A woman claims her contraceptive pill caused her to break out in a painful red rash that felt like it was on fire.
When "tiny red spots" first started appealing all over Ella Holley's legs she thought it was down to her "unhealthy lifestyle" as a student, which consisted of alcohol, late nights and unhealthy food. But she eventually saw a specialist in January and claims she was told she'd experienced Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP), a disorder where small blood vessels become inflamed, as a result of taking the pill.
Shocking photos show Ella's entire legs covered in red blotches after she experienced a series of 'flare-ups', including seven in just under three weeks, where a painful red rash extended from her feet up to her waist, as well as slightly on her arms.
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With her scarring now faded, Ella has vowed to never go near the Cerazette mini pill again and is keen to raise awareness of the potential side effects that women can experience when putting contraception into their bodies. Organon, who manufacture Cerazette, said they are confident in the research that first supported the pill and said they continue monitor the safety of the product.
Ella, from Gloucester, said: "When it first appeared I didn't have a clue what it was. I was worried because with being at university I was like 'is it the pill that's doing this? Is it alcohol? Is it being out in the cold after a night out maybe?' I was just concerned about what it was.
"I was living the standard university student life which I would say can be quite unhealthy at times and is what I thought was causing this. I was living with the lack of routine, poor choice of diet and the alcohol too... but no more than any other students I knew, so I didn't understand why this only happened to me.
"On top of that, the next day I'd eat the most rubbish food. I was living a very unhealthy lifestyle at the time. I thought maybe my body was trying to react to that and tell me that it had had enough or I needed to stop doing that I don't know.
"Because if something goes wrong I'll automatically blame myself and thought 'oh God, is it something I'm doing?'"
The hotel receptionist said she experienced her first 'flare up' on October 7th - just three days after first taking the pill - and her parents were concerned she may have measles, so she visited A&E. After spending 12 hours there Ella was told by doctors that they weren't sure what it was and was referred to a rheumatologist. She stopped taking her pill two days later.
Ella said: "It flared up and would get to its worst and then gradually start going down. I couldn't really put my finger on it because it would calm down and obviously I'd stopped taking the pill at this point and then I'd go on a night out or to work for the day and it would come back in little spots.
"When it was at its worst I had joint pain in both ankles. It felt like I'd almost sprained my ankle or something. It felt like my skin had been set alight every time something touched it, especially in the shower and when I went to bed. I remember being sat on my sofa and my friend knocked my leg and it was horrifically painful."
Ella said her flare-ups seemed to happen after she'd been on her feet. Apart from her initial one, the worst she experienced was after her niece's wedding at the end of October, and prior to that day the markings on her skin had started to subside considerably.
Ella said: "It was very sore. It was a case of cold showers because the hot water felt like burning, it felt like someone had a lighter to my skin. During the first two or three days I only showered maybe once or twice because it was so painful. Something else I found very painful was when I was in bed and had my duvet rubbing against it. I had to stay so still until I fell asleep because there was no tossing or turning around."
Luckily the university student hasn't had any new spots appear since around 10th December. She claims she visited the rheumatologist on the 27th January and was told she had Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP), and that it shouldn't reappear but there's a possibility it could.
Ella posted her experience online to raise awareness given prior to this year she'd never heard of HSP or of women having any similar reaction as a result of taking contraception.
Ella said: "The doctor said that it was HSP, which was a result of taking the pill. It was nice to know that it was something rather than one of those stories where there's never really an answer to it and you just kind of have to live with it. So in a way I was relieved.
"I've not taken any contraception since. There's no way I'd take the mini pill again, I just don't think it's worth the risk, personally for me. Because that's happened to me, I in no way want to discourage anyone else trying it, but my body's had that reaction to it and I know there's a chance it could potentially come back and I wouldn't want to do that again - spend the next four months of my life covering up.
"People will always make their own final decisions but I wanted to share my experience so that people are aware, which hopefully makes them feel both more comfortable and confident in the choices they make, as I believe this is not spoken of enough.
"I'm not saying at all that this is going to happen to everyone but this is my experience, take from it or leave from it what you please."
A spokesperson for Organon said: "Nothing is more important to Organon than the safety of our products and the people who use them.
"We are confident in the research that supported the approval of Cerazette (which was first authorised in the UK in 1998) and its use in clinical practice in multiple countries around the world since its approvals. As with all of our products, we continually monitor the safety of Cerazette."
