Oral contraception, or the pill, is a popular form of birth control and is also used to treat a number of conditions, such as irregular menstruation and hormone imbalances or acne. But, like all drugs, the birth control pill is not without risks. Certain types of hormonal birth control may increase a woman's risk of developing a condition called deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a dangerous type of blood clot that usually forms in the legs. The most serious possible complication of DVT is the possibility that a clot can travel to a lung, resulting in a pulmonary embolism — a blockage of an artery in the lung — which can cause death.
Blood Clot Risk Factors
While just about anyone has the potential to develop DVT, some people are at higher risk than others. Women have an added risk if they’re pregnant or if they take certain types of birth control or hormone replacement therapy (HRT), particularly if they have any of the following risk factors:
Douglas Schuerer, MD, director of trauma at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and assistant professor of surgery at Washington University in St. Louis, Ill., says these risk factors “make the patient's blood ‘hypercoagulable,’ or easy to clot.”
Blood Clots and Birth Control Pills
Although some newer birth control pills contain only a synthetic form of the hormone progesterone, called progestin, most birth control pills contain both estrogen and progestin. These hormones affect a woman’s ovulation cycle (release of the egg from the ovary) and the lining of the uterus, when taken to prevent pregnancy. When used as hormone replacement therapy, they balance out a woman’s natural hormone levels.
The estrogen found in hormonal contraception is what is thought to increase the risk of blood clots — not by forming the clots themselves, but by making the blood more likely to clot. Any type of hormone therapy that contains estrogen, including oral contraceptives, HRT, or hormone patches, carries a risk for hypercoagulability.
Without a doubt, the birth control pill is a convenient and effective way to prevent pregnancy or to replace lost hormones, but how are you to know if the pill is safe for you?
While all medications have risks, it’s often possible to reduce risk factors by taking certain steps. Before starting hormone pills, discuss your individual level of risk for DVT with your doctor. You may be at increased risk if you:
Blood Clot Warning Signs
If you do take birth control pills, the best way to protect yourself from blood clots, other than reducing the risk factors you have control over, is to know the signs and symptoms of DVT. If you experience any of these symptoms, contact your doctor immediately:
By asking questions and discussing your risks with your doctor before starting hormone therapy or birth control pills, together you can decide what's right for you and feel good about your decision.
I am an RN. I had a patient who was 20 years old and was a paraplegic, with her mom taking care of her, she became a paraplegic due to the pill.
She was not married. She had been a para since 17, question is why are these girls out there having sex not only early but so all the time?
Answer: It is considered okay, as long as you have these contraception devices ie, the pill, abortion, iud, etc.
According to the Democrats these things are all benign and available. Planned Parenthood doesn’t even want the parents involved.