the Female Body GOVERNING

Beyond Pill Scares? 47
Some participants had specifi c concerns, such as a woman who had
experienced a DVT and was asking the list about the safety of the Mirena
Coil—which has progesterone, not estrogen—but was wondering if she
could take it when not anticoagulated: “My gynecologist has a concern
about the progesterone since I am presently not on [anticoagulants]
and will not be going on unless I have another event (DVT). Is there
anyone who is using this and at present is not on anticoagulants?” For
others birth control was an ongoing story on the list, communicating
anxieties about differing advice and changing options:
Well to those who remember me talking about my monthly friend
visiting and how heavy it was. My doctors decided to put me on Depo.
I told her I was concerned because some of you told me not to take
[Depo], and she said that we needed to stop my periods completely.
Now I am scared, because I have 2 injections of Depo in my system,
and they are wanting me to try this low dose progestin, Micronor. A
BCP [birth control pill]!
The responses the new members received varied. Some were reassuring,
stating that the Mini Pill is “okay for us FVLers.” Other reassured, sometimes
with caveats, based on personal experiences:
I tried the depo shot. . . . Hated it! I spotted on and off for 3 months.
I also emotionally never felt like myself. I now have been taking the
progestin-Micronor for 4 months it has been much better[,] no period,
thus far. . . . [or] My daughter has an IUD. She is hetero FVL. She
has never had a clot and has only had to take Lovenox during her
pregnancy. She does have some severe pain that she thinks is caused
by the IUD.
Others shared different experiences, “[My doctor] advised me that
although he advises I do not take ANY kind of hormone therapy,
that if they really felt I had to so, I absolutely had to be on Coumidin
[sic].” Some gave more general advice, “You don’t want anything with
hormones in them—that’s the clotting risk factor” or equaled taking
hormones to “play[ing] in traffi c or refus[ing to wear] bike helmets.”
Still others shared more dramatic experiences: “A 41-year-old teacher
at my daughter’s school started birth control pills last week to help with
female concerns. She died of a PE [pulmonary embolism, clot in the
lungs] Tuesday, funeral was yesterday.”
Some concluded that everyone had to weigh their personal risks
and preferences, “Basically, if you are using a hormonal method you