I am a 29-year-old mother of 3, a nonsmoker/drinker and have never had health problems other than anxiety/panic, which I have had for about 6 years now.

After the birth of my youngest son in 2011, I decided to go on NuvaRing. It seemed convenient, easy to use and didn’t bother me at all. I figured I’m young enough to not have any crazy side effects. . Well How Wrong Was I when May 14 2014, I came home from work and the gym. I start eating lunch and I felt what I thought were gas pains in my rib cage, my shoulder and chest. As the day went on I chalked it up as gas trapped in my body, or since I had just started working out, maybe I injured myself.

That night I could not get comfortable. Any way I lay in my bed hurt. Eventually it hurt to breath, yawn or cough. On my back was the worse as it felt as if I broke ribs. In the morning I stood up and took a breath feeling very nauseous and I said to my husband we’ve got to go to the ER. After 6 long hours and test after test coming back normal the ER doc was all but positive this was a muscular issue and he decided to give me a CAT scan. He came back 2 hours later with results just as we were ready to pack up and go home. He says, “Well I can’t believe it but there’s two small PEs and you’re lucky you listened to your body and came in.”

I had to stay 3 days in the hospital. It was traumatic for me, my husband, and my children, who had never even been away from me for even one night, let alone three, and for the rest of my family. My anxiety was through the roof as I thought I was going to die or just thinking I could have died.

It’s been 2 weeks and I still am scared. I thank God every morning now to be alive. I got all genetic testing done and every doc and specialist says the NuvaRing did this to me. I will be on Xarelto, a blood thinner, for 6 months. Recovery from the hospital stay and the anxiety attacks I’ve had has taken a toll on my body. I cannot do much. I get tired easily. I still feel pains here and there in my chest and sides. I have these clots one on each side of my lower lung lobe that I was fortunate enough to catch and that they were small enough to pass through without much damage but I have no clue when they will dissolve and thinking about that freaks me out.

I have an 8-year-old daughter and I worry about this when it’s time for her to be on birth control. I am one of the lucky ones but this NuvaRing has killed people I cannot stress enough to stay away from it. I also am having a hard time adjusting to not having the NuvaRing in anymore and my hormones are all outa whack, my head aches on and off. If I could go back in time, I’d stay completely away from any of it and practice the pull out method or invest in condoms. . I hope my story can help somebody and save a life or a real bad scare like I have had. God bless xo