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Yaz, Yasmin, Ocella Side Effects Lawsuit News

Women Safe On Birth Control Pill Yaz?

 

-WBZTV.com

05/07/2010 - Millions of women take birth control pills every day, and all of these medications carry a small risk of serious health complications. Some women believe the most widely prescribed pill on the market is more dangerous than the rest.

Leanne Letendre is one of those women. Like any other mom, she greets her kids after school and helps with homework, but a year ago, those simple chores were more than she could manage.

"I couldn't even make it up a flight of stairs. I had to go up three stairs, stop and then finish," she said. "I was so sick, I couldn't even think."

Ticking Time Bomb

Doctors discovered the Hudson, New Hampshire mom had been living with a ticking time bomb inside her lungs; blood clots, dozens of them.

"They were just everywhere," she said. "It was shocking because blood clots can kill you."

Doctors told Letendre they believe the clots were caused by Yaz, the latest generation of birth control pills made with a new, synthetic hormone. Letendre thought she was just one of the rare, unlucky few, but it didn't take long to find dozens of women with similar stories online.

Yaz Lawsuits

More than 1,000 lawsuits have been filed against Bayer, the maker of Yaz and Yasmin, a similar pill. The suits claim Bayer did not adequately warn women of the dangerous side effects.

One attorney claims as many as 50 women died as a result of taking Yaz.

So is Yaz riskier than other birth control pills?

Conflicting Yaz Studies

"That's a question under great debate right now," explained Massachusetts General Hospital OB/GYN Dr. Kristen Eckler.

There have been conflicting studies on the safety of the drug.

Last year, two studies published in the British Medical Journal found women on Yaz do, in fact, have a higher risk of developing potentially deadly blood clots.

Two other studies, conducted by Bayer, said the risk is similar to other birth control pills.

It's a discrepancy that doesn't sit well with Dr. Eckler. "The studies are concerning", she said.

Bayer continues to stand by the safety of its product.

In a statement the company said, "We are convinced that Yaz and Yasmin are good choices for women seeking safe and effective contrraception if they use the products as directed".

Most Will Be Fine

Dr. Eckler agrees that most women do fine on Yaz. "So while it may be a somewhat higher risk of causing blood clots than its predecessors, that difference or that amount of chance is still ver, very small," she explained.

Dr. Eckler also pointed out that pregnancy carries a much higher risk of developing a blood clot than being on Yaz or any birth control pill.

For Letendre, it's a lottery she didn't want to win.

One Woman's Battle

She still has blood clots in her lungs, shortness of breath, and she has to take powerful blood thinners. Those drugs raise her risk of bleeding, so she has to be really careful about hurting herself.

Letendre says she used to love to roller skate with the kids, but now she's worried about falling and getting cut or bruised. "It limits the activities I can do with my children," she said.

Doctors have also told Letendre there's a chance she could have to stay on the blood thinners for the rest of her life.

Letendre knows she's lucky to be alive, but she can't help thinking "what if."

"I'm very, very angry because I might not ever be 100 percent, and it could have been avoided," she said.

Bayer is conducting a new study on Yaz and the results are expected sometime next year.

 

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