What about serious side-effects, like thrombosis?

There is no doubt at all that the Pill can occasionally cause serious problems like:

deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or clotting

heart attacks

strokes.

Fortunately, these events are very rare. BUT ... they are much more likely to happen if you have certain ‘risk factors,’ which include:

being a smoker

having a bad family history of thrombosis or some similar illness (say, if your mother had a heart attack at 40)

being severely overweight

being diabetic (though quite a few non-smoking diabetics do use the Pill, under careful supervision)

having high blood pressure

having a high blood cholesterol level (hypercholesterolaemia)

a ‘past history’ of phlebitis (vein inflammation) or thrombophlebitis

being immobile for a while (especially when having a surgical operation).

There are other ‘risk factors’ – for instance, making a very long journey in a plane or a cramped car seat. Your doctor or Family Planning nurse can give you more details.

The risk is now known to be greater in the first year of taking the Pill. But it also increases a little as you get older – see below.

Varicose veins

A lot of people (including some doctors) have the idea that ‘you can’t take the Pill if you have varicose veins'. This isn’t true.

However, in recent years it has become clear that severe problems with varicose veins are a contraindication to the Pill.

But if you just have mild and superficial varicose veins, it is quite likely that your doctor will be willing to prescribe a low-dose Pill for you – provided that you have no other risk factors.

Migraine

In 2004, new research showed that women who have severe migraine and who also use the Pill run an unacceptable risk of having a stroke.

I’m not talking about people who have an occasional slight headache, as we all do. But if you have genuine migraine attacks – particularly migraines with ‘aura’ affecting your eyesight – then in my opinion you shouldn’t be on the Pill.

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