The true story below is NOT to scare you , neither to stop you but rather to make sure you are aware and 2nd opinions can save you . I had a warning sign, MANY others never know whats coming.
Besides the physical aspects , convenience was always a plus point when I was younger and when it comes to the female body, the contraceptive pill was nothing taboo for someone in her mid twenties with a long term boyfriend, every chick I knew was taking it. What I didn’t necessarily think about though was how different each person was. Being naive, I thought buying the most expensive pill ” Yasmin” meant it was the best product.
I have never broken a bone.
I have never had a major operation.
I have never had serious illnesses, till one and a half months in from taking ‘ The Pill ‘.
My right arm started swelling and turning red every time I lifted it above my head. I laughed and called it the Arm Erection. A local GP brushed off my concerns that if it didn’t hurt when I touched it and it didn’t hurt when I flexed, therefore nothing was wrong. BIGGEST MISTAKE OF HIS WEEK. I didn’t believe him and two weeks after the neighbourhood GP visit after filming one day , a girlfriend made me head to Tan Tock Seng A&E after my arm was getting more uncomfortable each day.
The moment the physician saw me I was admitted on the spot and diagnosed with Deep Vein Thrombosis, in layman terms a blood clot. You can imagine my shock but it still didn’t present a sense of urgency in my own mind.
I remember it clearly and that evening I had a Red Bull event to host, I was told it wasn’t a motel and I couldn’t check in and out of the hospital when I wanted and he would not allow me to leave the hospital. I took an ultra scan where they set out to find where the clot was.
Another doctor came in to see me in the ward to explain and then I started to get worried. They found the clot , in link with my stressed arm in an unusual place in my right subclavian vein, near my neck, meaning I was at a high risk of a stroke or a heart attack , should the clot break off .
It was so unusual that every morning I woke up with the doctor and his group of students as a point of study.
Fast forward I was put on Heparin daily which is an injected anticoagulant and Warfarin which is in pill form. Heparin is very much trial and error with amounts and everyday I was taking blood tests. On the 3rd night in hospital I woke up with the most searing pain through my head . I was shaking uncontrollably, I was alone. I did not tell my parents as I didn’t want to worry them. Wrong move. Because I was on blood thinners there was nothing the nurse could do but stand by me and calm me down until the night shift doctor was available and then at 2 am I was wheeled in for a CAT scan to check for haemorrhaging.
I finally got the seriousness.
After 7 days I was discharged and I injected myself for a week or two more with Heparin and took Warfarin for another 4 months, with blood tests every 2/3 days.
Its been 7 years, but I’ve been warned of there is a higher chance reoccurrence in previous patients. With one or two scares after my arm started getting stressed again, I obviously have had check ups since. It sits at the back of my mind sometimes and I worry about my loved ones should something happen to me out of the blue, but I guess in some way it adds to my motivation in life to get on with shit and it has taught me to be aware of what I put in my body.
Do your research with the relevant professionals because you should never say never , you could be that 1% chance that I was.
