A 22-year-old student in Wales suffered a life-threatening stroke, most likely caused by her birth control pill – although doctors initially said she was just hungover, according to a report.
Nia Phillips, a psychology student from Ammanford, sought medical advice when she experienced a headache in the fall of 2019, Wales Online reported.
She was told that the pain was probably the result of a hangover – but doctors determined, days later, that she actually had a stroke.
“I felt like I had a headache on Friday, but it wasn’t bad. So I woke up on Saturday and it was definitely a migraine, ”Phillips told the media.
“I was throwing up, my vision was blurred, I was seriously sensitive to the light to the point that I needed to close the curtains and put on an eye mask,” he added.
The 20-year-old girl planned to attend a dance at Royal Holloway University in Surrey, but could barely lift her head from the pillow.
“The migraine persisted on Sunday and then on Sunday night I thought it was enough and I called the GP after hours [general practitioner]. They told me it was probably a hangover and that I should just keep an eye on my symptoms, ”said Phillips.
“They prescribed me co-codamol (a mixture of paracetamol and codeine pain relievers) to relieve pain,” she said.
Phillips followed the doctor’s advice and rested for the next few days, but the pain persisted, so his mother came to help her return to her home in Carmarthenshire, according to the report.
“We were back on the train and I was so sensitive to the light that I had to walk around Reading station with a sleeping mask on and my hood up,” she said.
“When we got home, I saw a nurse who thought it was an ear infection, as she could see the swelling behind my ear, but as my eyes were still hurting, my mother suggested we look for an ophthalmologist. The optician was a friend of the family and we were lucky to have her at the last minute, ”continued Phillips.
The optician noticed a swelling in Phillips’ brain – and immediately sent her to the hospital.
“I will always be very grateful to her because, if it were not pointed out, then, who knows what would have happened?” she said.
“At the hospital, I saw a consulting ophthalmologist. He thought it might have been IIH (idiopathic intracranial hypertension) initially, which is a pressure on the brain that is not very unusual in my age group, so I was sent for exams, ”said the student.
That night, Phillips was admitted to the hospital, where he did an MRI and ultrasound of his eyeball.
“They came back and said, ‘After seeing your MRI, we can see a blood clot in the brain.’ They immediately injected me with heparin to dilute my blood as quickly as possible, ”she said.
“I was completely numb and it felt a little like 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.
“I was told that, according to the tests, I had no genetic predisposition for blood clots. There was also no known family history of this, 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 a blood clot, but the most likely cause was my birth control pill,” she said.
“I started taking the Rigevidon (combined) pill in 2017 at the age of 18 and have never had any previous problems with it. I didn’t suffer from migraines or severe headaches, ”he added.
Phillips said he was unaware that the pill carried small risks and would like all adolescents and young women to be fully informed before choosing their contraceptives.
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.
He says women should be fine to take it, unless they are suffering or have a family history close to certain medical conditions.
Because of his time away from school, Phillips postponed his graduation for one year and enrolled again in his third year at Cardiff University to be closer to home.
“I am very lucky to have friends who really support me, that I can relax when I see and really enjoy, but when I come home after socializing, I can feel that it really drained me, whereas I never had it before. I am very sociable, ”she said.