I had my son via C-section in April 2023. During my pregnancy, the doctors said that the leg pain I was experiencing was just sciatica. After having my son, I was having severe headaches. The pain medicine I was given didn’t help. A week after my son was born I had three seizures. After being misdiagnosed by multiple hospitals – even staying a week in the neuro intensive care unit – they continued to disregard the obvious symptoms of blood clots.
After I was discharged, I went home and my condition grew worse. I couldn’t walk. I went to a third hospital, where they immediately started running tests. These tests showed that I had massive blood clots starting under my right breast going down to my ankle. I also had multiple clots in both lungs. The next day they proceeded with surgery to remove the clots.
I now know that I am affected by several genetic clotting conditions, including hereditary antithrombin III deficiency, protein S deficiency, and homozygous MTHFR gene mutation. The risks posed by these clotting disorders were compounded by my pregnancy and C-section, both of which are major risk factors for blood clots.
Everyone should grow in their knowledge and learn about their potential risk factors for blood clots, including a family history of clotting. We need to do better in women’s healthcare and recognize the clotting risks unique to women throughout their lifetime, including pregnancy, estrogen-based birth control, and the treatment of menopause symptoms later in life with estrogen therapy. Women’s healthcare…please do better.
