The Anti-Conception Pill and Thrombosis

Thrombosis means a blood clot comes into the bloodstream, because the blood clots too quickly. Usually thrombosis originates in the leg, leading to a thrombosis leg. The leg will be painful and swells up. If the blood clot shoots from the leg to the lungs you can get a pulmonary embolism. This causes much pain and can, in some cases, even be lethal.

Risk

In the beginning of 2010 my side started bothering me greatly. Sleeping was difficult because of the pain. My doctor could not figure out what was wrong and sent me to the hospital's emergency department after a blood test to rule out a pulmonary embolism. After waiting for several hours I was sent home, because I was too young for thrombosis and had none of the risk factors, except using the anti-conception pill.

There are several factors which increase the risk of thrombosis. An important one is heredity: if thrombosis occurs in the family, chances are much higher that you will get it too. Then there are several non-congenital factors which can cause thrombosis: pregnancy, using the anti-conception pill, long car journeys, flying and long-term hospitalisation. These lasts three factors mostly have to do with too little movement in the legs for a long period of time. Pregnancy causes an increase in the same hormones as the pill. Studies from the World Health Organization have shown that the pill increases the risk of thrombosis two to three times. For me, the pill was seen as the only risk factor, and the doctors did not deem it necessary to do an examination.

Complaints

In the following weeks, the complaints persisted. My heartbeat was too high and my condition much too low. In March I even got a thick, swollen leg. This is one of the best-known clues for a thrombosis leg. When I then rang the hospital it took a long time before I managed to convince them that I really needed to come straight away. They still did not believe I had thrombosis.

Treatment

An echography the next morning showed I most definitely had thrombosis and had also had a pulmonary embolism. Emergency measures were taken immediately. For example, I had to stop taking the anti-conception pill immediately, and I had to start taking anticoagulants. These pills make your blood thinner so you won't get a new thrombosis. At first you have to go to the thrombosis service every week to get the thickness of your blood measured. This is done through an injection in the arm.

Because I got the thrombosis in my leg, I had to start wearing support socks. Thrombosis causes damage to the blood vessels in the lower leg, which means the blood cannot be pumped upwards that well and this causes a "heavy feeling" in the leg. If you wear a support garment for two years you lessen the chance of the post thrombosis syndrome by 50 percent. This post thrombosis syndrome consists of chronic complaints of the leg. For me it was all a huge slap in the face. To have to walk around with a support garment at such a young age was very difficult for me. In summer, people stare at you a lot in the streets, which is logical.

Finally, a few days later - on my eighteenth birthday of all days - I received a wheelchair. I was not allowed to walk and had been lying on the settee, bored out of my mind, all weekend. During the first few days it is important that you move as little as possible, to prevent the blood clot from shooting to your lungs. It took weeks before I was again able to move as I could before the thrombosis. I was exhausted from walking up the stairs and at first I couldn't do sports anymore either.

Examination

Examination showed that I had the chemical anti-cardiolipin in my blood. This chemical causes your blood to clot more easily. In itself it doesn't do much harm, but in combination with the pill it can cause many problems. This chemical means it is better never to take the pill again and the gynecologist even refused to place the intrauterine device, even though the chances of thrombosis are much smaller with that one.

Fatal ending

There are even stories of young girls who died from using the pill. In Sweden, the sixteen-year-old Lina died from the pill in 2009. Lina had gone to the doctor several times with heart complaints, but wasn't treated. When her parents called the ambulance, she died in her mother's hands.

It is also known that at least 48 women have died in Sweden because of the pill. But other countries have deaths too: in the Netherlands in 2001, a seventeen-year-old girl died from a pulmonary embolism, caused by the pill.

Quitting the anti-conception pill?

I am not saying that everyone should simply stop taking the pill, because I certainly know what the advantages of it are. The risk of thrombosis is mostly present in the first year. If you have been taking the pill longer than that, without problems, there is no reason for concern. Yet, I do want to warn people. It is important to think carefully before you begin taking the pill. Is there already a higher risk because it runs in the family, for example, it is a good idea to get an intrauterine device. Manufacturers of the anti-conception pill claim that the risk of thrombosis is nearly zero for young girls (under twenty years of age). Yet there are many stories of these young girls who still had thrombosis. Think carefully before you start taking it and also pay attention to possible complaints which can point to thrombosis.

On the other hand it might be a small comfort to know that only 4 in 10,000 women who take the pill actually get thrombosis. For women below twenty this risk is even smaller. Unfortunately, I am part of that small group with thrombosis, partly because of using the pill. Luckily I can say I am doing well now. I have just quit taking anticoagulants and have to wear my support garments for one more year. Afterwards, I hope to leave thrombosis behind me entirely.

Sources: www.todio.nl