I have heavy legs since I stopped taking the contraceptive pill 2 days ago, is this normal?
23-year-old woman
I had been taking the Alesse pill for 6 years. No allergies. I decided to stop because I no longer had migraines and heavy legs.
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23-year-old woman · 3 years ago
I also have a very bad headache. It's ironic considering I was going off the pill to get off those unpleasant effects...
Alexandre Chagnon · 3 years ago
Hello,
How long have you had these side effects?
Did you have "auras" during your migraines? Did the migraines only appear after the initiation of Alesse? Or were you also prone to them in the past? How much do you rate the head pain on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the worst pain in your life)?
Are they really migraines or headaches (e.g. tension headaches)?
Can you describe your leg symptoms (swelling, numbness, pain to touch, difficulty walking or squatting, etc.)?
Has a doctor ever evaluated these two side effects?
Do you have any health problems?
It is indeed recommended to stop taking the birth control pill when severe headaches of unknown origin or worsening migraines occur, as well as sudden onset of leg swelling/pain.
In the event that these symptoms have just recently and suddenly appeared and the pain is significant, I suggest that you seek medical attention without further delay, to assess whether there is a risk of clot formation.
If not, I look forward to hearing from you!
Maeva Di-Ré, Pharmacy Student
Supervised by Alexandre Chagnon, Pharmacist
23-year-old woman · 3 years ago
Thank you for your response. I will try to answer all the questions. Actually, I don't know if it was clear at the beginning of my message, but I have had these symptoms for 2 days, since I stopped Alesse precisely because of the side effects and the fear of having a stroke or phlebitis. I just didn't start my pill again after the placebo week. When I was on it, I didn't have any side effects in 5 years, but in the last year, I started to get a lot of headaches and numbness in my legs and "spasms" in my legs, kind of like cramps, very often even though I was getting up to move regularly. I didn't have any headaches or heavy legs before I started the pill. Also, I don't consider that I had auras. Currently, the headache pain is at 7/10, whereas I would say it was at 5/10 when I was on the pill. It doesn't seem like much, but it was unpleasant enough that I would rather stop taking the hormones. I say headache, not migraine, because you made me doubt it and I would have a hard time calling it bad.... I didn't know that migraines/headaches could occur after stopping the pill?
As for my legs, I would say I have the same symptoms right now as I did when I was on the pill, maybe because of the drastic drop in hormones from going off the pill cold turkey?
I don't have any known health problems at the moment, I'm only monitored regularly with blood tests since I have a rather low white blood cell count. I haven't consulted my family doctor yet since these effects have only lasted since stopping the pill 2 days ago, and I figure it will pass soon when my body regulates itself a bit, I realize this is quite a change after 6 years of taking the pill. Thank you.
Alexandre Chagnon · 3 years ago
I understand better now, thank you.
In such a case, let's wait at least another 10 days before judging whether stopping the pill will have reduced the symptoms in place for 1 year.
I'll leave the conversation here open. Come back to me in 10 days to let me know how it goes, please.
23-year-old woman · 3 years ago
Perfect thank you so much, I'll get back to you in 10 days!
Alexandre Chagnon · 3 years ago
Perfect!
23-year-old woman · 3 years ago
Hello, I'm here to give you some news.
I feel great, my headache has even stopped and I have much less heavy legs than when I was on the pill. It was probably the rapid drop in hormones that caused the effects I reported 2 weeks ago.
Thanks for your follow up, I love your platform.
Alexandre Chagnon · 3 years ago
Good news that :)
Good weekend,
Alexander
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