question bout blot clots and the pill

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-30-2004
question bout blot clots and the pill
3
Mon, 10-04-2004 - 12:28am
how long does it usually take for you to know if you'll have a bad reaction such as a blot clot or if all is fine? after the first pill or within a few days? i took my first pill ever today and i think i'm fine but the chance still worries me though it's pretty unlikely anything bad will happen.
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Mon, 10-04-2004 - 8:47am
Hi anonymoose96, welcome!

If you are a young, healthy, nonsmoker and don’t have a family history of clotting problems, it is very, very unlikely that you will have a clot. Since you are new to oral contraceptives you might want to read about them in the Board's FAQs: ‘How the pill works’, ‘Taking your pills correctly’, ‘Common pill side effects’ and ‘Irregular bleeding anyone?’ should all be of interest. Thanks for posting. Let us know how you're doing, ok?

Good luck,

      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Mon, 10-04-2004 - 9:55pm
Blood clots, really, can show up any time, but they don't show up without warning. They are rare, but it's important to know the warning signs of problems. They're spelled out in your patient information that comes with each pack of pills. An incomplete list of things to act upon--crushing chest pain, sudden severe headache, redness and swelling in the lower leg, sudden vision changes, and difficulty breathing--if you're ever in doubt, it doesn't hurt to call the doctor's office to find out. We've had a couple of members here that had blood clots, and they did have warning signs, but one of them dismissed them and was in the hospital for a little while. Listen to your body and read your patient information, but try not to be too alarmed unless you've got a reason.

Millions of women around the world use birth control pills without blood clots, the statistics are on your side!

Judie
Co-cl for Birth Control
Judie Cl for Birth Control 
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-12-2004
Sun, 10-10-2004 - 8:29pm
I'm one of the unlucky ones who had blood clots as a result of the patch. For me it took 5 and a half weeks. I actually had symptoms after about 4 weeks but ignored them (extreme fatigue to the point of having to take a nap in my car at lunch) and a few of what felt like anxiety attacks even though I had never had an anxiety attack before (rapid pulse, feeling short of breath, etc) that lasted about 10 minutes or so. I'm sure if you search this message board you can find more details about it... I posted here after it first happened in May. The chest pain that I had before I went to the ER came on over a few days and felt a lot like a sore muscle until it became severe pain that felt like a really bad Charlie Horse. The pain was actually in the back of my ribcage as opposed to my chest though. I never had any swelling or anything in my legs and clots were never found there after ultrasound. My clots were all in my lungs.

Hope that helps but just know that its very rare so dont borrow trouble and get all scared about it! But I am only 29 and I don't smoke, so don't think it can't happen even if you're under 35 and are a non-smoker.

Checkeredbutt