LETHAL BIRTH CONTROL HAZARD - PLEASE READ

MzFury

Learning of the death of an MFP friend related to blood clots, and having lost a family friend to something similar, and suddenly, in February, and having talked about birth control and hormone replacement with my best friend, an MD in Austin, just last week, I feel I HAVE to post this.

If you're on female hormones (synthetic or "bio-identical") for birth control or menopause, PLEASE talk to your doctor about clotting risk, and if possible, get tests for any possible unusual hypercoagulation disorder or syndrome you might have. These can basically lie dormant and then be triggered into deadly action by estrogen. My very competent doctor friend explained this to me and confirmed that these kinds of disorders are rarely tested for.

I knew there were cardiovascular side effects associated with female hormone, but didn't know about this kind of sneaky super-risk associated with undiagnosed clotting disorders.

I don't know why Nancy (snw_ here on MFP) developed lethal blood clotting, at 39 years, fit (thin, muscular), active. I do suspect she was, sensibly, using birth control, being married with two little girls, and there's a good chance it was hormone-based. Maybe she also smoked cigarettes sometimes, I don' t know. But it's a massive tragedy, and I don't know if it might have been avoided.

Our family friend had been on bio-identical hormone for years before suddenly developing double pulmonary embolism and then complications and more clotting that led to her death in her mid-60s. While hospitalized, she had been diagnosed with a rare clotting disorder, but the doctors were all fairly certain the hormones she was on had triggered the clotting. She walked every day and was fairly fit for her age.

If I were to consider going back on birth control, which I'm not, I would absolutely get tests before deciding. And for the love of god, PLEASE quit smoking if you haven't already, and are taking or considering taking hormonal birth control.

hellonheels88

THANK YOU for posting this. I did not know snw_ but I saw the impact that she had on my MFP friends and I can tell that she is greatly missed.

I'd like to back you 100% on this post. Last summer I was using the NuvaRing and developed clotting after a long flight. Obviously you can't pinpoint whether the flight caused it or the birth control caused it, but I am also not considering going back on birth control for that reason alone. I was fit and healthy and active...it came out of nowhere. As far as we know, I don't have any clotting disorders and it does not run in my family.

Clotting was one thing that had never crossed my mind when considering the side effects of birth control. I think that young women are SEVERELY under informed about these risks (and the additional contributing factors). I have spent the last year telling anyone and everyone who will listen, my story about NuvaRing and just long flights in general. It is scary...especially when you're not sure what exactly caused it.

So again, thanks for bringing this to light...

NormalSaneFLGuy

I think almost every, if not every, birth control commercial mentions clotting risks. I hear it everyday.