Yasmin Patient: "I Feel Like I Did Something Wrong"

Ottawa, OntarioWhen Sandra P. (real name withheld) started taking Yasmin birth control, she thought she had done all the necessary research to protect herself. She looked into Yasmin side effects and compared them to those of other birth control pills. Unfortunately, that research did not prevent her from developing a blood clot after using the Yasmin pill for a short time.

"I started Yasmin in August, 2010," Sandra says. "I used to work for Health Canada in the adverse reaction section, so I researched Yasmin before I took it. The side effects seemed to be less serious than with other birth control pills. I had never been on birth control before. I was 27 so I was a bit older when I started taking it.

"I was on Yasmin for about three months when I started to get leg pain. I thought it was from working out so I ignored it. But I went to stand up on December 14 and my leg collapsed out from under me. I couldn't put any pressure on it.

"I went to the walk-in clinic and the doctor said he thought it was a blood clot. I had an ultrasound that day and they found the blood clot, so I was sent to the ER. The doctor said it was a superficial blood clot so I was given Naproxen for the pain and sent to a thrombosis clinic. They scheduled an appointment for Dec. 21.

"By December 21, the clot had spread and was now deep vein thrombosis. That night I was started on heparin injections.

"There's no family history of this type of problem. When I saw the thrombosis people they thought it was strange that I had a blood clot. They took 11 vials of blood to test for things that could have caused it. In my follow-up in January, the doctors said the tests all came back negative. The only thing they could think of was that the birth control caused this.

"The doctor and nurse both blamed the birth control. They said they had seen this before, and it was usually within the first year of starting the birth control that it happens.

"As of right now, I'm still on Warfarin [having been switched from heparin], and I have to be on it for six months. I'm not allowed to take any other form of birth control pill.

"It has affected my day-to-day life. I couldn't work out. I couldn't walk. Now, I have to go back to working out gradually. I have to be careful walking outside and if I hit my head at all I have to go to the hospital.

"As safe as things can seem, there can be side effects. I've read about more serious side effects with Yasmin. I lucked out. I didn't have a pulmonary embolism. These side effects can happen, so people have to be careful.

"I feel like I was punished for making a bad choice for birth control. I feel like I did something wrong."