Birth Control Pill Alternative Needed b/c of Blood Clot
Hello all,
On Christmas Eve, early in the morning, I ended up in the Emergency Room because my right leg had swollen twice the size it normally is. Come to find out, I had a huge blood clot in my right thigh, that went from my knee to my pelvis. It has been the most debilitating thing I have ever gone through in my life, and am only now getting on my feet and am able to walk without a walker. I spent almost a week in the hospital because of this, and have been back in the ER twice due to this darn clot.
Sorry, that story is probably longer than any of you wanted to read. My real question is this....I was told that I can no longer take BC Pills because of having a very high risk of another blood clot. I'd be on different BC Pills since the age of 14 because of horribly painful periods. I'm 25 now and was most recently on Yasmin. Anywho, my question now is what type of birth control is out there besides condoms, for people who cannot take the Pill? I need this now not only for my periods, but also because I was using the Pill for what it was originally intended for, preventing pregnancy. I used condoms every time in addition to the Pill and would like to have that added security, but I have no idea what an alternative would be.
I hope to hear from someone who might have gone through this also, or if anyone knows more than I. I have not had a chance, nor the money, to talk with my GYN (no insurance, I'm sure many of you know how that is), but hope to get a little information on this here.
I'd also be interested in hearing from others who have had a blood clot due to Birth Control Pills. How has this changed your Safer Sex practices, what have you used instead of the Pill, that sort of thing. I'm sure there are tons of people out there who have gone through the same thing as I, though I still feel alone in this "battle."
Thank you all.
Answers:
There are copper IUDs though some docs prefer to only insert them in women without children and who possibly would be OK with the fact that it could hinder your fertility in the future (but so does hormonal birth control, to my thinking). There are the barrier methods: condoms, diaphragms, sponges.
I use FAM (fertility awareness method). It takes a little work, but it's not too hard, and it's completely natural. There is a good book that explains it called "Taking Charge of Your Fertility". Basically, I use condoms during my fertile time (which is about a week) and nothing the rest of the time because the odds of getting pregnant then are not great. It is different from the rhythm method and does take into account that your cycles may not all be the same, you may ovulate early or late some months depending. It involves taking your basal temperature each morning upon waking up and charting it as well as checking your vaginal discharge to see if it is a fertile type. I really enjoy this method. It is quite empowering to be able to pinpoint exactly when you have ovulated and know when to expect your period. I've been using FAM for 8 months now (though the first 3 months we used condoms all the time because I was still unsure about my pinpointing of ovulation).
Answers:
im sorry for what you went through. i cant offer you a suggestion for other forms that may be safe, i just dont know enough about the situation, but reading your story freaked me out bc i have mobility issues and had/have some concern about being on the pill (have been for two mths) bc i was worried that the mobility issues and possible greater risk of blood clots + greater risk of blood clots from the pill would lead to that. did you have a pre-existing condition that caused this or was it the BCP alone?? feel free to answer, or not if this is too personal. sorry i couldnt be any help!
Answers:
cln1812 - Thank you very much for your post. I've wondered about the IUD, and have heard so many horror stories about it, so I am definitely shying away from this option. I have possible endometriosis (hasn't been confirmed through a laproscopy as of late) and the last thing I want is more fertitlity problems! I also want to thank you for the suggested read. I've not heard of that method before, and it sounds like something I would like to read more on. I'm grateful to any and all suggestions, and will absolutely keep your suggestion up there on my list. Thanks so much!
belfiore83 - Your well wishes were so apprecited, and I thank you very much for your concern. Though, I apologize for scaring the living daylights out of you. That was not my intent! When I wrote up my story, I didn't mention all of what I had gone through because I figured it would be too long. So to answer your question, here is what the doctor told me. I went into the hospital being told in the ER that the Pill was most likely the cause of my blood clot. However, the ER tech. as well as all of the doctors and specialists that I saw through my 5 days of being hospitalized (and believe me, I saw a bunch), their opinion on why I got my blood clot was because of being on the Birth Control Pill, being overweight, and not being very mobile lately. I've been out of work for quite some time and have been at home not doing my usual up-and-down throught the day and getting the mobility in that I used to. While I don't want to scare you, being mobile, as much as you possibly can, will definitely help with the risk of getting a clot. I had so much bloodwork done, even had a Hematologist (blood Dr.) come in and order a round of bloodwork for possible blood disorderes that could have caused the clot. But so far, what everyone has told me, it's because of three things: the Pill, being overweight, and being very imobile the months leading up to the clot.
I would definitely talk with your doctor/Gynecologist about your concerns. Though having a clot from the Pill is one of the not-so-common risks, it does happen, unfortunately I was "lucky" enough to find out first hand.
If you have any more questions, I'd be happy to give you my help, whatever that may be. Good luck to you, and please, take care of yourself.
Answers:
I revised my previous initial post and added a bit more to it, so if there are any women out there who have had a blood clot and would like to share their stories, I would love to hear about it.
Thanks to all who have "listened!"
On Christmas Eve, early in the morning, I ended up in the Emergency Room because my right leg had swollen twice the size it normally is. Come to find out, I had a huge blood clot in my right thigh, that went from my knee to my pelvis. It has been the most debilitating thing I have ever gone through in my life, and am only now getting on my feet and am able to walk without a walker. I spent almost a week in the hospital because of this, and have been back in the ER twice due to this darn clot.
Sorry, that story is probably longer than any of you wanted to read. My real question is this....I was told that I can no longer take BC Pills because of having a very high risk of another blood clot. I'd be on different BC Pills since the age of 14 because of horribly painful periods. I'm 25 now and was most recently on Yasmin. Anywho, my question now is what type of birth control is out there besides condoms, for people who cannot take the Pill? I need this now not only for my periods, but also because I was using the Pill for what it was originally intended for, preventing pregnancy. I used condoms every time in addition to the Pill and would like to have that added security, but I have no idea what an alternative would be.
I hope to hear from someone who might have gone through this also, or if anyone knows more than I. I have not had a chance, nor the money, to talk with my GYN (no insurance, I'm sure many of you know how that is), but hope to get a little information on this here.
I'd also be interested in hearing from others who have had a blood clot due to Birth Control Pills. How has this changed your Safer Sex practices, what have you used instead of the Pill, that sort of thing. I'm sure there are tons of people out there who have gone through the same thing as I, though I still feel alone in this "battle."
Thank you all.
Answers:
There are copper IUDs though some docs prefer to only insert them in women without children and who possibly would be OK with the fact that it could hinder your fertility in the future (but so does hormonal birth control, to my thinking). There are the barrier methods: condoms, diaphragms, sponges.
I use FAM (fertility awareness method). It takes a little work, but it's not too hard, and it's completely natural. There is a good book that explains it called "Taking Charge of Your Fertility". Basically, I use condoms during my fertile time (which is about a week) and nothing the rest of the time because the odds of getting pregnant then are not great. It is different from the rhythm method and does take into account that your cycles may not all be the same, you may ovulate early or late some months depending. It involves taking your basal temperature each morning upon waking up and charting it as well as checking your vaginal discharge to see if it is a fertile type. I really enjoy this method. It is quite empowering to be able to pinpoint exactly when you have ovulated and know when to expect your period. I've been using FAM for 8 months now (though the first 3 months we used condoms all the time because I was still unsure about my pinpointing of ovulation).
Answers:
im sorry for what you went through. i cant offer you a suggestion for other forms that may be safe, i just dont know enough about the situation, but reading your story freaked me out bc i have mobility issues and had/have some concern about being on the pill (have been for two mths) bc i was worried that the mobility issues and possible greater risk of blood clots + greater risk of blood clots from the pill would lead to that. did you have a pre-existing condition that caused this or was it the BCP alone?? feel free to answer, or not if this is too personal. sorry i couldnt be any help!
Answers:
cln1812 - Thank you very much for your post. I've wondered about the IUD, and have heard so many horror stories about it, so I am definitely shying away from this option. I have possible endometriosis (hasn't been confirmed through a laproscopy as of late) and the last thing I want is more fertitlity problems! I also want to thank you for the suggested read. I've not heard of that method before, and it sounds like something I would like to read more on. I'm grateful to any and all suggestions, and will absolutely keep your suggestion up there on my list. Thanks so much!
belfiore83 - Your well wishes were so apprecited, and I thank you very much for your concern. Though, I apologize for scaring the living daylights out of you. That was not my intent! When I wrote up my story, I didn't mention all of what I had gone through because I figured it would be too long. So to answer your question, here is what the doctor told me. I went into the hospital being told in the ER that the Pill was most likely the cause of my blood clot. However, the ER tech. as well as all of the doctors and specialists that I saw through my 5 days of being hospitalized (and believe me, I saw a bunch), their opinion on why I got my blood clot was because of being on the Birth Control Pill, being overweight, and not being very mobile lately. I've been out of work for quite some time and have been at home not doing my usual up-and-down throught the day and getting the mobility in that I used to. While I don't want to scare you, being mobile, as much as you possibly can, will definitely help with the risk of getting a clot. I had so much bloodwork done, even had a Hematologist (blood Dr.) come in and order a round of bloodwork for possible blood disorderes that could have caused the clot. But so far, what everyone has told me, it's because of three things: the Pill, being overweight, and being very imobile the months leading up to the clot.
I would definitely talk with your doctor/Gynecologist about your concerns. Though having a clot from the Pill is one of the not-so-common risks, it does happen, unfortunately I was "lucky" enough to find out first hand.
If you have any more questions, I'd be happy to give you my help, whatever that may be. Good luck to you, and please, take care of yourself.
Answers:
I revised my previous initial post and added a bit more to it, so if there are any women out there who have had a blood clot and would like to share their stories, I would love to hear about it.
Thanks to all who have "listened!"