Jennifer Molidor
Expos 1
3-5-12
Does Yaz Contraceptive Carry a Higher Risk
According to Sylvia Hsieh, Yaz contraceptive carries higher risks then most other oral birth controls. Yaz, one of the latest generations of birth control has spread out across the American news about its potential side effects. The new progestin component in the contraceptive, drospirenone carries a two to three times risk of blood clots. Compared to early birth control generations that had an older progestin ingredient called levonorgestrel, the risk for developing blood clots were substantially lower. Amongst the risk for blood clots; heart attacks, strokes and gallbladder failure could occur. Drospirenone, a diuretic, causes an increase in potassium to unsafe levels, which can disrupt heart rhythms and slow the flow of blood, leading to clotting. Women may think they are safe taking Yaz but seldom are warned about the potential side effects.
Side effects are not what women think of when they seek their doctors in need for a contraceptive. Which ever contraceptive their doctor puts them on, women are usually ok with it, believing in the doctor. Doctors do not disclose side effects with their patients unless the client asks. Yaz was pitched as the choice for women desperate for relief from PMS and acne. The commercial wrongfully exploited the contraceptive, Yaz as “The Miracle Pill”. There was a lot of buzz surrounding Yaz from TV news segments to women’s popular magazines, such as Cosmo claiming, “A miracle pill that gets rid of most of the uncomfortable symptoms of PMS. Yaz sales rocketed to nearly $2 billion a year after its release in 2006, making it at one time the leading birth control pill on the market and Bayer's top-selling drug. Which gives the misconception that its perfectly fine to take the contraceptive. In fact, it is estimated that a whopping 1.5 million women today are on some form of birth control according to Rebecca Wind on Media Center. Rebecca Wind joined the Guttmacher Institute in April 2001. She is the primary media contact for the Institute, and her responsibilities include managing the Institute’s domestic strategic communications activities, public education resource development and oversight of the Institute’s marketing and outreach efforts. Now think of how many women out of the 1.5 million women could be on Yaz. On the news there has been reports of lawsuits against Bayer Pharmaceuticals for injury reported from taking this contraceptive.
According to Yaz on Trial by Kristine Meredith, an attorney in California with the Danko Law Firm, over 10,000 women have filed a lawsuit against Bayer Pharmaceuticals. These women alleging that they suffered injuries as a result of the drug maker’s failure to adequately warn about the side effects of Yaz, Yasmin and other drosperinone-based birth control pills made by Bayer. Yaz is displayed widely among the media from lawyer agencies explaining possible lawsuits against Bayer for side effects of women who have taken the contraceptive. Meredith claims that the oral contraceptive can cause pulmonary embolism, blood clots, heart attacks, stroke, and even death.
In 2007, Carissa Ubersox, 24, was fresh out of college and starting her dream job as a pediatric nurse in Madison, Wis. On Christmas day, while working the holiday shift, her boyfriend surprised her at the hospital with a marriage proposal. Wanting to look and feel her best for her wedding day, Carissa said she switched to Yaz after watching one of its commercials that suggested this pill could help with bloating and acne. “ Yaz is the only birth control proven to treat the physical and emotional premenstrual symptoms that are severe enough to impact your life," claimed the ad. But just three months later, in February 2008, Carissa’s legs started to ache. She did not pay attention to it, assuming, that it was from working at 12-hour shift. By the next evening, she was gasping for air. Blood clots in her legs had traveled through her veins to her lungs, causing a massive double pulmonary embolism. On the way to the hospital, Carissa’s heart stopped. Doctors revived her, but she slipped into a coma for almost two weeks. Carissa woke up blind and nobody can say for sure whether Yaz caused her blindness but the drug Drospirenone used in Yaz, experts say it may trigger more blood clots then other birth control pills. Clots can cause breathing problems, a stroke, or even death. Needless to say, Carissa is lucky to still be alive, but unfortunately may be left permanently blind. All birth controls come with some risk. According to the attorneys at Howard Law, two to four women per 10, 000 on Yaz will suffer blood clots, and some will die as a result. Several new independent studies on Yaz have set that risk two to three times higher.
http://www.guttmacher.org/media/nr/2011/11/15/index.html Rebecca Wind
http://www.yazontrial.com/ Kristine Meredith
http://classactionlawyernetwork.com/class-action/tag/yaz/
