Nanny claims taking contraceptive made her suffer an early onset stroke after causing major blood clot
Laura Ephraums, 20, spent a week in hospital and believes Rigevidon pill could have been a cause
A YOUNG nanny claims her new contraceptive pill led to her suffering a stroke.
Laura Ephraums, 20, was rushed to hospital after the medication allegedly caused a blood clot on her brain.
Doctors had earlier dismissed the pains as a migraine after boyfriend Jack Gillard called an ambulance.
But after spending a week recovering in hospital, Laura now believes taking the Rigevidon combined contraceptive pill in the eight weeks leading up to her illness could have been a cause.
Warning other women about her plight, Laura said: "It was so scary, I was just on the beach one day with my boyfriend and out of the blue immediately starting to feel really ill.
"I had this sudden intense migraine but just brushed it off as that, I just assumed I must have gotten poorly and didn't think anything of it.
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"Everything just seemed to get worse though and it got to the point where I was vomiting every hour, it was horrible.
"Even though doctors told me it was a migraine I thought it must be something more.
"When I woke up and couldn't move my arm I knew it wasn't good but it was difficult to comprehend because I was really struggling to understand and explain things.
"I now know that I couldn't understand or speak because of the stroke. It was affecting my cognitive abilities, I knew what I wanted but I couldn't explain or speak and stuff just wasn't really going in."
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said contraceptive pills are "very safe, highly effective medicines" and a review had confirmed the risk of blood clots with all contraceptives is small.
After the four-day ordeal – during which it was discovered she had suffered an early onset stroke Laura spent more than a week on the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital's stroke ward to recover.
She claims doctors told her they could not see any other factors which had caused the stroke other than the pill she had been taking.
Laura, of Ottery Saint Mary, Devon, said: "When I was in the hospital on the stroke ward I was told not to take my pill, I don't know if that's when the doctors made the connection or not.
"It was only later that they told me that it could have been caused by taking the pill and that they didn't see any other reason as to why it happened.
"That really worries me, especially thinking about how many people take the pill and I think it's really important to make people aware of these risks so that this doesn't happen to anyone else."
A spokesperson for South Western Ambulance Service said: "Paramedics are highly trained in the assessment and identification of strokes.
"The symptoms of a migraine and stroke can be very similar and as Ms Ephraums had only been discharged from hospital a few hours earlier, thought to be suffering from a migraine, the crew looked to provide support for the ongoing management of this diagnosis.
"The ambulance service continuously takes learning from incidents and would welcome Ms Ephraums getting in touch with our patient experience team to discuss her specific case in more detail."
A spokesperson for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said: "Women should continue to take their contraceptive pill.
"These are very safe, highly effective medicines for preventing unintended pregnancy and the benefits associated with their use far outweigh the risks.
"If women have questions, they should discuss them with their GP.”
The Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust confirmed it had investigated the case.
Angry Laura has since launched an appeal to have Rigevidon banned from the NHS. It has received 8,000 signatures to date.
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