Midwife says taking the contraceptive gave her a stroke and left her partially paralysed at 37
Judith Rankin couldn’t speak or brush her teeth just eight weeks after taking the Pill
A MIDWIFE left partially paralysed after suffering a stroke at the age of just 37 says it was because of the contraceptive pill.
Mum-of-two Judith Rankin couldn’t speak or brush her teeth after the dreaded stroke in February.
Today she is calling for women to be aware of the dangers of taking the Pill, after taking it for just eight weeks following the birth of her second child.
Judith, of Erskine, Renfrew-shire, said: “I don’t have a family history at all of stroke or heart disease.
“I’m not obese and I don’t smoke. There’s no other reason for it – it’s all pointing at the Pill.”
When the stroke hit Judith was filling out an online form for my mum’s car insurance.
She suddenly felt dizzy and then was unable to speak.
She was quickly rushed by ambulance to Judith to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.
“I couldn’t smile. I had droop in the right side of my face,” she told the .
“By the time I got to hospital I could manage a couple of words but it was four weeks until I had my speech back fully.
“I couldn’t kiss and when I was trying to brush my teeth I couldn’t spit. When I was eating I had to try to push the food back in my mouth before I could swallow.”
Four months on from the stroke and Judith is still recovering.
She often stutters and stammers when tired after being hit by fatigue at any time.
She is having to rely on friends and family to help out with her children Reece, six, and Lyall, who is now six months while her husband Gary, 41 is at work.
Now Judith wants other women to know that the Pill isn’t the be-all and end-all for contraception.
But a leading doctor says risk caused by the contracptive pill is very small and it did far more good than harm.
I couldn’t smile and had a droop in the right side of my face
Judith Rankin
Senior doctor Diana Mansour, of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare, said: “It’s terrible if you suffer such a problem but a stroke is a very rare event associated with combined pills.
“The older you are, the risk does increase. But it’s still very rare in a 37-year-old.
“You’re talking about two women per 100,000 in their 20s each year, and two per 10,000 when you reach 40.
“People aren’t aware of the good things the combined pill does. It protects against ovarian cancer and cancer of the lining of the womb but there is lots of focus on very rare events.
“The combined pill also makes periods lighter and less painful, and you can regulate them. It helps with pain and mood changes and it helps your skin.”
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