Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley Law – Yaz Lawsuit Attorney

All that Yaz

Catchy Advertising Camouflages Dangers of Bayer Birth Control Drugs; Searcy Denney Attorneys Now Representing Women Who Have Been Harmed by Yaz

YAZ and Yasmin birth control pills and their generic offspring have made billions of dollars for pharmaceutical manufacturers advertising them not only for birth control, but as the antidote to acne and premenstrual problems. Tragically, thousands of young women have paid the price with lethal side effects ranging from blood clots to heart attacks, strokes, and sudden death.

YAZ, Yasmin, and Ocella (generic Yasmin) are popular birth control drugs sold under a variety of different names:

  • YAZ (drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol, Bayer)
  • Yasmin (drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol, Berlex/Bayer)
  • Ocella (generic Yasmin, Teva/Barr)
  • Beyaz (drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol/levomefolate/calcium, Bayer)
  • Safyral (Yasmin+Vitamin B/folate, Bayer)
  • Gianvi (generic YAZ, Teva/Barr)
  • Zarah (generic Yasmin, Watson)
  • Loryna (generic YAZ, Sandoz)
  • Syeda (generic Yasmin, Sandoz)

These drugs contain a unique progestin (a natural or synthetic form of the hormone progesterone) called drospirenone. In combination with a synthetic estrogen called ethinyl estradiol, these drugs prevent the release of an egg from the ovary and cause changes in the lining of a woman’s cervix and uterus. As a result, it is harder for sperm to reach the uterus, and more difficult for a fertilized egg to attach to the uterus.

In addition to preventing pregnancy, YAZ, Yasmin, and Ocella are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat moderate acne in women at least 14 years old, and also to alleviate severe symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), such as anxiety, depression, irritability, trouble concentrating, lack of energy, sleep or appetite changes, breast tenderness, muscle or joint pain, headache, and weight gain.

It should be noted that, television commercials to the contrary, these drugs have never been approved by the FDA to relieve ordinary premenstrual symptoms (PMS). The fact is, however, that the market for women with PMDD is a mere fraction of the women with PMS symptoms who are in search of a cure.

Medical scientists speculate that issues with blood clots may have surfaced as early as 2001 in the clinical trials for Yasmin. Recent evidence shows that Berlex, the drug’s original manufacturer, and its successor, Bayer, knew as early as 2003 that users of Yasmin faced twice the risk of suffering blood clots as patients using competing products. Yet, the companies invested millions in advertising and continued to peddle these potentially deadly pills to unsuspecting women – and continued to utilize warnings similar to those used for safer birth control drugs in an effort to hide the unique safety risks of their products.

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A decade of scientific research into birth control drugs containing the drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol combination has opened up a veritable Pandora’s box of dangers and risks, including:

  • Venous thrombosis (blood clots in the veins)
  • Arterial thrombosis (blood clots in the arteries)
  • Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
  • Pancreatitis
  • Stroke
  • Deep vein thrombosis (blood clots deep inside the body)
  • Hepatic neoplasia (growths – usually cancer – in the liver)
  • Gallstones
  • Gallbladder disease
  • Hypertension (high blood pressure)
  • Birth defects (if taken during pregnancy)
  • Harm to a nursing baby
  • Hyperkalemia (elevated blood potassium levels)
  • Pulmonary emboli (blood clots in the lungs)

Evidence indicates that YAZ, Yasmin and Ocella should not be taken by women with certain conditions that put them at elevated risk, such as:

  • Uncontrolled high blood pressure
  • High blood potassium
  • Migraine headaches
  • Heart valve disorder
  • History of blood clot or stroke
  • Circulation problems of diabetes
  • Kidney or liver disease
  • Adrenal gland disorder
  • Unusual vaginal bleeding
  • Breast, uterine, or hormone-dependent cancer
  • Jaundice caused by birth control pills
  • Clotting disorders (such as factor V Leiden, and protein C, protein S, and antithrombin deficiencies)

Also at high risk for dangerous complications are women who - along with YAZ, Yasmin, or Ocella - are taking other medications such as Motrin, Advil, Aleve or similar over-the-counter medications, and women who are using ACE inhibitors such as Capoten, Vasotec, and Zestril.