I think it depends on the type of BC. Whatever the half-life is for the pills (and the pharmacist can answer this question for you), that should be when they get out of your bloodstream. I don't think it is very long for most pills ... maybe a couple days at most.

If you're taking depo-provera, of course, the hormones will be there for three months or so.

Call a pharmacist and ask. They know these kinds of things and they don't need a co-pay.

Good advice TnT. I think someone posted on here a long time ago that they read BC pills can stay in your system for quite a while, but I find that hard to believe since if you miss one, you can get pregnant. But then again, I don't really know. When you check with the pharmacist, let us know. I'm really curious about this now.

Also, the 6 months on warfarin is pretty normal, even if they suspect BC pills caused your clots.

Thank you TossnTurn and rmb,

Thank you for the great advice....I just called my Walgreens pharmacist. I was on Femcon Fe .4 mg for 5 weeks. He told me based on its half-life and the length of time I took it that it should have been out of my system within 7 days after I stopped taking it. I asked him what it is about the pill that causes the clots, and he said that a lot of research has been done, but in his opinion its just the extra dose of hormones being introduced into our body that causes the blood to thicken. (sounds reasonable to me especially since I've had an over abundance of my own hormones bouncing around for the past year or so.... perimenopause).!

I wish I had educated myself more before I agreed to take the pill to shrink my ovarian cyst. I am making it a point to let every woman I know that they should really think about the risks before taking birth control.

Bless you both for always sharing your wisdom with the rest of us here. I know it has helped me so much.

But even if you had educated yourself, you may have taken them anyway. No one thinks they're gonna ever have the "serious side effects" listed on the drugs we take. I'd been on the pill for over 20 years, knew the risks and did it anyway. You just think that stuff happens to other people. Don't beat yourself up over that.

And thanks for posting the info from your pharmacist. Another day of learning something new!

I have to agree with rmb on this ... we never think we'll be the 1/2 percent that winds up with the "serious" side effects. Also, when I started on BC, I didn't know what a blood clot was or what it did or how dangerous it was. Didn't sound like a big deal to me!

If me-now could go back and talk to me-then, I still don't know if I would have done anything differently ... I might not have believed myself.

Smokers still smoke despite lung cancer risks. People who like to tan still use tanning beds despite the skin cancer risks. I mean, it's just human nature to take your chances regardless of what you know.

They originally thought my clots were from BC, but when I clottted again after being off BC, they determined that likely wasn't the main culprit. However, even knowing the risks today, I'd still take the pill. I just know I would. I LOVED BEING ON THE PILL.