My contraceptive pill caused a stroke at 17 - I thought my life would never be the same

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A young Lancashire woman had a stroke at just 17-years-old due to complications with her contraceptive pill.

Lauren Jean was on holiday in Spain when she woke up in the night to go to the toilet and found her entire right side was numb.

She tried to get out of bed and fell - with the thud alerting her parents, who called an ambulance.

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Lauren Jean had a stroke at just 17-years-old due to complications with her contraceptive pillLauren Jean had a stroke at just 17-years-old due to complications with her contraceptive pill
Lauren Jean had a stroke at just 17-years-old due to complications with her contraceptive pill | Lauren Jean / SWNS

Lauren was unable to speak or move as she was then airlifted to Hospital Universitario Torrecárdenas, Almeria, for emergency surgery.

The surgery revealed she had developed a blood clot which had travelled to her brain and caused a stroke.

Doctors told her the clot was caused by her combined contraceptive pill.

Heart scans later showed the teen had been born with a hole in her heart - which the clot had passed through and up to her brain.

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The stroke left Lauren unable to walk or talk and she spent months having physiotherapy to regain those functions.

She also had a surgery to repair the hole in her heart - and two years on she is unrecognisable as she trains for the 2025 London Marathon.

Lauren, now 20, a singer-songwriter, from Clitheroe, said: "On the day I had my stroke, my parents were told the chances of me surviving were slim to none.

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"I remember I couldn't move or speak and I was being wheeled into emergency surgery - I had no idea what was going on.

"When I found out it was because I developed a blood clot and had a heart defect, I thought my life would never be the same again.”

Lauren was unable to speak or move as she was then airlifted to hospitalLauren was unable to speak or move as she was then airlifted to hospital
Lauren was unable to speak or move as she was then airlifted to hospital | Lauren Jean / SWNS

Lauren had been taking the combined contraceptive pill since the age of 13 to control heavy periods.

She was aware of the slight risks of blood clots associated with the pill, but never imagined it would affect her.

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According to the NHS, the risk of getting a blood clot is very small and affects up to 1 in 1,000 people using combined hormonal contraception like the pill.

Lauren said: "I kept blacking out and I couldn't ask any questions - I feared for my life.

"I was wheeled into a room full of people for surgery - I couldn't ask what surgery I was having though.

"It could have been brain surgery, heart surgery or to chop my leg off for all I knew."

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She underwent brain surgery lasting several hours where doctors found a blood clot which had caused her stroke.

Lauren said: "When I was told I'd had a stroke I couldn't believe it - I said 'what, you mean sunstroke?'."

After days on the intensive care ward, unable to walk, talk, or even use the toilet on her own, she was taken for a heart scan.

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Lauren began a physiotherapy course at Royal Blackburn Hospital to regain movementLauren began a physiotherapy course at Royal Blackburn Hospital to regain movement
Lauren began a physiotherapy course at Royal Blackburn Hospital to regain movement | Lauren Jean / SWNS

Doctors spotted a hole in her heart - a patent foramen ovale (PFO) - and Lauren begged to fly back to the UK before having further treatment.

Back in the UK, doctors explained her contraceptive pill was the reason for the blood clot.

She said: "They told me the clot would have started in my leg, and normally it would have disintegrated on its own.

"But because I have this hole in my heart, it had slipped through and gone into my brain, causing my stroke."

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She began a physiotherapy course at Royal Blackburn Hospital to regain movement, and it took her six weeks to walk again.

In July 2023 she had heart surgery where a device was implanted to close the hole - after which she decided she wanted to take on a challenge.

On August 12, 2024 - two years to the day since her stroke - she got a call being accepted for the 2025 London Marathon, supporting the British Heart Foundation.

She's now hitting the gym six days a week and runs 40km a week to train - and says she is stronger and healthier than she was before.

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Lauren is now training for the 2025 London MarathonLauren is now training for the 2025 London Marathon
Lauren is now training for the 2025 London Marathon | Lauren Jean / SWNS

Lauren said: "I'm still training my right side to be stronger but I'm back to my normal self.

"Apart from being left with a twitch in my finger, you'd never know I nearly died.

"I couldn't play piano, guitar or sing after, but I'm getting it back and I have started performing again."

Now Lauren wants to raise awareness of strokes in young people.

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She said: "I had severe headaches and tingling on one side of my body before my stroke - get any symptoms checked out.

"When I was told I had a stroke, I thought 'surely not, I'm only 17.' I kept saying to my mum 'this can't be right'.

"I always thought it wouldn't happen to me - but it can. Strokes can affect anyone."

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