
Bayer Pharmaceuticals, which makes Yaz, Yasmin and Beyaz, has heavily marketed these contraceptives to young women as not only preventing pregnancy, but also preventing PMS and even controlling acne breakouts.
The link to blood clots in these contraceptives lies with the synthetic hormone, drospirenone. Drospirenone has been linked to serious side effects. There are many other side effects. You can read more at http://www.drugwatch.com/yaz/side-effects.php
The chemical combinations in Vestura, Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella can cause abnormal blood clotting. This results in blood clotting when it is unnecessary and inside the blood vessel, vein or artery.These abnormal blood clots can break away from the blood vessel on which they formed. When these clots break away they travel through the blood stream and can form a blockage or become lodged inside the heart itself. This blockage can starve the flow of blood and cause a heart attack. If the blood clot lodges in the brain, it can result in a stroke. If the blood clot lodges in the pulmonary artery that supplies blood to the lungs, it can result in a pulmonary embolism (or PE).
The FDA has said Bayer went too far in its marketing claims about Yaz. The FDA sent Bayer a number of scolding letters and required Bayer to issue new advertisements retracting previous claims about Yaz’s effectiveness.
Dr. David Kessler, a former FDA commissioner working as an expert for the plaintiffs that are suing, said that Bayer researchers found increased reports of blood clots in women using Yasmin in the United States, compared with those using three other pills, but did not provide that information to the FDA in a 2004 safety review.
“Bayer presented a selective view of the data, and that presentation obscured the potential risks associated with Yasmin,” Dr. Kessler testified. He also said the company promoted the pill for alleviating premenstrual syndrome, when it was NOT approved for that use.
Here’s what one young woman wrote on a website I was researching the side effects of these pills; “I just happened to see something about this on the news yesterday. It’s funny because I have been taking Beyaz for 2 months and I noticed that since I’ve been taking it, I have a lot of bleeding between periods and in the spotting are several tiny blood clots….not sure if that has anything to do with the ones that can lodge in your brain or lungs but it’s something to think about for me. After seeing this article I won’t be continuing my prescription nor will I finish the pack that I am on. Thanks!”
Before taking a birth control pill or any other pharmaceutical drug make sure you research and find one with the least side effects. The lower-dose estrogen pills and the ones with progestins are considered to have the least risk. Talk to your doctor and insist on getting birth control pills with levonorgesterol or norethisterone and a low dose of estrogen. Your doctor may try to tell you that the risks are minimal but be insistent. Avoid Yaz,Vestura, Yasmin, Beyaz, Safyral and Ocella. Your life depends on it!