I was in a car accident and suffer from herniated disks and arthritis of my spine. As life changing enough as that is when I received the report from my CT Scan they had other news to tell me as well. I have a liver disease. When the doctor explained how serious this could be and that I need to go to a specialist for further examination because I'm too young (22 years old) for this type of problem I became overwhelmed by emotion, but needed to find out all I could on my condition. I looked up everything I could on the disease and came to find that it's most common in over weight people and people who drink excessively. My argument was I know I’m not in the best shape, but I know plenty of people who are far worse about taking care of their health than I am that don’t have this problem; and as I do enjoy having a social drink I don’t drink that often. Little did I know after further research one of the leading contributors to my condition was the birth control pill that I had been taking since I was 16 years old. I had always had a terrible menstrual cycle. My flow was always very heavy and my cramps were so intense that at least once a month it was guaranteed that I would be in bed clenched up in the fetal position wishing the pain away. To help with my unbearable period my doctor had prescribed that I go on the pill to lessen the severity of my monthly visitor, so I did. It worked wonderfully! The pain was not nearly as bad as before and the flow of the blood lightened immensely as well as giving me shorter monthly periods. Unfortunately for me later on this would give me more problems with my health than I could have ever imagined. Sure enough when I read the small print on the inserted leaflet of my birth control prescription it does say that problems of the liver may occur. There is not a cure for the liver disease that I have, but am told that if I change my lifestyle I can stop it from progressing into cirrhosis of the liver which is ultimately what most people die from when they have liver problems. I am taking all necessary precautions at this time to keep the condition from getting worse, and wanted to share my story with all of you so that every woman is aware of all of the possible risks.
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PLEASE READ!!! It's by no accident that I'd found this website! I've been wondering for many years if there was at least "one" other person that could relate to what I've been through? After reading each of your comments, it brought tears to my eyes, simply because this does affect more young girls and women than the general public is aware of! We entrust our health history, our inner most thoughts and feelings, our lives, and most importantly, our bodies to doctors, nureses, surgeons, etc... From state to state, there are an abundance of healthcare laws that protect the medical profession, but what law protects us, the patient?
February 19, 2020 - 2:26pmI've been agonizing over what has happened to me for years!! I've pleaded, begged, and cried out for someone just to "hear me and help me." I'd become very frustrated, angry, hurt, disappointed, and discouraged! In fact, I'd given up at one point. However, what I've been through, at such a young age, just as each of you have, should not be allowed to continue to happen to others!! "We parish for the lack of knowledge," so I feel as though it's my purpose to educate, inform, shed light, & bring awareness to each and every young girl or woman under the sound of my voice that will listen and stand together with me for this cause.
My primary care physician prescribed an oral form of contraception, at the age of 15 or 16, for menorrhagia (abnormally heavy bleeding at menstruation). My cramps were horrible as well!! Prior to starting on "the pill," my Dr failed to mention to my mom or me that prolonged use could potentially cause liver tumors? And if this is a known side effect, even if it's rare, then why aren't prevenitive parameters or prevenitive interventions set in place, while being on the pill? For example, blood tests or liver function tests, abdominal ultrasound, CT, MRI? All of which are minimally invasive.
My signs and symptoms begin in 2001... Epigastric (mid abdomen) pain and right upper quadrant pain, as well as severe nausea!! I was told that it was indigestion, heartburn, acid reflux, etc. I was prescribed Prilosec, Zofran, Phenergan, etc. I was taking this stuff but my symptoms were not improving! My primary care doctor even tested me, by fingerstick, for H. Pylori which is the bacteria that causes ulcers. Results were negative and that's where my care stopped, despite me still having the symptoms!!
From 2001 to 2013, I'd failed to be properly diagnosed. In November 2013, after presenting to the ER with epigastric pain and right upper quadrant pain, an abdominal CT scanned was finally performed. At that time, I was told that I had a lesion on my liver, "nothing serious," and that I needed to follow up with a liver specialist.
I went in to see the specialist and was informed that the lesion was 10.5cm in size and in order to better determine the type of lesion, I needed to have a liver MRI. After the MRI, it was determined that I had a "very large" liver adenoma and due to its size, a liver resection would be the only option. The liver specialist also informed me that due to its size, there was a high probability of the tumor rupturing internally, which would cause my death, and that due to its size, there was a probability that I could develop cancer. Before I'd even told him that I'd been on oral contraception, the liver specialist stated to me that "these tumors are the direct result of prolonged use of oral contraception." I WAS OUT DONE!!!
Later that year, I underwent a liver resection of my right lobe related to a "very large" liver adenoma. Because of its size (15cm×11.3cm×7cm), the liver specialist couldn't remove just the tumor but had to take my liver too. Also, the tumor displaced my gallbladder, from the right side to the left side, according to my medical records. My gallbladder was severely enlarged, damaged, and inflammed, so it had to be removed too. I was unaware of that prior to signing the consent for surgery. I also had a bile leak.
I was discharged home, after a 3-day hospitalization, with a JP drain, biliary drain, and a surgical incision from hell (staples, stitches, and sutures)!! My life as I once knew it had been raped, robbed, and compromised... TURNED UP SIDE DOWN AND INSIDE OUT!!
Today, at age 33, I live with the physical scars, the physical pain, discomfort, and numbness of my right lower abdomen, the mental and emotional trauma, hundreds of thousands of medical bills, postcholecystectomy syndrome (presence of abdominal symptoms after surgical removal of the gallbladder), etc.
Had something been done for me, for you, for us, the outcome would have been different!!! That's a well documented FACT!! An intervention as simple as stopping the medication could have and should have been put in place!!!
Thank you for sharing your stories and allowing me to share mine! I will check the site frequently to see if there's any comments, questions, or concerns.
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I had been taking Cilest (birth control pill) for 17 years when I was rushed to hospital in November 2016 and told I had hepatic adenomas on and in my liver. I had 2 embolization procedures and pleased to report that the lumps are shrinking but I am monitored with MRI scans every 3 months until the lumps are no longer visible.
April 11, 2017 - 4:58amI still have pain on my right side but feel much better for being off the pill. Doctors should be warning women before putting them on the OCP. Demand a liver function test from your GP if you are worried. If your ALT level is higher than 50 there could be a problem. Mine was 498 when I was taken into hospital. It has since dropped to 90.
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I was 19 yrs old when I started with the pains on my upper torso area, my doctor said it was my gallbladder. But I did have some blood vessels on my liver. So he said I had to have my gallbladder removed and he would look at my liver as well. After my pre-op surgery appointment he said nothing was wrong with my liver I just have little blood vessels. And a fatty liver but it was it normal for my weight at that time I was 230 pounds. Six months later I'm in the Er dying of the same pain so I had a ultrasound done and an MRI. My results where I have liver tumors, not just one but my whole liver is covered up.lucky for me as time went by all I have to do is get two MRIs every year stay off birth control and not have any kids and loose weight. At that time I really had my first kid, I went thru a divorce and couple month's later I found the love of my life. We have a kid together as well, I took the risk of having our baby even though I knew I could have serious problems with the high hormones that could cause my tumors to grow. Again I was very lucky my pregnancy went very smooth I had no problems at all with my tumor they didn't grow they didn't shrink. After I had my baby I lost 70 pounds I went for an MRI cuz I was having pains again what my doctor told me I was never expecting to hear. She said you have three tumors there are the size of 4 cm. In short words had to have half of my liver removed.... I was devastated all because of stupid birth control pills here I thought I was doing something that would help me but instead it cause a lot of problems and most of all pain. I had my surgery done in 2015, I had to leave my two kids behind (8yrs old and a 8 month old) for a week. My surgery went well all I have is the rest of my tumors on whatever's left of my liver now, and I can't at all have any more baby's what's so ever. Or my I put it on my doctor words "yeah you can keep having more kids if you wanna die" I love her so much for taking great care of me for the past 5years. I always thought i was the only one who had this problem with birth control. I'm so happy to have found this page. Thanks lady's for sharing your storys.
February 1, 2017 - 12:22amThis Comment
I was 21 years old, i was having problems with my upper torso, searing white hot pain that would bring me to my knees, so the doctor sent me for an ultrasound. As i lay there talking away they decide to check my liver to see what this issue is, after that take some pictures they bring the tech in and he pokes around, the next words out of his mouth changed my entire life,
May 19, 2016 - 9:40amI have been on birth control since i was 12, i never read the package never thought anything of it, i stopped taking it when i was 17 I hated the weight gain and how sick it made me , i might as well have been pregnant. So as i lay there with the tech pushing past my rib cage with the ultra sound he asks if im on birth control, i tell him no i had tried a few times and i couldn't stand it. he said i have to stop immediately , because i have a 2 inch tumor on my liver, he said it doesn't look cancerous but i will have to go for a MRI, have a good day, I leave devastated crying smoking calling my mother losing my mind my world is coming to a end i may be dying with no clue as to what the heck is going on, I make the appt with my doctor and we do the MRI, holy terrifying for me it was my very first one and hopefully my last. A week later i am back with the doctor getting my results , as it turns out the tumor was put there by birth control and made it grow, i could no longer take it and i can not have kids for the extra estrogen makes it grow and it could burst and cause internal bleeding and i could die., so here were my options option 1 i can have the IUD, how that ever made sense was beyond me extra estrogen is extra no matter how its put into your body, and i heard enough nightmares about it to say no, option 2 you have to have your tubes cauterized , not much in the way of options for me , the worst part was that i was getting married that year , it was a lot to take in and a lot to processes . it took a lot of talking and deciding . I was 21 almost a newly wed my life just beginning and here i am trying to decide how to get my tubes tied or do i just get my uterus removed , it nearly destroyed me , it was the hardest decision i will ever have to make in my life, one that no woman at 21 should have to make ever my tubes got cauterized at 21 years old . but here i was doing it because a doctor once told me it was safe to take the pill , because that doctor did not tell me what could happen from taking the pill. because everyone is on the pill for one thing or another, because no woman was able to spread the word like i can today . because no one made me aware of the risks . that i would be taking a gamble with my life and the possibility of never having kids. one teeny tiny drug taken every day for 5 years , managed to destroy my entire life, Women need to be aware of this they need to know what they are up against what can happen and what has happend , because I am not just some weird 5 percent statistic I am real I am more then 5 percent I did not come from a lab I am one in many who have had this happen I will be one in the many to come. I admit i got really lucky I had two girls before this happend I get the looks of being a young mom every day but it still remains had i not had them young i never would of had them at all. most women who have this wont get that chance . And yes I wanted more and they took that from me.
This is my story and i hope it empowers women to be more informed of what they put into their bodies , and i hope it makes doctors tell us what we need and should know. spread the word Its our right as women. this has become too common its not ok. jocelyn murray 25 and still alive.
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About 10 months ago I woke up with a terrible pain and was rushed to the hospital. It turned out that my liver has been growing for the past 6 years and it is not compressing my stomach and my intestines. This was the pain I was feeling.
September 4, 2016 - 9:28pmAll liver function has thankfully turned out normal in all of the bloodwork, but from the MRI scan I have a fatty liver disease. It is 'benign' right now as the enzymes of my liver are still okay-- but the number one suspect is 'the pill', which i have taken for almost 11 years now.
I am afraid to stay on it. I am afraid to go off it. Not only because I am not ready to have children yet, but because I have terrible (like cannot get out of bed) cramps... and I can't interrupt my life/work once a month for this...
I am absolutely torn... why don't more doctors talk about this? Is there now going to be a chance I can't have children? We are living in an over-prescribed society... more pills fewer questions :(
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Geeze been on pill and the implant for 6 years now and I've had the pain for 6 months mri on Friday to see if it's hormonal but docs are pretty sure it is so gotta stop my pill n implant.... would be able to go back on them? Or Is it a no no?? And what about babies?? Xxx
May 19, 2016 - 3:31amThis Comment
Hi Anonymous,
These are questions you need to ask your gynecologist. Your gynecologist knows your medical history, what pill you are taking and what type of pain you are having.
Regards,
May 19, 2016 - 8:40amMaryann
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I was 21 and they found a two inch tumor on my liver from birth control , they made me have my tubes cauterized because the risk was so high , women need to know this can happen!!! 21 years old and cant have childern
February 1, 2016 - 7:20amThis Comment
Oh no. I just found this website! I have been having these pains in my right upper quadrant... I know something is very wrong. I have also been drinking moderately for about 10 years so... I was on birth control for over 10 years. I am 29 years old and recently stopped taking birth control. I started developing varicose veins and theorized that the birth control had something to do with it... The doctor won't admit that birth control is dangerous in any way! But now I am afraid of this pain that I am having. I told the doctor that It feels like my liver. He said "Even after moderate drinking for 10 years it is very unlikely that you have liver problems at 29 years old". That made me a bit angry. I got the blood work done a few weeks ago and they told me that the results are "pretty normal". The doctor ordered a "chest x-ray". I told him that the pain is not in my chest! It's in my side / back under rib cage. But got the x-ray anyways... I have an ultrasound scheduled in two whole scary weeks. I will post again.
October 7, 2015 - 10:42pmThis Comment
Did you ever get results? That's what happened to me. Pain in upper right quadrant, thought it was gallbladder but no, enlarged liver with cyst. I don't drink at all, but was on the pill for 15 years. I've been off for 5 but still have the pain. I've had numerous tests to find out why but nothing yet except for other problems not associated with the liver.
March 21, 2016 - 5:31pmThis Comment