A 22-year-old student in Wales has suffered a life-threatening stroke that was probably caused by her birth control pill – although doctors initially told her she was just hanged, according to a report.
Nia Phillips, a psychology student from Ammanford, sought medical advice when she experienced headaches one day in the fall of 2019, Wales Online reports.
She was told the pain was probably the result of a hangover – but doctors determined days later that she had had a stroke.
‘I felt like I had a headache on Friday, but it was not bad. “Then I woke up on Saturday and it was definitely a migraine,” Phillips told the news office.
“I vomited, I had a dull face, and I was light-sensitive to the point where I had to close curtains and put on an eye mask,” she added.
The then 20-year-old had planned to go to a ball at the Royal Holloway University in Surrey, but could barely lift her head from the pillow.
‘The migraines continued until Sunday, and then on Sunday night I thought enough was enough, and I called the extraordinary GP [general practitioner]. “They told me it’s probably a hangover and that I should just keep an eye on my symptoms, ‘Phillips said.
“They prescribed me my co-codamol (a mixture of painkillers paracetamol and codeine) to relieve the pain,” she said.
Phillips took the doctor’s advice and rested for the next few days, but the pain continued, so her mother came to help her return to her home in Carmarthenshire, according to the report.
“We got back on the train and I was so light-sensitive that I had to walk through Reading Station with a sleeping mask on and my head up,” she said.
‘When we got home, I saw a nurse who thought it was an ear infection, as she could see swelling behind my ear, but because my eyes were still so painful, my mother suggested that we see an ophthalmologist. go see. The optician was a family friend and we were so happy that she could fit in with us at the last minute, ‘Phillips continued.
The optician noticed swelling in Phillips’ brain – and sent her to hospital immediately.
“I will always be so grateful to her, because who knows what would have happened if it had not been pointed out?” she said.
‘In the hospital I saw a consulting ophthalmologist. “He thought it could initially be IIH (idiopathic intracranial hypertension), which is pressure on the brain that is not very uncommon in my age group, and I was then sent for scans, ‘the student said.
That night, Phillips was admitted to the hospital, where she underwent an MRI scan and ultrasound of her eyeball.
“They came back and said, ‘After seeing your MRI scan, we can see a blood clot in the brain. “They immediately injected me with heparin to dilute my blood as soon as possible,” she said.
“I was just numb and it felt like a bit of an out-of-body experience,” added Phillips, who stayed at Glangwili Hospital for two weeks.
After she was discharged, tests were done to try to determine the cause of her blood clot.
“They told me that according to the tests, I had no genetic predisposition for blood clots. There was also no known family history of it and I was a healthy 20-year-old, ‘she told Wales Online.
“I was told that doctors would never be able to explain 100 percent for sure why I had the blood clot, but my contraceptive pill was the most likely,” she said.
“I went on the (combined) pill Rigevidon at the age of 18 in 2017 and I never had any previous problems with it. “I did not suffer from migraines or bad headaches,” she added.
Phillips said she does not realize the pill poses small risks, and wishes all teens and young women could be fully informed before choosing their contraceptives.
According to the NHS website, Rigevidon, one of the most popular types of contraceptives, is safe for most women, who say there is a ‘very low risk of serious side effects’ such as blood clots.
It is said that women should be fine to take it unless they are suffering from or have a close family history of certain medical conditions.
Because of the amount of time she did not spend at school, Phillips postponed her degree for a year and re-enrolled for her third year at Cardiff University to be closer to home.
‘I’m really happy to have really supportive friends who I can relax with when I see and really enjoy it, but when I get home after hanging out I can feel like it’s really deprived me, while I’ve never been had not. I’m really sociable, ”she said.