Doctors blame student’s almost-fatal brain blood clot on the contraceptive pill

Natalie Lovatt was rushed to hospital when she suffered a severe migrane a week after taking the contraceptive

Samuel Osborne
Wednesday 13 April 2016 11:34 EDT
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The Dutch health minister has proposed a restriction on termination of pregnancies
The Dutch health minister has proposed a restriction on termination of pregnancies (iStock)

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A student nearly died after she developed a blood clot on her brain after she began taking the pill.

Natalie Lovatt, 19, was rushed to hospital when she suffered a severe migrane a week after taking the contraceptive.

The former Hollister model had swapped from the contraceptive injection to an oestrogen-free pill after three months because she feared she was putting on weight, the Daily Mail reports.

A bad reaction to the pill led to her potentially fatal blood clot, caused by a condition caused cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, which stops blood from flowing away from the brain.

Doctors said it was likely caused by her use of the combined contraceptives.

She was treated with anticoagulants at Salford Royal Hospital on 21 October last year.

Ms Lovatt told student newspaper the Tab: “I wasn’t aware of the dangers of the pill, so many women use it and the chances of complications are very low.

"Unfortunately, they were treating me for migraines and didn’t spot the obvious warning signs, it was only because I was convinced it was too painful to be a migraine that they eventually sent me to A&E.

“If I hadn’t been so persistent they said I wouldn’t be here now, I had never been in hospital before and it was a huge shock to my family because I very nearly died. It’s not a chance worth taking.”

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