High fibrinogen levels and birth control: any experiences?

Hey everyone, sorry in advance if this topic already exists—please feel free to move my post to the right section if I'm out of place.

So, I’ve been on birth control for almost a year now, specifically using Yaz, mostly to manage my PCOS, though it definitely helps with contraception too...

I just had some blood work done and my fibrinogen levels came back high. The upper limit is 4, but I’m sitting at 5.4. My OB-GYN told me that if I really want to stay on the pill, I can, but it's basically on my own responsibility. She mentioned that with those elevated levels, there's a risk—though not a guarantee—that things could trigger a blood clot somewhere in the body. I'm feeling pretty stuck. If I stop taking them, my cycles will probably drift to once every 45-60 days... But then again, fibrinogen levels go up during pregnancy too, and most pregnant women don't end up with clots. Should I stick with the pills? I'm currently in my seven-day break waiting for my period, so I have a little time to sit with this and decide, but I’d love to hear your advice and any experiences you guys might have... Thanks...

Look, my general rule of thumb is to stay away from hormonal birth control.
But if you're dealing with PCOS and your goal is actually to conceive, using it to regulate your cycles and trigger ovulation might be a necessary evil. Just don't go DIY on this—you really need an expert to guide you through it if you're trying to get pregnant.
If you aren't looking to start a family right now, though, stick to other forms of protection. There's no point in forcing ovulation if you aren't ready for it.
Take a look at how your condition behaves during pregnancy; hormonal contraceptives can actually amp up those symptoms, so it’s better to know what you're walking into before you start planning for the future.

I’ve always struggled with crappy circulation anyway, my legs are constantly freezing...

For now, I’ve touched base with my OB-GYN and we agreed I’ll stick with the pills for another month. Then I'll go back for more blood work so we can actually see if anything has shifted...

Honestly, I don't know much about this stuff. I really thought everything was fine since the pills seem to suit me so well and I feel great on them. My doctor even suggested I take some baby aspirin alongside them to help thin my blood out.

mistydrifter55 said:Hey, check this out—take a look at what your condition does during pregnancy. Hormonal birth control can actually kick things into overdrive, so I figured you should know now if you're trying to plan anything for down the road.
I can't believe we're actually talking about this now. It feels like everyone’s suddenly woken up to the fact that things have been going downhill for a while. Honestly? I think most people saw this coming, but nobody wanted to be the one to say it out loud because they didn't want to seem like a doom-scroller or whatever. Looking at what Amanda Lopez91 said... yeah, she's totally right. It's like that feeling when you realize the engine in your car is making a weird clicking sound, but you just turn the radio up louder so you don't have to deal with it. We've all been turning the radio up. And then there's what mistydrifter55 mentioned about the local economy—man, tell me about it. It's getting harder and harder to find any decent entry-level jobs that actually pay enough to cover rent in a city like Chicago or Austin. Everything is just... inflated. It’s exhausting. I was reading some stuff earlier about how similar this situation is to what happened during the late 70s here in the States, and honestly, the parallels are kind of terrifying if you stop to think about them for more than five seconds. Anyway, I don't want to sound like I'm preaching, but I really think we need to start looking at the bigger picture instead of just reacting to the latest headline. It's easy to get caught up in the chaos, but if we don't look at the underlying issues, we're just spinning our wheels. What do you guys think? Are we just being overly cynical, or is the vibe shift actually real? I'm leaning towards the latter, personally.

Yeah, I totally forgot to ask you—why on earth do you think my dreams would actually play out like that while I'm pregnant?

So, my fibrinogen levels came back high—pretty sure it’s just because of the birth control pills I'm on. My thinking is that if I eventually stop taking them, everything should hopefully settle back down to a normal range on its own. Just one of those things, I guess.

So, I was just reading that this stuff can actually spike inflammation levels in your body... which honestly hits way too close to home right now. I’ve been dealing with some constant, nagging inflammation on the gynecological side of things for like two or three months straight now. Just... ugh.

I don't know... honestly, I’m just kind of at a loss for words here. Not sure what to even say...

I experienced elevated fibrinogen levels—everything was through the roof—right before my surgery. It’s a known fact that fibrinogen can spike dramatically due to stress, and that is precisely what happened in my case. I loathe giving advice like this, but if you are dealing with any significant stressors, you really ought to try to mitigate them; perhaps even take some Normabell now and then? (And believe me, I absolutely despise Normabell.)
It worked for me; following my procedure, both my platelet counts and everything else finally stabilized once I stopped being so constantly on edge.

The fact that your feet feel cold doesn't mean your blood is thickening; honestly, that is just a common physiological reality for women.

Thanks so much for the advice, you really helped calm my nerves... I honestly can't tell if I'm actually stressed out or just masking it, but I've got a wedding coming up in about ten days, so maybe that's it? Or maybe I'm just better at hiding the panic than I thought...

Also, what do you guys think—should I stay on the pill for another month before I go back for more blood work?

Found this on an American health forum.

I’d strongly suggest talking to a hematologist first. They really need to figure out why those fibrinogen levels are high. An elevation like that can sometimes signal a higher risk for blood clots, and if that's the case, birth control pills could actually make things worse. Honestly, until you get a specialist's take and finish the full workup, I wouldn't recommend taking Yasmin—or any oral contraceptive, for that matter.

Yeah, I actually read that right there too...

Do you think it could mess me up if I keep taking them for another month—like just one more pack—before I go back for my follow-up blood work?

Fibrinogen alone doesn't mean a thing... it's just one factor in the coagulation cascade—it can spike on its own or just be a sign of inflammation or some other underlying issue.
You never look at it in a vacuum... you need to see it alongside D-dimer, Protein C, and Protein S.

Go see a hematologist to get the actual testing done (they'll know which ones you need)—only then will you have a clear picture to take to your OBGYN.

Does a primary care doctor handle the referral for a coagulation profile, or should I be asking my OB-GYN? Thanks!