Yaz and Yasmin
Studies have shown that women taking Yaz, Yasmin or Ocella face twice the risk of blood clots as women taking other types of birth control pills. These blood clots can lead to a number of serious and potentially deadly side effects, including heart attacks, strokes and pulmonary embolisms.
Yasmin—which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in May 2001—was the first commercially available birth control pill containing the hormone drospirenone. In addition to helping to prevent pregnancy, drospirenone was designed to act as a diuretic in order to prevent menstrual symptoms such as weight gain and bloating. In March 2006, the FDA approved Yaz, another birth control pill containing drospirenone. The FDA has also approved a generic version of Yasmin known as Ocella.
While drospirenone can help to limit the severity of menstrual symptoms, it may also expose women to an increased risk of blood clots or other side effects. Because it acts as a diuretic, drospirenone causes fluid loss, which increases the amount of potassium in the body. Increased levels of potassium can lead to abnormal heart rhythms, which may cause blood to pool in the heart and allow blood clots to form.
Two studies published in the British Medical Journal found that women taking Yaz, Yasmin or Ocella are twice as likely to suffer blood clots as those taking other forms of birth control pills. In addition, women taking Yaz, Yasmin or Ocella have been significantly more likely to suffer heart attacks, strokes, pulmonary embolisms, deep vein thrombosis, gall bladder problems or death compared with users of another commonly prescribed birth control pill, Ortho Tri-Cyclen.
In addition, many Yaz, Yasmin or Ocella patients have suffered gallbladder problems or kidney damage after using these products. In some cases, these injuries were so severe that women were forced to undergo gallbladder removal surgery in order to treat the side effects they had suffered.
If you have suffered blood clots or other serious side effects while taking Yaz, Yasmin or Ocella, contact the lawyers at Hissey Kientz to learn more about your legal rights. You can contact us by calling toll-free at (866) 275-4454, or by filling out a free case evaluation form to the right of this page.