relax and breathe. Once she is calm, the other person should proceed. My boyfriend found the inner cervix by pointing the cannula at an upward angle. However, every woman is different. Carefully attempt to feel your way. The inner cervix should give way, and you will know you are inside the uterus when the pressure against the cannula goes away. When we first got into my uterus I heard a slight pop and blood immediately started draining down the cannula. At first this scared me. I thought we had punctured myself. However, this is normal. There is a lot of blood inside your uterus. If some is coming out down the tube, it is typically normal. I imagine puncturing your uterus would be much more painful, I was just nervous.
After this, it is just a matter of taking your time. Push the cannula further back. We would have my boyfriend move the cannula while I pulled the syringe. After every pull, you will have disconnect the syringe to push it and close the syringe. The purpose of the one way valve is to keep air out of the vagina. So, you should not be able to push the syringe closed if you have the valve connected properly. Continue sucking until you feel as if there is nothing left. Suck along the walls of the uterus. The operator should be able to feel when they are against the wall. Carefully put the cannula up against the wall and gently pull it away to allow suction. Do this while the syringe is being pulled. In the middle of the uterus is where the zygote should be. You will empty blood and white tissue stuff. It will be mostly liquid. I have heard people say it is pudding-like.
The most important thing is to relax and take your time. Please read everything on this site and the linked sites before you decide to do this procedure. Be aware of the risks, and monitor yourself after you do this.
