What can I say, I wrongly assumed that if clotting is a very rare side effect, it will not happen to me.

How wrong I was, even if I do not have a genetic blood clot predisposition and no family history, it still happened to me.
I also thought that I will not be at risk, being healthy, active and a non-smoker.

I wish doctors always recommend some blood tests before prescribing these pills.It should be in fact mandatory. It breaks my heart reading about young girls who have to deal with DVT and PE, I am wondering how the doctors prescribing the pills without any testing can sleep well at night.

I saw this yesterday myself...glad you posted the link so others can read it. While OC weren't a factor in my own DVT, they have been and can be, for many others. Education is key. Today, many teen girls are put on OC for menstrual problems...adding even more years to exposing themselves to a risk factor than previous generations of women were. My own daughter has been on OC for about 4 years for menstrual problems and, after my DVT, I became very concerned about for staying on them, but she insists that they have helped her symptoms so much, that she doesn't want to stop taking them.

At least the ones she takes aren't Yaz. At first, that was one considered by her doctor!

Even after my DVT and PE and finding out she had FVL my sister didn't want to give up her pills. Since her mother-in-law died from a PE though, her husband was able to convince her. He had a little surgery instead.

thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing this. I was on Yasmin when I clotted and am one of those women scheduled for litigation this fall. Drugs can be a great thing -- anticoags saved all our lives. But drugs can also be soooo dangerous when there's no track record!

Me too, was on the Yasmin.
And because the doctor was unhappy that I might bleed because of the Warfarin whilst having the scheduled coil fitted, she sent me away with a packet of Cerazette - the leaflet in the pack says don't take if you have a DVT.
Do doctors read the leaflets? I most certainly don't want to risk more clot!!!!!

The absolute worst part of this story is reading the comments at the end. Several mothers whose daughters died from clots have posted. It really is heart-breaking.

The most telling line in the story is " It's a choice she'd live to regret." At least she DID live. It is sad how many are not that lucky.

I find it frightening how doctors (the OB/GYN in the story, for example) blow off the risk of blood clots ... especially when there is a family history of Factor V!! Clots should be introduced as a serious consideration, not as something rare. Girls and women should be fully informed of these risks and should be given information about the symptoms of DVT and PE so they know what it is when it happens.

Truthfully, many many drugs are incredibly dangerous. (How many organ transplants are necessary every year because people are taking too much Tylenol?) It doesn't mean that these drugs will come off the market, just that those who are educated on the risks (doctors, pharmacists) need to be extremely clear when offering the option.