Blood clots from pill

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-27-2004
Blood clots from pill
11
Sat, 05-06-2006 - 11:48pm
I recently suffered from a massive blood clot in my leg and pelvis, one of the most extreme my doctors said they'd ever seen, and I was hospitalized for 9 days. My trauma could be traced back to the birth control pill because my bloodwork was sent to Mayo, and I had no other history of clots or blood disorders. The doctors said I could've died or had a stroke or heart attack, so I'm very lucky I came out of the situation alive. I will have problems with my veins in the future. I will also have to postpone my college graduation due to all the school I missed, but those things are nothing compared to what could have happened. Since this happened to me, I've heard numerous other stories about young women having strokes, becoming paralyzed, suffering from clots in the lungs, legs and brain, and dying due to complications from the birth control pill. In fact, 1 in 2,000 women each year are hospitalized due to complications from the pill, according to information released by Ortho Tri-Cyclen. This is an epidemic that not many women are aware of! Many women know there are risks associated with the pill and the patch (especially if they smoke and are over the age of 35), but most don't think anything will happen to them. The patch is even riskier than the pill, according to new FDA studies. And bad things can happen even to non-smokers and women under 35, because I was one of those women. I think women need to know the symptoms of blood clots because all of the women I've talked to were never informed. Neither was I. I walked around for two weeks with my massive clot which caused severe pain in my legs and pelvis, causing me to go to two doctors who didn't even recognize the symptoms themselves. Both doctors knew I was on the pill. A day after my second doctor's visit, my right leg started turning blue and doubling in size, so the doctor on call told me to get to the ER immediately because he suspected a clot and said it could be a life-threatening situation. It's a good thing I did. The clot could have dislodged and traveled to my lungs, causing pulmonary embolism, or my brain, causing a stroke. Women need to be aware of these symptoms when they are prescribed the pill so that at least they can take care of themselves if something horrible starts to happen. And women need to be more aware of the risks associated with the pill and the patch in the first place. Women are dying, and we need to do something about it! Every time I go into the doctor to get my blood checked, I hear more and more stories about young women having the same thing happen to them. This is no longer only affecting older women. Please help by spreading the word and making more women aware! Does anyone else have any stories similar to mine? I would love to discuss with anyone who is interested.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-04-2003
Sun, 05-07-2006 - 10:42am
WOW! I'm sorry to hear what you went through! It must have been very scary!


Thank you for sharing your experience with us.


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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Sun, 05-07-2006 - 12:15pm

Hi hippie_chick21, welcome!


      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-27-2004
Sun, 05-07-2006 - 4:26pm
Hello! Thank you for your response. While it's true that the pill is safe for most women, I believe all women need to be aware of the symptoms of blood clots so they know what is happening if they do develop them while on the pill. Doctors need to do more to make women aware of possible side effects and symptoms of those side effects. If I had possessed a greater understanding of the symptoms of blood clots, I might have gotten treatment a lot sooner than I did. We need to all tell our gynecologists and other health professionals to help make women more aware so we can help those women down the road who may have complications. The patch is now even more in the limelight regarding complications with blood clots/stroke/heart attacks, etc., with risks double that of the pill. More information needs to be disseminated in the media so women can be fully aware!
Let's keep this discussion an ongoing one! Thanks. :-)
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Sun, 05-07-2006 - 5:14pm

>>I believe all women need to be aware of the symptoms of blood clots so they know what is happening if they do develop them while on the pill. Doctors need to do more to make women aware of possible side effects and symptoms of those side effects.<<


      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Mon, 05-08-2006 - 7:35am

It's very important for anyone who is prescribed a medication to read all of the patient information that comes wtih it, regardless of what type of medication it is or who we are.

Judie Cl for Birth Control 
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-27-2004
Mon, 05-08-2006 - 3:54pm

Hi Judie! Thanks for your response. I do agree that everyone who is prescribed a medication should read all of the information included with that medication and be responsible for herself when it comes to understanding and internalizing that information. However, let's be realistic: How many women do you know who have actually sat down and read the entire packet that comes with a pill pack or NuvaRing or whatever the form of birth control. We know that we SHOULD read it, but that thick little packet full of fine print and medical terminology can be quite daunting for many. And many times the information is ignored because women have the idea in their heads that the situations described in the fine print will never happen to them. Even if they do read it, most women think complications will never afflict them. All I am suggesting is that when the pill/patch/NuvaRing, etc., is prescribed, that all health care providers be required to articulate the important points of the possible side effects and symptoms to patients. That way, patients have received a verbal heads up. A woman can always benefit from being told verbally, whether or not she reads the entirety of the information that comes with the pack. I also think a "Cliffs Notes" (or shorter version) of the major points of the fine print could be distributed at clinics, so women have an easier, more user-friendly way of reading the information. They may be more likely to study a sheet of the important facts if it's handed to them by health professionals and if they are told that it's a short but reliable version of the necessary facts that need to be known while taking the medication. Just some ideas that we can run by our health professionals. I know I feel a need to share my story with them and to make suggestions like the ones I've described so that possibly more women might be helped.

I totally agree with you that women need to take their healthcare into their own hands and be proactive. I had to do that with my situation. I went to two doctors who couldn't diagnose or even suggest that blood clots might be an option, even though they saw my swollen, red leg, heard about my pain and knew I was on the pill. I had to go to the ER to get some real treatment. It troubles me that doctors are having such trouble determining blood clots, especially when they know hormonal contraceptives increase the risk of such complications. Women need to be aware of symptoms and get the care they need, but I feel like doctors should be able to help them in this process. Their profession, after all, is about helping and treating people, not making people discover all of their problems and treat themselves.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-11-2005
Sun, 05-14-2006 - 12:40pm

It is important to note that while we all need to be aware of the serious risk found with hormonal contraception, the risk having a blood clot while pregnant is far greater. I also think we need to be balanced in telling readers to this board that while a study found the patch to have twice the incidence vs. a pill there was also an even bigger study that showed it was exactly the same.

Even Nuvaring (which our board attendants use and love) has a warning of a two fold increase vs. the pill. This is due to the progestin Desogestral. Again...this method is much better than being pregnant if you are concerned about DVT/blood clots!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Mon, 05-15-2006 - 7:51am

From the NuvaRing prescribing information:


"Several epidemiology studies incidate that third generation oral contraceptives, inlcuding those containing desogestrel (etonorgestrel, the progestin in Nuvaring, is the biologically

Judie Cl for Birth Control 
Avatar for balletkat
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-13-2005
Fri, 05-19-2006 - 10:18am
It is important to be proactive with your own health. That means reading the fine print and knowing for yourself how your meds will affect you and intereact with other meds, both perscription and OTC. Your dr should tell you this iformation, but do not always count on it. You are the one in control of your body, so know what you are putting into it and how it will affect you.

Mary

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-06-2006
Tue, 06-06-2006 - 3:54pm

Hippie Chic -

First of all, I am so glad you're ok. Second, thank you for sharing your story.

I am approaching my one year anniversary of surviving bilateral pulmonary embolisims (meaning, blood clots in both lungs). On July 5, 2005 I had orthoscopic knee surgery to repair a tear in my meniscus. On July 7th I woke up having trouble breathing, with a heavy feeling on my chest and called a friend who is a PT thinking I was having an allergic reaction to something in one of my meds. She THANKFULLY diagnosed blood clots and called 911 for me. When the paramedics arrived they could not find my blood pressure and my blood oxygen level was down to 60%. I was rushed to the ER where they had clot busters ready for me, but thankfully I started to do better and they didn't have to use them.

I spent 5 days in the hospital on oxygen and IV & pill blood thinners, then went home and took coumadin for 6 months. Of the about 10 different doctors I saw during my time in the hospital, including my orthopedic surgeon, EVERY SINGLE ONE said, oh, you're on the Pill, that's why you clotted. SERIOUSLY PEOPLE, BE CAREFUL!! I had no idea the risk was so great and no idea what the symptoms were. Thank God my friend knew and she called 911 or I wouldn't be here. Please know the risks of the Pill, and the symptoms of blood clots. I am now using the Paragard Copper IUD instead of pills and am doing just fine.

Had I known the risk of developing clots on the Pill and having any kind of surgery (even minor as mine was) was so high, I'd have gone off the pill for the surgery. Had I known the symptoms of blood clots in my leg (where they started and broke off and traveled through my heart to my lungs) I would have gone to the ER long before it was life threatening. So please, listen to hippie chick and please be aware of your body and read the information on the pamplets, talk to your doctors and if in doubt, get it checked out!

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