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TEMOIGNAGES
Doctor (Rouen, France)

Sabine, 39 years old

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I had been taking combination birth control pills since I was 16 for acne and I continued to self-prescribe them. I didn’t have the time to see a gynecologist because I worked too much and had kids to take care of. I didn’t have any significant medical history, apart from a family history of migraines, and a few headaches. I did smoke a bit, two to five cigarettes per day. Last year, the day before summer vacation, I woke up and had trouble talking and I couldn’t move my arm. My husband called 911 and in the emergency department, an MRI confirmed I’d had a small stroke. I was really lucky because I recovered fully in a few weeks, but it could have been much worse. I learned that migraines combined with tobacco use and estrogen-progestin pills put women at risk for stroke. Tell everyone you know about this so that other women can avoid what happened to me.

 

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Chantal, 70 years old

There’s a BEFORE and an AFTER. For a number of years, I suffered from an arrhythmia. Despite an electric shock and medications, I was having more and more episodes lasting longer each time. At 68 years of age, I was unable to plan activities, an outing or even accept an invitation because of my [...]

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Cendrine, 34 years old

Cleaner from Béthune, France

“My leg was hurting for several days. Then slowly my foot started turning blue. I ended up not being able to put any weight on it. My doctor sent me to the hospital. I’ve been smoking around one and a half packs a day since I was 16 and I’ve been taking the pill for about the same amount of [...]

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Virginie, 64 years old

Nurse from Paris, France

“I hadn’t been feeling very well for several months. My leg hurt when I walked and I coughed a lot. I talked with my doctor who sent me to the hospital for a full battery of tests. At that time, I was still smoking around 20 cigarettes a day. I had been taking anti-depressants since I had my baby. [...]

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