The pill almost killed me.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-05-2004
The pill almost killed me.
19
Sat, 06-05-2004 - 8:24pm
I took Loestrin Fe 1.5/30 (AKA Microgestin Fe 1.5/30) for TWO WEEKS and it could've killed me! I have a blood clot in each lung and can never use birth control pills again. I have to be on Coumadin (blood thinner) for a year at least, and maybe for the rest of my life. I have to go to the lab twice a week to have blood drawn to make sure I'm on the right level of medication. I've never had anything like this before, so I shouldn't have been at risk. I'm a healthy, non-smoking 19 year old, and ended up in the hospital because of something that's supposed to help you. I want to sue the company (Watson) but I can't because it's in the label that it can happen. Well, I'm one out of the millions of BC users, and it just "happened" to me. So be careful, girls.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-12-2004
Sun, 06-06-2004 - 9:33pm
ME TOO!

I wrote a few weeks ago about it. I have "sub-massive" clots in my lungs. When I asked the doc how many clots I had, I had I expected an answer of "a few" (I knew I had more than one since they said I had pulmonary emboli instead of embolus) but I didnt expect to hear "sub-massive". I asked what exactly sub-massive meant and he said it meant that HALF my lungs were covered with clots. I just turned 29 and I don't smoke. I was only on the patch for 5 weeks. I had noticed a few weeks prior that my heart would start racing for no reason and I'd feel lightheaded. I wrote it off as stress. It wasn't until I had an agonizing contracting pain in my back (back of my ribcage) that I went to the ER. They gave me morphine and sent me home thinking it was a kidney stone. They had done a CAT scan on my kidneys but not my chest (and saw no stone but still thought it was there). Then a few hours later they called me and said to come back to the ER because they had "re-read" my CAT scan and the scan of my kidneys had caught part of my lungs in it. They said I had "processes" all over my lungs. Turns out they were all blood clots.

I too am on coumadin and I've been having twice a week blood tests. This week it goes down to once a week (I've been out of the hospital only 2 weeks).

One thing my gyno said when I called him about this... he said that if/when I'm ever pregnant that I'll need to be on blood thinners the whole time.... keep that in mind Karync85. I'm sure it applies to you also.

I'm feeling better every day and don't need heavy duty pain killers anymore. I'm going back to work tomorrow after being out 3 weeks. I hope you are doing well too!

CheckeredButt


Edited 6/6/2004 9:39 pm ET ET by checkeredbutt

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-19-2004
Mon, 06-07-2004 - 11:13am
That really is scary, I'm glad you shared it with us. Since I'm always monitoring myself for suspicious symptoms, it's good to know what to look for.

I wanted to second the motion to talk to your doctor about genetic testing for Factor V Leiden, prothrombin 20210 and MTHFR. These are the three most common genetic abnormalities that make people more likely to clot, and getting tested yourself is the best way to determine if your siblings and parents could also be at risk for clotting. A good friend of mine was tested after her sister clotted while on the pill, and it turns out she has all three mutations. Luckily, they discovered this before trying to put her on the pill, and when she got pregnant she was on lovenox the entire time (not really as much of a pain as you'd think, and totally worth it) and she's never had a clot. I feel pretty strongly that knowledge is the best preventative measure.
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-05-2004
Tue, 06-08-2004 - 1:03pm
Just so everyone knows, I HAVE been tested for genetic predisposition to clotting. They did the tests immediatlely after I was admitted to the hospital. Results are in and I am free and clear, which makes my incident even more puzzling, as I am only 19 and have never smoked in my life. There is one more test they want to do, homocystine or whatever. They will then do a leg scan to make sure I am free of any other clots. As far as Lovenox goes, you say "not as much of a pain as you think". HA! I was on it. I KNOW what a pain it is. The shot itself isn't bad, but the bruising effect isn't pretty, and the intense stinging immediatlely following is a pain (literally) too.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Tue, 06-08-2004 - 2:38pm

Good to know that your genetic tests did not point to one of those variants - although in a way it'd be nice to have a definitive answer as to why it happened to you.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-08-2004
Tue, 06-08-2004 - 10:48pm
My 19-year-old daughter has a blood clot. She was diagnosed with a DVT in her upper left leg last October. We were told that it was caused from taking birth control pills. She was immediately taken off of them and has not taken one since then. She had no other health factors that would contribute to her getting a blood clot. She was put on Lovenox shots twice a day for 3 months. She had a follow-up ultrasound done and was told she no longer had a blood clot. She continued to have slight pain in her leg. She went back to the doctor who assured her it was just post DVT symptoms. She showed him a vericose vein that she had developed in her lower abdomen. He assured her it was nothing to worry about, that it was where the blood had found an alternate path when she had her blood clot. The vein got larger and he referred her to a vascular surgeon to have it removed. That’s when we discovered that she still had a blood clot. Apparently the Lovenox did not completely dissolve it. Part of the clot still remains in her groin area. The doctor said the clot is now 9 months old and she is in no danger of it moving. Her options, we are told, are to leave it and suffer the side effects. The second option is to be hospitalized and have a catheter placed in her vein and blood thinner will be administered over a 2 or 3 day period while she remains in ICU because of the chance of bleeding on the brain. We were told that this surgery only has a 50% chance of working. When we went for a second opinion, that doctor didn't even give it that much of a chance. Does anybody have any helpful information for me? I’m wondering if there are any other options that we have not been told about.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-12-2004
Wed, 06-09-2004 - 1:04pm
I just got my genetic test results back. I'm negative for all of them also. :D
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-07-2004
Wed, 06-09-2004 - 4:48pm
Hello,

Thanks for posting a very important experience. Your experience has reminded me to take a more serious look at my own birth control pill. I have been on Diane-35 for several years now and recently found out that it is a very bad pill in terms of clotting problems and women have died from taking it. I originially started taking it for acne problems and now I use it as a BC method as well but because of the clotting problems associated with this pill, I have been contemplating a switch to something else and this post has reminded me to do so. My question is, does anyone know of a pill that's not as risky as Diane-35 in terms of clotting but is also effective in combatting bad skin? Also, has anyone had problems with Diane-35? Thanks.
Avatar for lucy4980
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 06-10-2004 - 4:28pm
Thank you for sharing. It's important for everyone to know what symptoms to look for. Although this type of thing is rare, that doesn't matter if you are the one in a million who develops a clot.

I am very glad to know you are doing ok and that the clots were caught in time.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-12-2004
Tue, 10-12-2004 - 4:12pm
Hi, I too was hospitalized after using the patch for a about 8 months. I had the clots right from the begining but even after complaining about pain in my chest and leg and visiting doctor after doctor they couldn't find what was wrong. They thought it was pnemonia. After a few months with the clot and much pain in chest and leg a cardiologist found that my leg was all clotted. I was in ICU and had the "clot buster" in my vein for 3 days but the clot didn't budge. It is still there and I will probably have to live with it. It doesn't hurt any more but my leg swells up every day. Now I am scared to get pregnant when I get married...what do you know about that?

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