Deep-Vein Thrombosis and PE: Why Women Are At Risk
Deep-vein thrombosis occurs when a blood clot forms in a deep vein, usually in your legs. A complication of DVT, pulmonary embolism, (PE) occurs when a fragment of a blood clot breaks loose from the wall of the vein and moves to the lungs, where it blocks a pulmonary artery or one of its branches.
Only about half of the people who have DVT are ever diagnosed and more people reportedly die in the United States from PE than breast cancer and AIDS combined.
Women who are pregnant, 41 years and older or either using birth control or Hormone Replacement Therapy are at higher risk. To determine whether you might be at risk, visit http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Dvt/DVT_WhatIs.html
Travelers who sit for prolonged periods of time and people whose mobility has been limited by surgery or medical conditions are also at risk. Have you ever experienced DPT? Share your story.
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This is not something I've experienced, but something I do worry about for my husband who spends hours traveling by plane every week. Thank you for this information; I had no idea that the death rate was so high!
I had a Deep Vein Blood Clot in 1983 when I was 21 years old. It was from the Pill. Back then, I didn't know I also had Factor V Leiden, or Thrombophilia. My doctor told me to "Get my affairs in order." He sent me home and told me to keep my legs elevated and keep heat on my affected left leg. I asked him if I should be hospitalized, to which he replied "if something's going to happen, it doesn't matter if you're in the hospital or at home." Can you believe this? He also put me on a clot buster and told me to call him if I had any weird headaches. It was then that I had my first Migraine. Somehow I survived! He told me I'd have problems with my legs for the rest of my life, and that was true. My left leg is bigger than the right, I have varicose vein issues and discoloration at my left ankle and foot. I have to wear prescription support hose, have recurrent vein surgery and know that I'm "injured" all because of a terrible drug.
Tell the world--the Pill is not safe. Why don't those commercials in print and video TELL YOUNG WOMEN TO BE SCREENED FIRST for a blood clotting disorder?
Oh, let me guess,that might be too close to informed consent and allow women to think carefully about this very risky drug. The big pharms don't want that, do they? Their motto: greed is good.
Don't let them fool you. Healthy young women still die from it even today.
Anon
Thank you very much for telling us your story - how frightening that you have had to battle this for so many years, all because of birth control pills.
I think it's an excellent idea for women to get tested for a blood clotting disorder - blood tests can provide this information.
Thank you for sharing this - you may save another young woman from the same fate and I am glad that you survived this, even though you have lifetime complications. We wish you the best!
Did you ever contact the company that made your birth control pill and advise them of what happened to you?
I've been worried about this, but not sure what to do about it. I'm 43 and am taking Yaz birth control. I can't imagine not taking Yaz because it helps me so much with my perimenopausal symptoms. However, I sit a lot. Like all day at my desk.
I attended a women's mental health symposium a year ago at the University of Arizona in Tucson and there were top doctors (gynecologists, psychiatrists, etc.) there who were touting the use of birth control pills by perimenopausal women for the very reasons that I'm taking Yaz. They all said that it's perfectly safe to take all the way till menopause, so for me that's another 10 or so years I imagine.
Anyone else perimenopausal and on a birth control pill?