More teenagers are using birth control pills than ever before, and by far the most popular brand they are choosing is Yaz, according to a new study by Thomson Reuters. But some worry that using Bayer Healthcare’s blockbuster oral contraceptive may be putting those young girls at greater risk for serious health problems.
Contrary to popular belief, birth control pills do not cause weight gain, according to a study conducted at the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health and Science University. The question has long been debated by health care professionals and users of oral contraceptives. But the new study provides evidence that may finally put the question to rest.
The number of lawsuits filed in federal district court against Bayer and its blockbuster birth control pill Yaz has doubled to 2,000, and that doesn’t include the hundreds more that have been filed in state courts, according to the Madison Record. The lawsuits allege that Bayer did not adequately warn women that by taking Yaz, as well as Bayer’s similar birth control pill Yasmin, they were at greater risk for serious side effects including blood clots, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, stroke, heart attack and even gallbladder problems.
Kathy Perea will not forget the pain she suffered when her gallbladder began to fail. “It was horrible,” the 27-year-old mother of five told KTNV-TV. “I was throwing up so much that the vessels in my eyes were bursting because I was straining myself so bad.”
Bayer Schering Pharma has announced it will update the label in the European market for its oral contraceptive Yasmin, a combination of ethinylestradiol and the diuretic drospirenone, also known by the brand name Yaz and the generic brand Ocella. The new label will include results of four epidemiological studies conducted by independent investigators that show the risk for venous thromboembolism, or blood clots, in Yasmin users is comparable to the risk found for women who use levonorgestrel-containing oral contraceptives.
Monica Dakin lost a year of her life because of her birth control pills.
The 23-year-old Canadian was prescribed the popular oral contraceptive Yaz last May to treat her ovarian cysts. She believed the low-dose hormone carried fewer side effects than other birth control pills. But soon after starting the medication, she was doubled over with abdominal pain. Dakin was hospitalized six times in the first six months before surgeons finally removed her gallbladder in an emergency procedure.
