Mary Anne Bourke-Lodato

It was just another Sunday morning on August 30, 2003. My husband, two daughters (4&6) and myself went to 11:00 mass. We were just sitting down with pastries in hand to socialize after mass when suddenly my words became slurred. I noticed it right away but I didn't think much about it at first and continued conversing as if everything was normal (and I thought it was). Suddenly a few moments later a massive headache struck behind my right eye and I began to feel really ill. I attributed it to an allergy attack and asked my husband if we could go home. By this point he had already noticed something was seriously wrong with my speech, as had everyone around me I've since learned. He immediately threatened to call an ambulance. I insisted I didn't want to cause a commotion or scare the kids and asked that he drive me to the nearest hospital himself. Miraculously it was only a mile away.

Within two hours of being admitted to the hospital, the ER doctor preliminarily diagnosed me with either having had a TIA or a Stroke. They did a CAT Scan right away and it was inconclusive. We were told this was normally the case immediately after a stroke. According to the doctor, an MRI and/or PET scan was the only X-ray that would confirm with certainty what was really going on. In the mean time the ER doctor couldn't find the hospitals on-call doctor for at least the first two hours after my admittance. Perhaps because it was the Sunday of the three day Labor Day Weekend! Finally the ER doctor decided to page the on-call hospital neurologist who finally showed up almost three hours after I had arrived. By this time my husband and I had lost all hope of getting the new clot buster drug, tPA, administered. The doctors said they did not feel comfortable administering this thrombolytic drug unless they could confirm I hadn't had a hemorrhagic stroke via an MRI and PET scan. Well on a Sunday of a three-day holiday weekend the MRI facility adjacent to the hospital was closed. My bad luck! The earliest they thought I could get an MRI was Tuesday! Needless to say my husband and I were blown away and very disappointed!

Our only consolation at the time was that I didn't have many real obvious or noticeable deficits. And the doctors kept insisting, based on my personal and family health history and condition, that it was probably just a TIA or bad migraine attack. They also strongly believed the birth control pill had most likely triggered this event (the smoking gun) and advised me to stop taking them immediately.

Well guess what, when I finally got my MRI and PET scans on Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 2nd, the results confirmed our worst nightmare. I had indeed suffered an ischemic right temporal lobe stroke! Though small and affecting a small artery, the news really hit my husband and I hard. WOW we thought, I guess we better notify our families and close friends. Up until this point we hadn't wanted to worry anyone unnecessarily. It was also at this point that I began to realize that God had intended me to have this stroke. This was not an accident! God had allowed me to come away from this tragic event without any real obvious "stroke related" deficits so I could speak out about the dangers of "the pill" and all artificial hormones. I became convinced no young woman should have to go through what I have!

My marriage was also at a critical junction before the stroke and I believe this needed to happen for our relationship to finally heal. A real eye opener and wake-up call! I've truly never felt so blessed and spiritual! My new motto became, "Although my mind has never been so foggy in many ways, it has also never seen so clearly in many others!"

I spent a total of five days in the hospital. When I was finally released and tried to resume my normal life, the deficits became more obvious. My weaknesses are in the following areas: short term memory, processing, concentration, reading and emotional highs and lows. They are all, however, relatively minor and most have already improved dramatically. Perhaps it's due to my impassioned reading and writing since the stroke (always afraid I'll miss or forget something). I'm not complaining! On the flip side, since my "Stroke of Luck," I've never had a stronger passion for life and God! It has been an extremely spiritual journey and I know with clarity that it was meant to be.

I'll be on coumadin for at least six months as a safety precaution and hopefully will eventually take just an aspirin a day to lower my risk for future strokes. My neurologist feels I shouldn't worry about having another stroke as long as I stay off hormones. WOW! That's a big statement! I'm also not driving yet and have been advised to rest and take it easy for a while longer. The headaches are still persistent but more manageable with the painkillers and antidepressants that have been prescribed. Getting a good nights sleep is hard because of the combination of headaches and perimenopausal symptoms (night sweats) that have returned with a vengeance since I stopped taking "the pill."

If anyone out there has had a stroke that the birth control pill (or HRT's) may have triggered, please get in touch with me! My doctors and I are 100% convinced "the pill" triggered mine in combination with my age (45) and "family" health history. My mother had a history of varicose veins and died of a pulmonary embolism at 39 after undergoing a colostamy. My father has had phlebitis since approximately the age of 50 and suffered a hemorrhagic stoke in his mid 60's. He also has had high blood pressure and is overweight. According to my doctors my blood is most likely genetically predisposed to be extra prone to clotting (Hypercoagulopathic or something involving specific blood protein levels, i.e. Protein S). My doctors nor I ever even considered these factors when deciding to go "the pill" route to alleviate my perimenopausal symptoms. The pill was "so safe" and "low dose" everyone was saying! And I was as healthy as a horse (low blood pressure, low cholesterol, non-smoker, average weight and active) - just really hormonal!

I feel compelled to get the true story out about the "real" risks involved in taking birth control pills and possibly all artificial hormones, especially as they relate to strokes. I'm convinced these risks are not adequately being promoted to healthy, middle aged, perimenopausal woman like me with family health histories that would normally not make them good candidates for "the pill." I've also been given the impression from the four doctors who recently treated me that they are seeing more and more young woman every year in my condition. And to add insult to injury, nobody is really collecting data about stroke events like mine (even the FDA) via "Diverse Reaction Forms" or any other way. Doctors and pharmaceutical companies expect a certain number (or ratio) of young woman like me each year to have birth control pill related strokes. I'm sorry, but I'm having a real hard time digesting the fact that any stroke reaction is acceptable and am appalled by such an arrogant apathy toward human life and suffering.

Thank you in advance for any help and/or information you can provide me. I look forward to hearing from you! God Bless!

Thanks to Mary for sending in her profile. Anyone else who would like to share their story can send it along with a photograph (if you're not shy!)

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