I went on a strenuous hike and my whole body was sore afterwards. A few days later, the soreness subsided everywhere except for my left calf. I thought I had a muscle strain injury. A few days later, the pain got worse, and I could barely walk, so I went to urgent care.
I knew about the risk of blood clots from estrogen-based birth control, but of course, I did not think it would happen to me, especially since I had been exercising diligently to keep my blood pressure down.
However, to be safe, I told the urgent care doctor that I was on birth control that increased my risk for blood clots. She sent me to the ER to get checked for a blood clot out of concern for my high blood pressure. I was diagnosed with a DVT in my left lower leg.
I learned that the combination of estrogen birth control and a muscle strain injury caused the clot because when a calf muscle is strained, it does not pump blood in the lower leg as well.
I was told to take apixaban for three months, but I ended up in the hospital with critical anemia 17 days later. I got two blood transfusions while in the hospital for two nights.
After leaving the hospital, I went for ultrasound checks of my blood clot for a few weeks since I could no longer take apixaban. Six weeks after my DVT diagnosis, the vascular medicine doctor graduated me from medical care for the DVT. I was very lucky to have caught the clot early and to have had no complications from it.
Before taking estrogen-based birth control, talk to your doctor about your risk level for a blood clot, your treatment goals (family planning vs. gynecological condition management), and what kind of treatment is most appropriate for you. Understand the seriousness and medical consequences of a blood clot.
