A young woman says she was left in agony after a build-up of fluid on her brain that was later linked to her contraceptive pill.
Kirsty Luckin was suffering from a bad headache when she woke up on the morning of September 23 after a night of drinking.
The 23-year-old teaching assistant dismissed it as a symptom of a hangover from the night before, but it was the start of something a lot more serious.
Her headache worsened and it wasn't until one week later that an optician noticed a dangerous fluid build-up in her brain and she had to be rushed to hospital.
Kirsty, from Braintree, Essex, underwent a lumbar puncture to remove the fluid and prevent brain damage.
She claims doctors linked it to her contraceptive pill, which she had been on for six years with no issues.
The pill affected one in 10,000 people who were prescribed the medication.
Kirsty said: "At first I thought my headache was linked to my hangover as I'd been out drinking the night before.
"But as the days passed, it just got worse and it started to affect my vision too as the pressure in my brain build.
"Doctors assumed it was a migraine but after I visited an optician, the fluid was spotted straight away which saved my life.
"By this point I felt like my head was going to explode with my eyes feeling like I was constantly wanting to rub them to focus them.
"I decided to share my story on Facebook as I wanted to make sure any other women read my story know not to dismiss any worrying symptoms.
"I ended up having to have lumbar puncture surgery where I had to curl up like a baby and they have to insert the needle into the exact place between two discs in without hitting any nerves - otherwise it can cause damage - to drain the fluid."
Following the discovery, Kirsty was rushed to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford and taken to the stroke unit, where she went on to spend five days.
She said: "The fluid that was found behind my eyes was building up and causing a lot of pressure on my brain so I was admitted to the stroke unit.
"I also had CT scans, loads of eye tests, a lumbar puncture to drain fluid from my spine, blood tests.
"Then, eventually, a couple of days later, we finally got some answers on why this happened."
After several tests to try to determine what caused the issue, the only conclusion doctors could draw was that it was due to her contraceptive pill, the only kind of medication she had been taking at the time.
Kirsty added: "When I first arrived to the eye clinic, they asked me if I was on any medication and the only one I’m on and have only been on is my pill.
"The first thing they said to me was that I need to come off of it now and to not take anything else just to use barrier methods now.
"It's mad to think something so small that I've been on since I was 17 could cause so much damage."
Following the ordeal, Kirsty is still suffering with headaches but has medication to ease the pain.
She also has to check her blood pressure on an hourly basis, including throughout the night.
She will be going back to the her neurologist in a couple of weeks to check if another lumbar puncture is needed.
Now, Kirsty is sharing her story in the hopes of encouraging other women to get themselves checked out if they feel like something might be wrong.
She said: "One thing I'd say to other girls is that if you are on any form of pill and you feel different, or anything out of the normal happens, push to be checked properly.
"Just because you are young doesn’t mean you can be dismissed - you know your own body.
"I’ve been told what would have happened if what I had left untreated this untreated, and it wouldn't have been good."
