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Ask Dr. Hennessy Does the birth control patch (Ortho Evra) kill you? There was a recent case of a teenager in New York who was on the patch and died. So I looked into this case and found that this teenager had what is called a pulmonary embolism. That means she had a formed a blood clot in her body and it traveled to her lungs. This basically cuts off the transfer of oxygen to the body and she died from this. The patch is now being blamed for this. However, we have to look a little closer at this before we stop using the patch. The patch is an extremely effective form of birth control and is quite easy to use. You don't have to think about it every day. It provides many of the benefits that the pill does such as predictable periods, less acne, some protection against some breast cancers, and less anemia (low iron in the blood). But there are risks just as there are risks with the pill, or any other form of birth control. So what are the risks? Blood clots have been known to occur with those on the pill just as when on the patch. There is a risk of stroke, heart attack, and liver tumors. That is with the patch and the pill. If you have certain medical conditions as listed below, these will add to your risk of clots. These conditions include high blood pressure, diabetes, a history of a blood clot, some types of migraines, an abnormal liver, and high cholesterol. Smoking also increases your risk of blood clots. In addition, there are people with abnormal clotting diseases that can increase your risk of clots. They include protein C deficiency, protein S deficiency, and Factor V Leiden disease. If you have a family history of these you need to be screened by your doctor. If you are older than 35 years, then your risk of clots also increases. Let's put this in perspective. Birth control pills, also known as "the pill" or oral contraceptives has a risk of death of 1 in 200,000 women. The risk of death from pregnancy beyond 20 weeks gestation is 20-25 deaths per 200,000 women. The risk of death with the patch is 3 in 200,000 women. No form of birth control is completely risk free. Just to add to the statistics, the risk of death from Viagra is 12 per 200,000 men. Okay that is apples and oranges but I want you to realize that no drug is ever risk free. So why is the risk higher with the patch than with the pill? The reason is that you get more drug with the patch. It is estimated that the patch delivers about 60% more estrogen than the pill does. The drug companies are working on decreasing this amount of estrogen. A new "patch lite" is actually in the works. So what do you do? Don't smoke. Know your family history. Discuss these concerns with your doctor. Balance the risk of a pregnancy in the teen years versus the risk of birth control. Consider whether you are really ready to have sex. For other Ask Dr. Hennessy articles, click here Email: Margaret.Hennessy@wfhc.org |