Recent Clinical Studies Warn Of The Dangers Of Yaz And Yasmin
A couple of months ago, we published a blog post on the dangers of Yaz and Yasmin birth control. Since then, the results of clinical studies regarding this new class of birth control pills have been published in peer reviewed medical journals, and their conclusions are not encouraging for the millions of women who are currently taking Yaz or Yasmin.
For example, two studies published in August in the British Medical Journal found a higher risk for blood clots in women taking the newer progestins like the drospirenone found in Yaz and Yasmin. Birth control pills work by altering a woman’s hormone levels, and researchers have long known that taking a combination hormone birth control pill which contains estrogen and a progestin hormone can increase the risk of stroke and blood clots in the legs and lungs. Yaz, which contains drospirenone and a lower dose of estrogen, was approved by the FDA in 2006 and has been aggressively marketed by Bayer since then. But because drospirenone can increase potassium levels in the body, it may put women who have liver or kidney problems at risk for serious heart problems, including possible liver or kidney failure.
The combination of estrogen and drospirenone found in Yaz also affects a woman’s hormonal level in a way that previous classes of birth control pills did not, and may also cause bouts of severe anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. Indeed, Dr. Frits Rosendaal, the author of one of the studies published in the British Medical Journal, said the adverse reports regarding Yaz and Yasmin were worth acting on – by switching to the older class of birth control pills containing levonorgestrel. “Even if the risk of thrombosis is low, why not choose the lowest risk, just in case?” he said.
If you were injured as a result of taking Yaz or Yasmin, please contact us to discuss your legal options.