A 22-year-old Welsh student suffered a dangerous stroke, probably caused by the birth control pill – although doctors initially told her she was just hanged, according to a report.
Nia Phillips, a psychology student in Ammanford, sought medical advice when she felt a headache coming one day in the fall of 2019, Wales Online reported.
He was told the pain was probably the result of a hangover – but doctors determined days later that he had actually suffered a stroke.
“I felt like I had a headache on Friday, but it wasn’t bad. Then I woke up on Saturday and it was definitely a migraine, “Phillips told reporters.
“I was vomiting, my eyes were blurred, I was very sensitive to light to the point where I had to have closed curtains and an eye mask,” she added.
The 20-year-old had planned to go to a ball at Royal Holloway University in Surrey, but could barely lift her head from the pillow.
“The migraine persisted until Sunday and then on Sunday night I thought it was enough and I called the GP outside of working hours [general practitioner]. They told me it was probably a hangover and that I should keep an eye on my symptoms, “Phillips said.
“I was prescribed co-codamol (a mixture of paracetamol and codeine painkillers) to relieve the pain,” she said.
Phillips received medical advice and rested for the next few days, but the pain persisted, so her mother came to help her return home to Carmarthenshire, according to the report.
“We got back on the train and I was so sensitive to the light that I had to go through the reading station, with a sleeping mask and hood up,” she said.
“When I got home, I saw a nurse who thought it was an ear infection because she could see swelling behind my ear, but because my eyes were still so painful, my mother suggested we see an optician. The optician was a family friend and we were so lucky that he was able to frame us at the last minute “, continued Phillips.
The optician noticed swelling in Phillips’ brain – and sent her to the hospital immediately.
“I will always be so grateful to him because if he hadn’t been stressed, then who knows what would have happened?” she said.
“I saw a consulting ophthalmologist at the hospital. He thought it could have been IIH (idiopathic intracranial hypertension), which is a pressure on the brain that is not extremely unusual in my age group, so I was then sent for scans, ”said the student.
That night, Phillips was hospitalized, where she underwent an MRI scan and an ultrasound of the eyeball.
“They came back and said, ‘After we saw your MRI scan, we could see a blood clot in your brain.’ They instantly injected me with heparin to thin my blood as soon as possible, ”she said.
“I was completely numb and it felt like an out-of-body experience,” added Phillips, who remained at Glangwili Hospital for two weeks.
After she was discharged, tests were performed to determine the cause of the blood clot.
“They told me that, according to the tests, I had no genetic predisposition to blood clots. Also, there was no known family history and I was a healthy young man of 20 years, “she told Wales Online.
“I was told that doctors would never be able to explain with 100% certainty why I had a blood clot, but the most likely cause was my birth control pill,” she said.
“I took the (combined) Rigevidon pill in 2017 at the age of 18 and I have never had any previous problems. I did not suffer from migraines or ugly headaches “, she added.
Phillips said he did not realize that the pill comes with low risks and wants all teenagers and young women to be fully informed before choosing their contraception.
Rigevidon, one of the most popular types of contraceptives, is safe for most women, according to the NHS website, which says there is a “very low risk of serious side effects” such as blood clots.
It is said that women should take it if they do not suffer or have a close family history of certain medical conditions.
Due to time spent out of school, Phillips postponed his degree for a year and re-enrolled for the third year at Cardiff University to be closer to home.
“I’m really lucky to have really supportive friends that I can relax when I see and I’m really happy, but when I come home after socializing, I can feel that it really took me, while I didn’t I’ve had this before. I’m very sociable, “she said.