Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Women who take birth control pills with the hormone drospirenone, such as Yaz and Yasmin, are at greater risk of gallbladder damage than women on other oral contraceptives, according to a new Canadian study. The new research involved 2.7 million women who took birth control pills for at least six months between 1997 and 2009. A total of 27,087 women in the study group underwent surgery to have their gallbladders removed. The study found that while all birth control pills put women at some risk for losing their gallbladders, women who use pills with drospirenone were at greater risk.

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Lana Speck didn’t know what had come over her when she began experiencing severe stomach pains in early 2006. Her doctor ordered a cholecystectomy, or the surgical removal of her gallbladder. But she continued to be plagued with even more problems, such as constant severe chest and upper abdominal pain. She also battled extreme diarrhea and indigestion.

Two years later her doctor made a connection. Lana had been taking Yaz or Yasmin birth control pills for seven years, since 2001. The pills have been linked to gallbladder damage, yet Lana says she was never warned of those risks by the pills’ manufacturer, Bayer Corp. Lana is now one of more than 2,000 women who have filed lawsuits against Bayer. The plaintiffs claim that Bayer was fully aware of the risks associated with use of the pills, yet the company did nothing to warn users.

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Ethinyl estradiol and drospirenone are the two hormones used in some of the most popular birth control pills used today, but some critics say the hormones make for a deadly combination. While effective at preventing pregnancy, the hormones can trigger blood clots and cause gallbladder damage.

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The year Leah Mayfield died, Bayer HealthCare made $600 million on its popular birth control pill, Yaz. The drug, also known by the brand name Yasmin and the generic brand Ocella, was touted for the added benefit of stomping out the bothersome symptoms of severe premenstrual syndrome, or premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). It is the combination of ethinyl estradiol and the diuretic drospirenone that make Yaz different than other birth control pills. But that combination has proven deadly to numerous women who have taken it, including 20-year-old Leah.

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