When I had a stroke at age 28, my doctors did some tests and found that I have a fairly common clotting disorder called Factor V Leiden. They told me that this, combined with birth control pills, are what caused me to have the cerebral venous thrombosis (stroke). It didn’t occur to me then to […]
My position as a women’s health advocate is frequently challenged merely because I am a man. I’m okay with that because it’s a valid point. I will never experience firsthand many of the issues that concern me. However, I don’t believe that means I should be forced to remain silent on matters related to women’s […]
Over the last several years, stories of young women, many of them athletes (here, here), suffering from dangerous and sometimes deadly blood clots have filled the press and academic literature (here, here, here). Often mentioned in passing is the fact that these women were taking hormonal contraceptives at the time of the event. As a mom […]
Pulmonary emboli are notoriously difficult to diagnose clinically, especially in otherwise healthy young women. The early signs include such nondescript symptoms as breathing difficulties, chest or back pain, and fatigue; symptoms that are easily attributable to a host of viral and bacterial infections or other less serious respiratory conditions. As a result, and more often […]
What does it feel like to have a stroke? We’ve all seen TV re-enactments of stroke, usually in older folks, and some of us have had the unfortunate opportunity to witness a stroke first hand, also typically in an older person, but few of us have any real sense of what a stroke feels like […]
No sooner had we landed than my phone began to convulse with a cacophony of bells and chimes. Most of the notifications were last minute details about the live broadcast that brought me to town. In one voice message, a coworker informed me that the producer cancelled our pre-production dinner meeting because of her migraines. He […]
A Google search for “birth control + multiple sclerosis” features the dangerously deceptive headline, “Birth Control May Lower MS Risk.” The linked article begins, “Women who take birth control pills may be less likely to develop multiple sclerosis (MS) while they’re on the pill, according to a new study.”The key phrase is ‘while they’re on […]
A lot of things baffle me about the medical industry’s approach to birth control, but the one thing I’ve struggled with the most has to do with the thyroid. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand how any doctor could prescribe The Pill to a patient and not be concerned about the affect it […]