Ortho Evra

Top 88. Jan 17, 2006 9:32 AM

» mandy4683 - ortho evra

hi, I'm 22 years old and I began taking ortho in 2003 and quite taking it 5 months ago, since then I have had late periods, chest pain for the last week that hurts when I breath and headaches? Do any of you think this has anything to do with the patch, I'm also trying to have a baby and haven't been successful...I'm really worried!

-- posted by mandy4683

Top 89. Jan 18, 2006 7:57 AM

» jtqevans - Re: my lovely wife

In response to my lovely wife posted by jzank97:

I am sorry to hear about your wife. I've been there before about 6 years ago but I was 20 and pregnant. I just wanted to write to find out for sure was this because of the patch? I am not happy with the patch and have been kind of freaked out. The other day I had a pain in my leg and it lasted about a day or two. I have no idea what from and I devolped a bruise. My mom was also on the patch and now has some blockage in her neck and little circulation in her legs. They did an angio gram (I dont know how to spell that) you know, where they go in the the groin area to check for clots. We dont know what happened but they had to revive her. We dont know what the resolts where either. When my mom started to have problems I got off the patch. I dont want any more kids but I dont want to die either. I am afraid damage has been done. I have been off this for about 3 monthes and have not had much of a period. I did hear on the tv of a law suit but there has only been one tv comericail. I am freaked out.

-- posted by jtqevans

Top 90. Jan 18, 2006 3:44 PM

» dotheresearch - Re: ortho evra

In response to ortho evra posted by mandy4683:

Mandy, my 21-year-old daughter was admitted to the critical care unit of a nearby hospital on Dec 1 with numerous blood clots in both her lungs and her left leg. Her symptoms were shortness of breath, chest pain in the sternum area, feeling like her heart was racing, leg and ankle swelling and leg pain. She thought she was fine until the day before she was admitted to the hospital when she became short of breath. The doctors said the clots had been forming for quite a while and that they were caused by her use of the birth control patch. With your symptom of chest pain, you should see a doctor immediately and ask for a chest CT to determine whether you have blood clots in your lungs. To see if you have clots in your legs, they do a test called a doppler ultrasound of the extremities. I would realyy encourage you to get checked out immediately. I almost lost my beautiful daughter because of the patch. Don't think it can't happen to you; that's what she thought, too. I wish you the best.

-- posted by dotheresearch

Top 91. Jan 20, 2006 10:25 AM

» mandy4683 - Re: Re: ortho evra

Thanks for the info, I went to a clinic the other day because I am also really sick on top of these other problems and I told him about the chest pains, he listened to my heart and told me it was because of stress!! The moment I mentioned Ortho Evra he said "oh thats what it is, you'll be alright" I guess I'm just going to have to go see a real doctor, I really hope its nothing of what you daughter had, best wishes to you and your, thanks!

-- posted by mandy4683

Top 92. Jan 24, 2006 12:03 PM

» mhprimus - Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: It will come

In response to Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: It will come posted by rlcknight09:

I also became pregnant while on the patch. i asked around for answers to my questions, wanting to know what i did wrong. But now i know it has nothing to do with me.

-- posted by mhprimus

Top 93. Jan 25, 2006 9:00 AM

» dotheresearch - blood clots in the lungs and leg

In response to Re: Re: ortho evra posted by mandy4683:

Hi Mandy,
I can't believe the doctor you saw just dismissed your chest pain. Several different doctors saw my daughter in the emergency room the day she was admitted to the critical care unit with multiple clots in both lungs. None of the doctors heard anything unusual in her chest. Her heart sounded fine. Her lungs sounded fine. You can't always tell there are clots there just by listening to the chest. If you are having shortness of breath and feel like your heart is racing or skipping beats or flip flopping in your chest, along with your chest pain, see another doctor. Even though my daughter's chest sounded fine, her respirations and her heart rate were twice as fast as the normal rate. She only had symptoms when she would exert herself, like walking or even talking too much. She did not look like she was critically ill. Don't dismiss your symptoms and don't let a doctor dismiss them. Find a doctor who will listen to your concerns and thoroughly check you out to rule out blood clots. I would suggest seeing an internal medicine doctor. Some of the young women who have died from blood clots had only been using the patch for several weeks or a couple of months. My daughter had been using them for about 2 years. Two months after she started using them, she developed severe abdominal pain, severe vomiting, nausea, and diarrhea so bad that she was hospitalized two different times in one week. They ran all kinds of tests on her and were never able to determine what caused it. She continued having these problems for over a month. She had to drop out of college and come home. I've done alot of research on the internet about ortho evra and the many problems it causes. If you want to read alot of comments from other women using ortho evra and all of the health problems they've had since they they started using the patch, go to this webpage: www.iddb.org/drugs/ortho-evra/
This is the internet drug database website. There is a long list of different prescription drugs on this website. You just click on the drug you want information about, and along with the drug info are comments of readers who have used that particular drug and how it effected them. On the ortho evra webpage, there are many comments about severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, severe headaches, constant yeast infections, and skin rash where the patch is applied, etc. The skin rash around the patch is actually a fungal infection, kind of like ringworm. You may find, after reading some of the comments on this website, that you are experiencing many of the same symptoms. It may answer some of your questions. If you really want to know to know how this drug is effecting many young women, do your own research, go to this website. As for your doctor dismissing your chest pain, let me share this with you. Two months before my daughter was admitted to the critical care unit, she went to see our family physician because she had been experiencing calf pain and swelling in her left leg for over a month. She also had a vein in that leg that was swollen and tender to touch. I knew these were signs of a blood clot in the leg. The doctor laughed at her when she mentioned a blood clot and didn't order any tests to rule out a blood clot. He dismissed her concerns, just as your doctor did. Well, two months later, on the day she was admitted to the critical care unit, we told the doctors in the hospital about our family physician dismissing her concerns of a blood clot in her leg two months before. The doctors were shocked that he dismissed it because all the signs of a blood clot were there. They couldn't believe that he didn't order a doppler ultrasound done on her leg to check for clots. All of the clots in my daughter's lungs had traveled to her lungs from her left leg. If our family physician had done tests that day, my daughter probably would have never had clots in both her lungs and would have not sustained the permanent injury to her lungs and her left leg that has occurred. He screwed up big time, and my daughter could have paid the ultimate price - she could have died. Doctors are not Gods, even though many of them act like they are. Don't let them intimidate you or make you feel like you are crazy or overreacting. You are paying for your medical care. You have a right to request the necessary tests to alleviate your fears and concerns. I know this letter was long, but if it helps you or anyone else, it was worth the effort and time. I just don't want to see anyone else go through what we've been through. Let me know what your new doctor says. God Bless!

-- posted by dotheresearch

Top 94. Jan 31, 2006 10:09 AM

» olei1370 - Re: I feel awful

In response to I feel awful posted by amber16:

I started having the same pains and found out that "all of a sudden" I started getting cysts on my ovaries everytime i get a period now. I quit the patch and I still get them.

-- posted by olei1370

Top 95. Feb 12, 2006 6:43 PM

» Cass24 - I'm not sure whats happening...

I am currently on Ortho Evra. I've been on it since I was 13 and now I am almost 16. For almost a year now I have had severe upper back pains that come when I lay down. It's hard to breathe when the pain comes. I get tired a lot more now. I'm usually always dizzy when I stand up. Once in a while my heart will beat really hard for a couple of seconds and I feel like it's going to pop out of my chest. I recently started getting a lot more wheezier and the doctor just prescribed me an inhaler. I'm not sure if this could be from Ortho Evra or not...but could someone please contact me so I know more. Thanks much.

-- posted by Cass24

Top 96. Feb 16, 2006 8:25 AM

» msanderson_04 - I'm not sure whats happening...

I would highly recommend you using another form of birth control. The patch caused me to have hormone inbalance. I read online how people have died from strokes due to the patch. Talk to your doctor about using another form of birth control. I used to be on the pill and I also have used an IUD before. I didn't have any side effects from using those two. I wish I had never used the patch.

In response to I'm not sure whats happening... posted by Cass24:

-- posted by msanderson_04