When I was a freshman in college, I started taking birth control. Just like the majority of the college population, I was not looking into having a baby anytime soon, and the pill was so easy and convenient. So every day for about a year and a half, I took this small pill with ease and comfort that I was not going to have the responsibility of raising a baby anytime soon.

My sophomore year came and nursing school decided to take over my entire life. Everyone knows that fall semester of sophomore year in nursing school is literally hell. I was stuck doing homework on weekends, isolating myself under the enormous piles of stress that occupied my life. Walter Library and I had an exclusive relationship together; he was the only boy I only had time for.

When I did have time, I would go running to ease the stress I had. After going on a long run, I had a weird pain in my calf. I assumed that I pulled a muscle and just wrapped it in a heating pad while I was arduously taking notes on human physiology. As the week went by, the pain just got worse and worse. Three days later, I was unable to walk. My entire body was shaking in pain and I was scared. Thankfully my best friend took me to the emergency room on her birthday and stayed with me overnight, making phone calls to cancel all her birthday plans for the night.

I had a “Deep Vein Thrombosis,” aka a blood clot. At 1 am, my doctor came into my hospital room and told me that I had a blood clot that started at the back of my knee and extended all the way to my ankle. The doctor said that it was related to taking birth control, which I did not even know was a possible side effect. The doctor said that it is so rare to develop a blood clot with the use of estrogen hormonal pills, especially if the family does not have a history with blood clots and the person does not smoke, but apparently I was that one in a million.

Now with any medication that I take, I am so conscientiousness about any possible side effects that it might have. If you are taking birth control pills, it is important that you memorize the acronym “ACHES,” which stands for abdominal pain, chest pain, headaches (severe), eye problems (like blurred vision), and swelling or aching in the legs or thighs. 

If you are on “the pill” and are experiencing any of these side effects, you must contact your doctor immediately or go to the emergency room. These symptoms may indicate a more serious disorder such as liver disease, gallbladder disease, stroke, blood clots, high blood pressure, or heart disease. Again, the chances of getting these disorders are very low, but that doesn’t mean that you are immune to them. I wasn’t.

Birth control is a very good thing to be on, even if you aren’t sexually active, but it is important that you are aware of the possible adverse effects and drug interactions that are accompanied with it. There are many different kinds of birth control and you should talk to your doctor to figure out which kind is the best for you. Since estrogen pills aren’t really my thing anymore, I am able to use a different type of birth control that does not give me blood clots. Contact your doctor if you have any questions or look at the medication information packet next time you get a refill!