Nichole shares her experience with blood clots connected to hormonal birth control.
When I was 20 years old I asked my doctor about birth control pills. She didn’t hesitate to write the script for me. Not knowing anything about my family history, personal risks, or potential harm, I started taking them. I am healthy, exercise, never smoked, and eat well.
Seven years later, I came home from a day out riding my horse to what felt like a Charlie horse in my calf. Several days went by and it never went away. I started Googling symptoms, as I had heard about the risks for blood clots due to birth control. That afternoon, after a doctor’s visit and an ultrasound, I was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis or blood clot in my leg.
At the age of 27, I was then put on blood thinners for six months. After about eight vials of blood for testing, I was diagnosed with factor V Leiden, a genetic blood clotting condition. Looking to my future and starting a family, there are so many risk factors that I never thought I would have to consider. Nevertheless, my journey continues, living as a blood clot survivor.
