Birth control

When I was 23, no one knew of my genetics. My parents adopted me, and I had no medical history. For the most part, I had a healthy childhood. I had my fair share of broken bones, all in my arms and hands, from various sports. But I never had any complications, besides some lingering…

I am a healthy 23 year old who exercises 6 times a week, eats healthy food, and has never smoked. After returning from nearly a year overseas, I decided to change my lifestyle and lost nearly 20 kg (44 pounds) in the past 5 months. During this period I became really in tune with my…

I was 25 years old in January 2011, and I knew nothing about blood clots.  Several months prior to that January I felt a mild, irritating pain in my right side.  It occurred mainly when I was laying down too long, hiccupping, or when my breathing was heavy. I went to my doctor; she ordered…

  My name is Samantha and I am 20 years old. On April 12th, 2013 I walked into the emergency room (ER) thinking I had appendicitis. A week prior my 6’2″ friend sat on my back for while I played cards on the floor. Since then, I was having symptoms like nausea and an extreme…

My name is Michelle, and like many of the patient stories on this site, I stumbled upon the Stop The Clot Facebook page during my research for more information on blood clots. On October 29, 2013, I survived a life-threatening blood clot in my calf (deep vein thrombosis or “DVT”) and lungs (pulmonary embolism or…

Note: This is Theresa’s story, as told by her mother Laura Femia Buccellato: My  story……….My 16 year old daughter Theresa came to me and told me she had  sexual intercourse for the first time.  I was not happy about it, but I was happy she came to me about it. She asked me about going…

  Tara Robison was startled at age 20 by 21 blood clots in her lungs. She was misdiagnosed at first, but her persistence in seeking further care saved her life. In June 2010, I felt a pain in the right side of my upper chest that I thought at first was just gas pain.  I…

I was a healthy 25-year-old who ran numerous half marathons, sprint triathlons, and I am also an active Crossfitter. I never in my wildest dreams thought that I’d battle life-threatening blood clots in my calf (deep vein thrombosis/DVT) and lungs (pulmonary embolism/PE). I noticed lingering calf pain in my left leg in September 2011. There…

If someone would have told me a year ago that my birth control pills were killing me, I would have laughed. At 25 years old, I was on the top of my game. Professionally, I had just started my dream job six weeks prior as a meteorologist at NBC 6 in Miami. Physically, I was…

Cassie Sheffield and her birth family were affected by blood clots, and discovered that the family has a genetic blood clotting disorder, Antithrombin (AT) III deficiency, that carries a high risk for blood clots.  Cassie not only developed multiple pulmonary emboli in her teenage years, she learned that her mother and two brothers had AT…