Has taking hormone based contraception affected your l... - LSN
Has taking hormone based contraception affected your lymphoedema swelling
LymphSuppNetworkPartnerLSN158 Voters
I have been refused hormone pill because of my lymphoedema. My doctor said he has concerns about the increased risk of DVT. I'm interested to hear of other people's experience in that context
I don't know if my contraceptive pill has had an effect on my lymphoedema as I was taking it (and still am) before I developed the swelling.
I've been on the contraceptive injection for about 15 years now and started having it before my lymphoedema reared it's ugly head and to tell you the truth, I couldn't say if it's made my swelling worse or not. I'm aware I'm even more at risk of blood clots/DVT but it's a risk I'm willing to take even though my GP has advised me to stop the injections. It won't make a difference if I'm on the injections or the Pill or mini Pill. I know all the tell-tale signs of DVT (or whatever the new-fangled name is for them) and know what to do if I think I have one.
Nins - if you have significant swelling due to lymphoedema then I can understand your GP having concerns as it can be harder to tell if you have DVT when your limb is usually very swollen, but if the swelling is not bad, then he could be being overly cautious. It may be worth asking for a second opinion?
My mum still thinks to this day that my lymphoedema developed when I went on the pill. The timing was spot on to be honest . There is no history in my family.
i don't use hormones for contraception (post-hysterectomy, lesbian - i think i'm fairly safe from unwanted pregnancy) but do take hormone strippers ('aromatase inhibitors') cos my le's secondary to a breast tumour that was hormone positive
i take breaks from them cos they're so fierce, & i know the lymph's easier to manage when i'm not on them
they also make losing weight really difficult (as does tamoxifen for a lot of pre-menopausal women) cos they act on the fat cells, & as we all know we should all be towards the bottom end of the 'normal' bmi range (& as i always say to that, it's quite some time since i last saw the top end!)
Hi Norberte I'm really interested to know this cos I'm now on letrozole (an AI) and have wondered if my arm has got less comfortable recently. I think I will mention to my lympho physio as there must be quite a lot of others in same position.
I have voted that it hasn't had an effect as I starting taking the pill after my Lymphoedema started and I haven't noticed it has made itany worse. However I would be interested in researching this further, is there any medical research available to suggest it might?
Since I stopped taking the pill my primary LE has improved - the swelling has gone down. I had been on the pill for 20 years (besides two pregnancies). I am now using other contraception. I think one reason might be that I also lost weight. It just seemed that since I stopped I have been lighter - less fat and less water retention! My mood is also much better.
Hi , I can't really tell. Strangely enough I started to see my arm swell when I stopped the pill. 
When I took oral contraceptives, the swelling was terrible. Back in the sixties and seventies, medical profession was ignorant about lymphedema so I suffered because of it. Of course now I don't need contraceptives but in the nineties, Kaiser Permanente quacks prescribed HRT. It increased the problem during menopause until I changed insurance here in the USA.
Moderation team