Potentially Serious Side Effects of Yaz and Yasmin
Yasmin first hit the market in 2001 after receiving FDA approval, and five years later, Yaz--which is a variation of Yasmin-- received FDA approval as well. Bayer is the manufacturer of Yasmin which is considered to be a fourth-generation oral contraceptive combining estrogen and progestin as pregnancy prevention. Unfortunately, since Yaz and Yasmin raced into the birth control market, serious side effects and death have been directly linked to these pills. The majority of the birth control pills on the market today contain progestin, a synthetic hormone. The birth control pill of the 1960's contained high levels of estrogen and progestin-if you are taking a birth control pill today which contains estrogen, it is likely to be about one-fifth the amount of the first marketed birth control pills. Yaz and Yasmin are the only pills currently on the market which contain drospirenone, which is a component of progestin and is known to cause potassium level fluctuations in the human body. Additionally, when drospirenone is combined with estrogen, dangerous rates of blood clotting may occur as well as gallbladder disease. Yasmin and Yaz have also been definitively linked so such potentially fatal side effects as heart attack, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, kidney stones or gallbladder damage and, in more than fifty cases, death.
Lawsuits
Bayer has already been sued several hundred times, and the number of lawsuits increases on an almost daily basis. It is expected that the final tally will be in the thousands for women who believe that the inaccurate warnings which accompany Yaz and Yasmin were directly responsible for their damaged health. The current lawsuits allege that Bayer knew of the possible dangers of Yaz and Yasmin, and withheld this information from consumers. The FDA required Bayer to withdraw their jazzy advertising campaign of 2008 which claimed that not only would Yaz prevent pregnancy, but would also lessen PMS symptoms and decrease acne. Bayer wound up paying $20 million dollars to launch a corrective campaign that would last from 2008 through 2014, and supposedly correct the prior false advertising campaigns.
Drospirenone increases blood potassium levels and can lead to hyperkalemia-a disease which disrupts the woman's heart rhythm, and can cause death in extreme cases. Drospirenone is closely related to another drug known as spironolactone, which is a diuretic. Because the drospirenone was known to help women with severe acne, PCOS or PMDD, it was quite often prescribed for these conditions as well as birth control. Women who already have a history of kidney, liver or adrenal diseases are especially susceptible to the drospirenone in Yaz. Among the fifty deaths directly attributable to Yaz from 2004 through 2008, some of the women were as young as 17. Yasmin has also been noted to increase the levels of Theophylline, Cyclosporine, Selegiline and Lipitor in the blood stream, also increasing the chances of having a negative or harmful side effect. Seizure medications such as Topomax or Dilantin can cause a woman's body to metabolize the Yasmin hormones too quickly, decreasing the effectiveness in preventing pregnancy. Before considering Yaz or Yasmin, all women should thoroughly and carefully evaluate their current medical status with a physician.
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