Finding the right contraception for me: Iona’s story

I was on the pill when I was about 14 or 15. Not because I was sexually active, but because my periods were just really bad. I had had irregular periods when I first got them, and I was bleeding a lot. If it wasn’t for the pill, I would have just had random, horrible periods. I have a genetic condition that makes my like sex hormones a little bit unusual. One of the ways that the condition can manifest is you can have quite erratic periods. Doing 14-15 GCSEs is hard enough without feeling out of control of your periods. So, I went on the pill.

It was when I started having penetrative sex that I swapped to the implant. Unfortunately, I had very little luck with this working for me, as I bled every day for 9 months.

I recall my emotions being heightened and within the first two weeks of the implant I felt agitated and angry about nothing in particular.

At the time I was studying for my music degree at and the extra pressure from the constant bleeding and mood swings did not help my concentration. I was getting quite poorly, because my body was just taking up so much energy bleeding all the time, so I got the implant taken out.

After this I went back on the pill. Due to my condition I had to take the progesterone only pill, but I started getting these headaches every day. I am prone to migraines anyway, but these kept occurring every day and I didn’t want to be consuming so much paracetamol to get by. It was during the first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK that my headaches became more unbearable.

After several weeks of this I was diagnosed with a blood clot in my brain.

This was in September 2020. And it just happened all at once. It was a really hot day, and I was moving into my new house. So, I thought I’m just exhausted because I took some paracetamol, and it made no difference and then I tried to ignore it for a little while. But every time I leant over it got even worse, like a pressure. The standard pain of the headache was probably a seven out of 10 and leaning down it was completely unbearable. After this I went to my local pharmacy for some stronger ibuprofen but they advised I should go to A&E. My symptoms had progressed to a headache that was waking me up in the middle of the night, I was in pain every time I moved my head and my eyes were really sensitive to light.

After 36 hours I went through every exam the doctors could do, a CT scan, including with contrast dye and a lumbar puncture. It was only after the second analysis made by the chief of medicine that it was concluded I had a blood clot. It was in between my brain and skull. That sort of spacious bit at the front of your head, that was where I had a blood clot. Blood clots are a possible dangerous side effect with certain hormonal contraceptives like the progesterone only pill, however it is not discussed as a predominant issue because so many people take the pill. I just didn’t think it could happen to me because it’s so rare.

I’m just so relieved I listened to my body because pushing for medical tests saved my life.

I was put on Clexane, which stops blood clots getting any bigger. I had to inject this into my own stomach. I also took a blood thinner called Warfarin which thins your blood so that the blood can sort of push through and take the clots with it in a way that doesn’t hurt you. I was on this process for a good six months. Over these six months I went on to finish my music degree and graduated from university.

The non-invasive procedure removed my blood clot and the headaches subsided, but the whole experience was eye-opening for me.

If I had a one-night stand or casual sex, I told people that I wasn’t not taking oral contraception and that is non-negotiable. I would say that I was not on any sort of pill or hormonal contraception because of the risks it has proven to my health. So, they were going to have to wear a condom. Once I’d had the experience of a blood clot from the contraceptive pill that could potentially be life changing, it just wouldn’t make sense for me to go back on any kind of hormonal contraception.

My advice for anyone who is thinking about starting contraception or having side effects is listen to your body and if there’s something you don’t like, just come off it.

If you’re really struggling with a new contraception and suddenly, and you’re miserable, or you’re having a terrible time, just stop taking it. It really isn’t worth it. Try different methods and shop around. If you’re keen to try the pill, give it a go. Try lots of different pills until you find one that works best for you. And then if you don’t like that, you can try the implant, or the coil. It might be that no hormonal contraception fits you, which is what I’ve found. So, my partner and I share the responsibility now, taking it in turns to buy condoms. Just keep trying until you find something that fits you.