Alot of these experiences sound horendous and your absolutly right in ceasing these medications if you even have the slightest thought that something isnt right. My experience with Yasmin has been positive i used to suffer terrible period pain which is now ceased and it keeps my skin clear which is great. I am suprised that alot of people think Yaz and Yasmin are the same A friend of mine took Yaz and like many people here she had nothing but bad things to say about it. I think when a drug comes onto the market any sort of drug there will always be the awful fact that a number of people will have a severe reaction which may lead to death i guess it just doesnt suit some people. But i do think Doctors need to be very diligent with their patients using any sort of BC as it is widely known that PE and stroke are very real side effects of the BCP. I also believe that these incidents are higher in women who smoke or are over 35.

I have been on Yaz for 2 years, not for Birth control as I have had a tubal; but I use it to help control sever PMS symptons. I has worked wonderfully. It also cleared my mild acne to the point,I no longer have to use acne medication from my dermatologist, The side effects and risk of using Yaz are not different than any other birth control pill that has ever been on the market. I think each individual should be able to choose whether they want to use it or not along with their health care provider. I would hate to see this medication pulled from the market,

Search for the horrible consequences of ANY drug and you’ll find them…blaming the manufacturer or your doctor for your own ignorance or laziness is unfair. It’s like signing a contract without reading it and then suing your lawyer. There is more print information provided with a contraceptive prescription than there is with most prescriiption drugs! I’m sorry it resulted in serious side effects for some, but take some responsibility for yourself and learn to read or ask questions! I took Yaz for several years as a contraceptive and treatment for PCOS. After my first child was born last year, I had to change contraceptives while I was breastfeeding. When I stopped nursing, I called my doctor and REQUESTED that she put me back on Yaz (the other pill made me miserable). After just 1 week, my muscle aches are gone, mood swings improved, I’m sleeping better, acne is diminished, and weight loss is easier. Be informed and make you can make informed choices!

Oral contraceptives of all types can cause clots that caused so many of the tragic conditions many people have had. However, being pregnant puts a person at a high risk of clots as well so a person who clots on the pill may have clotted if she became pregnant. Also, if a woman has a clot, they are not to take ANY estrogen containg products after that which is in all pills, hormone replacement etc. Don’t want to to minimize major complications that people have had but there are risks and benefits of lots of things. Most people do well though statistics don’t make you feel better if you are the one hit with the condition.

I have been on YAZ for about 6 months and have been experiencing a lot of symptoms as previous people have commented about. I get very emotional and cry about anything that triggers a sad emotion. I use to get straight A’s all the time but this semester it was harder to because I had to fight the depression and lack of ambition to do much, not to mention the daily fatigue. I also experienced a loss in sex drive, constant headaches, and body aches as well. The most alarming symptom I have are severe chest pain and many heart palpitations. My vision was spotted and I felt numbness in my legs and arms. I did research on what I was feeling and thought the only explanation was stress. Which I knew seemed a bit odd because I have been much more stressed out than the stress that I currently experience. Some people for the product say “you should do your research” and “your health is your responsibility.” Really? Because I for one was NOT warned about the dangers. I always knew that there were possible side effects for any medication but I would not expect such dangerous and common side effects in such a popular birth control pill. I was aware of YAZ’s side effects but did not know the symptoms to…oh let’s say, a PE that then could result in death. Also, I pay for a doctor for a reason. I go to them for their professional opinion so I don’t end up in a hospital because of medication they prescribed to me. I’m a college student. Not a doctor. I’m getting off this pill today and I hope I do not get a PE before the holidays. I wish my doctor had told me what I have read in these comments and to know to stop taking it if I have any of these symptoms. Well, now I know to take a doctor’s advice and instruction with caution. My heart goes out to all whose life has been affect by this pill.

After taking YAZ for a little over a year my symptoms are severe headaches, thinning of hair, gall bladder surgery to remove large stone and gall bladder, depression, pain in kidneys, large cists on ovaries (detected by CT scan), irregular heart beats, palpatations, chest pain, shortness of breath ( I was breathing into a paper bag every day), constantly tired and ran down and absolutely NO sex drive. I too thought this was going to be my “magic wonder drug”. And at first it was because my periods had stopped and that was the reason my doctor prescribed YAZ. It also cured my ongoing breast tenderness. All of these symptoms happen over a period of time and you don’t realize they are all connected to that pill. Pay attention to all of your symptoms and my advice to you would be to stop taking the pill unless you love hospitals and surgeries and huge doctor bills. Not to mention it could even cause you death.

I started taking Yasmin when I was 19 years old. A couple of years later I started having real bad pains, which turned out to be my gallbladder. I went to the doctor to get checked out, and my gallbladder was full of stones so they had to do surgery to remove it. Funny how I started having problems after I started taking Yasmin.

I was just wondering, I have been on YAZ for about 2 or 3 years, and before that I was on Yasmin for about 1 or so. I am only 21 years old and has already had to get surgery for endometriosis which was found all behind my uterus, but I constantly have pain in my ovaries as well as frequent migraines. Does anyone know if YAZ has anything to do with creating endometriosis? or at least pain in the ovaries? And now my pap smears show disfigured cells.

I don’t understand why some of you are still taking Yaz or Yasmin if you think it is causing you so many problems. There are so many other kinds of birth control pills out there! It’s all trial and error…try a different one!

oh and just so some of you know my mom was on yasim and she had vertigo on it so it does become a case if your on it and cant handle it which happens with the dizziness and stuff.

i was on yaz for a year. I never thought i was myself. I was always so emotional crying and fighting with everyone never happy or just bi poloar almost. Ive been on over 5 birthcontrols and this one actully worked for me without bleeding and cramps. MY SKIN WAS PERFECT!!! never break out. thats the thing i miss the most. other than that i kept fainting. I fainted 5 times and had to be rushed to the ER. My OBGYN later told me that it makes u loose all ur water weight more than any other birthcontrol and you become dehyrated. Also that the girls being in the ER for heart attacks. I didnt listen and was very stubborn im 17 and if i ahve perfect skin and bigger boobs and its working guess what ill take the risk. But the last time i fainted and i felt like i was going to die and i took every test there is nothing was wrong and as soon as i got off yaz i havent fainted once or even felt that way. Funny thing is two of my frirneds happned to them now and their on yaz. Alot of my friends still are on it and nothing happens to them but it catches up to you and later on i wouldnt take the chance if its doing all this to girls already its something serouis.

Took yaz for three months…ended up in the emergency room with three deep vein thrombosis clots in my leg and multiple bilateral pulmonary emboli. Lucky I lived. Called my ob/gyn and he said he believes I was just one of the very few patients that had a problem and that it is a good medication. My sister works at a dermatologist office and last week one of their patients taking yaz for acne died at 32 years old from a pulmonary embolism. Their office is immediately switching any of their patients taking yaz to a different medication. I am not sure even all the doctors out there realize how many of their patients are having problems. Oh, and now I have just started having problems with kidney stones…which may have also been a side effect of yaz as well.

I was only on YAZ for about 3 weeks and started having pain and tingling in my leg. My doctor refused to believe it was from the pill. I stopped taking YAZ and the pain went away a few days later. Go figure! This pill is not safe and you can bet, if it was killing MEN, it would be off the market by now.

My doctor recommended Yaz, and I think it was just because they have a huge supply that they want to sell. I’ve been on it for about a year. Over the months, I became very depressed for no reason at all, so depressed that I was having thoughts of suicide, which I have never had before. The worst part is, there was NO REASON. I’m finishing up this pack and then I’m done for good. I’m extremely paranoid now. Every day it’s something new, I constantly have these crazy thoughts of having cancer, diabetes, stds, etc. Relatives have told me I need help and I’ve gone nuts. I blame the birth control, I’ve never been this way.

This is so crazy because I’ve been on yaz for three years and I have had severe headachs for years that make me very sick and dizzy. I have bad mood swings and I have been having very bad chest pains. I’m going to see my doctor tommorrow and I hope to find something better out there.

I started taking Yasmin years ago and when Yaz came to the market I started taking, this making it a total of 7 years I have been taking both OCs. I was brought onto these pills for not only the low estrogen dose but for moderate acne. I have not had any side effects so far. After learning about all these law suits this past summer, I spoke with my Doctor and he reassured me I am using the right pill for me. I am fortunate to not have PMDD, Blood Clots, or any Heart irregularities. If I did I would make sure to do all my homework in learning about any drug I would start taking. Remember Doctors may have the degree but they do not know everything. You need to protect your vessel and learn everything that is going on with your body. Don’t just take the Doctors word, do your homework.

I have been on this pill for about 1 1/2 years now, I am now 35 years old, at first it was ok then I started getting chest pains and then a few months ago I had my first abnormal EKG. For the past year or so I have had abnormal beelding, spotting, a period one day then gone the next and always when I should start I do but lately my periods are so heavy, I even went to the ER a couple of months ago. They thought I had fibroids but nothing showed up on the ultrasounds, they said they felt a small growth maybe a cyst?? Now I am left with over $1000.00 in bills! My ob/gyn keeps stating that YAZ is perfectly safe but after reading all of this I am going off of it. Better safe then sorry. Ladies we need to start promoting vascetomies-reversable! Also my legs have been itching like crazy and the doctor has no explanation for it. Has any one had itchy legs on YAZ???

I am 28 years old and have been taking yaz for almost 3 years now and didn’t think I had issues with it. For the last few months I have had severe dizzy spells which doc thought was vertigo but after blood work realized I have a thyroid problem and that may be causing my dizzy spells. I have appt. with an endocrinologist next week so I will know more then about my thyroid and what issues are related to that. After reading this, I think maybe some of my issues may be related to the pill. I have severe headaches, always tired, terrible mood swings, minor chest pain lots of leg pain and leg cramps, low labido (if any), lots of uti’s (at least 6 the last 3 years). I am not sure if all my symtoms are related to Yaz but I will stop taking it to see if I notice a difference. All birth control pills as well as any other medicatin has side effects, we should all make ourselves aware of them before agreeing to take it. I know I will read info before I put something in my body.

I have been taking YAZ for SEVERE cramping for 2 1/2 + years now. I can say that my periods have been less severe and cramping is to a point that I can deal with it. I saw a commercial for the lawsuit and it I immediately stopped what I was doing. For the last 2 years I have been dealing with SEVERE DIZZINESS, I have been dealing with weeks and months straight of feeling like I am on a tilt a whirl. II just woke up with it one day and it never left…I have spent so much time and so much money on seeing every type of specialist, from ear nose and throat doctors to neurologists. I live in a community where I have a large supply of DRs that deal with every type of illness. I have heard nothing but “I am so sorry, we have no idea what is wrong with you”. After reading these posts, I am DONE taking this pill. I am hoping after 2 years of dealing with this “Vertigo” it will finally be gone. Has any one else had severe dizziness?

Also, for all the years I have taken the pill, there has been warnings of all these side effects, you just have to READ!!! People do not do their research and now they want to take it to court?!?

I was taking Yazmin for 5 years and just switched to YAZ this year. I currently have no complaints. Could it be that the depression and headaches are more of life’s stresses, such as financial or relationship issues? I know alot of people that want to put blame on something rather then face reality. As far as the medical conditions, such as blood clots, that very well could be a side effect of the pill, as it effects everyone differently.

I began taking Yaz about a year ago. In June of this year, I began to suffer from some respiratory issues. I was given antibiotics and was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection. The antibiotics did nothing for me. I continued to have respiratory issues thru Sept. In mid Sept. while at work, I began experiencing shortness of breath and a slight pain on my right side, near my chest. I work part-time, so I got off at noon. I drove myself home to prepare myself to spend the night in the ER. I went home, took a shower, washed my hair and packed a small bag. By then the pain was so severe that I knew I’d be admitted. I got dressed and when I attempted to tie my shoes, I couldn’t- the pain was so severe that I could not move. It literally felt like I was being stabbed in my side. Long story short, my mother drove me to the ER and after a CT scan and EKG, I found out I had multiple blood clots in my lungs….pulmonary embolism (PE). I spent a few days in ICU and then about 8 more days in post ICU. A filter was inserted thru my groin area to prevent more clots from traveling to my lungs. I am on blood thinners and every time I get any pain near my chest area, I panic. I literally took my last Yaz pill the night before I was admitted. I recently found out that most people die within 30 minutes of PE symptoms, so if you have any of these symptoms, get to a hospital fast!!! I’m 34 years old and besides condoms and spermicide creams that are inserted vaginally, I can never use or take any form of birth control for the rest of my life. I don’t drink or smoke and I live a fairly healthy life. I had every blood test under the sun and my doctors said it was defnitely the Yaz pills. Since my ordeal, I have been absent-minded and depressed. Sometimes it’s even hard to get out of bed. My doctor will be removing my filter in 2 weeks and I’m so afraid that this may happen again. I have already hired an attorney. Good luck to all who decided to take this pill!!

I’ve had no problems taking Yaz but just as a pre-caution, I am switching to something else.

Ever scince I’ve taken Yaz, my breathing has changed dramatically. I seem to constantly have a hard time breathing. It’s really scarry….

Thank you so much for everyones input and experience with Yaz. My heart goes out to those who have suffered the dangerous side effects. I was also prescribed Yaz last week and today is my 2nd day on the pill. After reading this I will be calling my OBGYN asap!! Tonight was my last pill. What really upsets me is the fact that when I asked my OBGYN about the lawsuits and dealths she blew it off like it was no big deal!! I bet she wouldn’t use it herself! So confused!!! I will be getting married in may 2010 and would like to find a BC that works without the horror stories!! Thanks to everyone!

My 18 year old daughter has been taking yaz for her severe acne for a year and a half now. She seems to be doing fine and her acne has cleared up, but this month she found a lump in her breast that was diagnosed as fibroagenoma (sp?). It’s not a dangerous condition, but after reading these posts I wonder if it wasn’t yaz that may have caused it. I don’t feel comfortable with this pill. I think I’m going to take her in to have a talk with her doctor about the medication and possible alternatives.

I just went to my doctor to ask about switching and he pretty much dismissed all my concerns, because i heard about the dangers of this medicine on t.v. needless to say i’m finding a new doctor…I haven’t had any physical symptons, but i have more mood swings than a menopausal women hear lately…

For those of you who said that it has not given you problems and that it just depends on the person………Remember that the women who developed these complications were fine prior to their hospitalizations also. Your health is your responsibility. Please research any drug prior to taking it.

I live in Canada, and I just came back from my new doctors appointment. She had prescribed Yaz for my birth control to help with light acne and inconsistant periods, and also worried about drop in sex drive from taking other birth control. I had thought there was some controvercy about this product, she’d never heard any of it. I took a couple months samples from her, but I’m not even going to touch it now and I’m going to see about a different doctor, too. Thanks everyone for sharing your stories, you may have saved a lot of people, me included!

I recently got blood work done and have abnormally high levels of iron. Does this have anything to do with Yaz? Yaz says it reduces the release of iron, I am having experiencing that but its having a negative affect on my health.

This is the only birthcontrol that has ever worked for me. No cramps shorter periods clearer skin and it balances my weight. I took it from 03 to 05 then from 06 to 08 never had any side effects. As for the potassium problem i stopped eating bananas cause i knew about increased potassium levels with the BC. People need to read the booklet before they actually start taking any medication. I am currently on the generic for seasonal and it sucks!

I was on Yaz for four months and stoped taking it due to a weight gain of 25 lbs and just feeling crummy all around. I didn’t know for sure that it was the pill, but I decided that I didn’t want to be on ANYTHING until I knew what was going on with me. My general health deteriorated so rapidly that I thought I must have cancer or some other terrible disease. I was exhausted, started having severe panic attacks and depression, had a cyst the size of a golf ball on my thyroid and had to have a biopsy, severe pain in my muscles and joints (espeically my left shoulder, wrists, knees and ankles) cold hands and feet, brown patches on my skin, heart palpitations, memory loss and a severe vitamin D deficiency. After months of doctors appointments and numerous tests, I’m finally on the up swing. I’m only 28 and have always been healthy so I couldn’t understand why I suddenly sunk into this health funk. At least I know now. I’m going on a year of stopping this pill and I’m still building back up my vitamin D levels, still have cold feet and still trying to get my panic attacks under control. I’m so happy I listened to my gut and stopped taking this pill against everyone else’s advice (Dr, hubby, etc). I hope this list of symptoms helps someone else who may be going through something similar.

I’ve also had a a kidney infection while using Yaz. I’m going to switch immediately

I have been taking YAZ since Feb 2007 due to heavy bleeding, bad cramps, mood swings, and headaches. I was truly amazed at the difference it made. In Oct 2008 I started to have tenderness and a numb like feeling around the bottom of my left rib. The Dr. could not find anything wrong with me after doing an x-ray. I feel it from time to time, but ignore it. Also have been getting extreme migraine type headaches again and spotting the last couple of months. I do get some chest pains from time to time, but have been thinking it’s just stress. I am 37 and am now a little scared from reading these posts. My husband is deployed right now and I think I’m going to stop taking the YAZ to see if I feel any different. I am glad I looked up YAZ to see what came up!

I’ve been taking Yasmin for 6 months and I haven’t experience any side effects.I just noticed that I have once in a while rashes on both of my shin.I started to worry about this pill when I recieved an e-mail from a friend so I decided to ask my doctor about it.She gave me the reassurance but im still scared of the possible side effects of this pill.

I took Yaz for 3 years after being on it for two years i was rushed to the ER b/c my co-workers thought i was having a stroke…at first the ER told me it was Migraines keep in mind that i was 21 at the time and had was super healthy! and i followed up with a dr. the next day and he re-diagnosed me with panic attacks…. i also get UTIs all the time and yeast infections all the time *I lose my peripheral vision then it all goes blurry my blood pressure drops and i have a panic attack…. after reading all of the comments i stopped the Yaz its been one week so we will see how it goes. But i would never ever recommend this median to ANYONE I SWEAR THAT THIS MEDICAN HAD CAUSED ALL MY PROBLEMS!!! HOW MUCH MORE HAS TO HAPPEN BEFORE SOMEONE DOES SOMETHING!!!???

I have been o. This medicine for almost three years. A few months ago I started having deep chest pains that would go away after 15-30mins. After looking into it it could be the pills. I’m not going to take these pills anymore after hearing about other young women having such big problems. Is there anything else for birth control that people have found works better for them. It’s sad that drug companies do not have to do much to pass I throuh the FDA. Plus the fact that Their commercials took so lo g to be taken off the air for not explaining the side effects.

Over the last few years, I have been on the patch, and have tried a few different birth control pills and it seemed that nothing was really working for me. Finally, my Doctor put me on the Yaz birth control in July of 2009. Yaz was very effective at first. I was having less moods, cramps, and less migranes. All of a sudden in November 2009, which is recently, I have been having severe headaches, vomiting, dizziness, and night sweats that almost involve panic attacks. I’ve noticed that along with my headaches, I have been more irritable as well. I am beginning to wonder if this pill is not good for anyone? As I read all the comments above, I wonder if I am being affected by Yaz as these other people are? I am kind of afraid to get off of Yaz because I do not want to get worse headaches. I do not know what to do. But this pill is life-threatening to me. I am only 18 years old and this is scary stuff!

I started taking Yaz 3 days ago… Now I stopped and going to call my gyn after all I’ve read. My Gyn recomended it for the strong pains i get while on my period. I guess I’ll ask of another alternative pill I can get for these.

I’ve been on Yaz for 3 years now due to PMDD and cramps that made me bedridden. I was just fine. Started taking them in my Sophomore year in high school. I took a 6 month break from the pill and gained weight, gained laziness, and sore muscles. I truely believe it does depend on your original symptoms. If you truely do have PMDD and crippling cramps, then you should talk to your doc about taking Yaz. If you are just a whiney woman who feels like their period is a big deal when it’s really not or just want it to get rid of the acne… then you are probably not the patient for Yaz. Everything depends on the patient and if your doc isn’t good enough to check and prescribe other pills if you’d be better off with other pills than you should go shopping for a new doc. Some women truely aren’t physically able to handle oral contraseptive birth control and need to accept that they need condoms, Clearasel, and ibeprofen with some hot liquids.

I’ve been on Yaz for about a year. I had MAJOR PMDD and Yaz has helped that A LOT. I haven’t experienced any negative side effects and I pray to God for those who have. I don’t think I am going to quick taking YAZ but I will talk with my doctor about these concerns.

I was on YAZ for some time prior to figuring out what was causing all my symptoms. I am 25 and have had more doctor visits than a 95 year old lady. I was aware of the side affects however they were the main ones with any birth control. I did not realize that after shortly starting this medication I developed extreme weight loss (over 15 pounds…which is alot for a women of 5’6” at 120 pounds prior to weight loss), fatigue, and the worse symptom adrenal insufficiency. I also developed dehydration which became worse each month causing me to go get IV fluids once a month. I think the worse thing was the doctors who thought I was losing weight on purpose and not drinking. Doctors refused to believe that no matter how much I drank I could not hydrate myself. September of 2009 I became very ill and having a seizure at work (besides other things) and having to be transported to the ER. I received IV fluids 3 times in the span of 2 weeks. The dehydration kept getting worse no matter how much I drank. I went off YAZ and thought I would be better if I took nothing since I was unsure what caused all this. It has been 2 months now and almost all my symptoms have gone away. I am able to maintain my weight, I am able to stay hydrated, I have started to make my own cortisol, I have more energy, etc. The only bad thing is my cramps are back to being a pain in my butt and the decrease appetite 2 weeks prior to my period are back. But I will have to learn to live with it. YAZ is a beneficial drug for some and not for others. Every consumer should educate themselves prior to taking any medication or vaccine to determine if there are potential dangers. Good luck to all who are taking it. And good luck to those coming off of it. Thanks to me believing what I saw on TV I am now in medical bill debt and have some lingering problems due to it….but I still have my life which some have lost from this drug.

Lori November 2 – Whoa, your comment about women with severe weight gain is pretty out of line. Some women who go on oral contraceptives experience extreme weight gain with no change in diet. So, your statement “they have a problem keeping their mouths closed and not putting food into it” is a bit harsh! Most of the women who go off the pill after the severe weight gain do lose the weight, but not without a lot of heartache in the meantime.

I have been on Yaz for just under a year now. It has been wonderful. I have had no side effects different from any other pill. My blood pressure has gotten lower, but nothing in the “low blood pressure” range, just lower than it used to be. Maybe just to be sure when I see my doctor next I will have them check my potassium levels. I have not noticed lower sex drive than I had on any other pill. I used to have SERIOUS headaches, migraine level, and now I don’t. So, all in all I am happy on it, but I certainly will want to have the potassium checked to make sure. I used to take spironolactone (the medicine that the get the progestin from in Yaz, drosperinone) when I was in college for excessive hair growth in male-dominated areas. Never had any issues while I was on it.

I would like to just extend my sincere empathy for all of you here (and the many more) who have suffered such intense and extreme side effects from this birth control product. No one should have to go through the pain that many of you have had. I was compelled to write after I read what LORI wrote above – my first thought was that she must work for this company in order to have such a cold hard stance when so many women have been traumatized through the use of this drug. How sad is it that someone can even argue this by saying that all medications have side effects and you all should just deal with it and get over it. The medical field can be very intimidating and when Dr’s are giving you information and assuring you that this pill is a great thing – and they have several degrees qualifying them to make these statements – it is very difficult for women to take their health into their own hands. We rely on experts in any field to provide us with information that we do not have. It is obvious that there is a significant problem with Yaz and Yasmin and laying blame on the consumer in this case – in my opinion – is completely unwarranted. And I am sure that any woman on this blog would much prefer to have her months or years of health back – their gall bladders, ovaries back rather than make money off of a lawsuit. However these lawsuits are raising awareness to a very serious problem in women’s health and just like many drugs in the past that have come before yaz due to serious side effects, birth defect etc….I believe Yaz should be taken off the market. I just wish all of you HEALTH AND WELLNESS and again am so sorry that you have had to suffer so horribly.

I have been taking Yaz for about a year now and I haven’t been having any problems. I started reading everyones comments on here and I’m starting to put the puzzle pieces together. I have been getting headaches lately and crying for no reason. And for about 4 months I kept getting UTI’s on and off so it makes me wonder. Its scary considering the fact that I’m almost 19 now and wondering if something is going to happen to me to where I’m unable to have children later on down the road. So I’m going to talk to my doc and get off the pill.

This is freaking me out .. I’ve been taking Yazmin and then Yaz for hmmmm 6 years maybe … I had my gallbladder removed a year into taking the BCP, I have had bronchitis … and I am battling it again .. and I was just dx’ed with poor circulation in my legs .. I am FREAKING OUT here .. I just saw a commerical for the lawsuit … Now I wonder is this why I’ve been ill for the last 4 + years???? I was about to start a new pack instead I am going to see my dr.. I am not taking those anymore ..

I liked this medication, initially. With many infertility issues, it seemed to resolve pain, bleeding, bloating,etc. However, I suffered a SERIOUS TIA. It came with out warning. I am a very healthy person, I run upwards of 3 marathons a year and triathalons in between. I feel it was from the YAZ, which I had been taking for 3 consecutive years. Of course, I had read the warnings, as with any drug. But where I didn’t have any family history, or personal history of stroke or blood clots, these were discussed with my physician. It was devastating to my health, it was expensive to resolve, as the medications to resolve a stroke are very expensive, even with insurance. Not to mention, testing and Doctor appointments. It could have been more serious for me, and my four children, who were with me.

ANY medication can cause side effects, and we, as patients, enjoy the FREEDOM to make the decision to either take it or not take it—nobody is holding you down and shoving it down your throat. ALL birth control pills have risk of blood clots, DVT’s and pulmonary embolism which are greatly increased if you smoke. Plus, if you are experiencing side effects, then why do you continue to take the medication? QUIIT TAKING IT, instead of trying to jump on the bandwagon of a lawsuit for some quick $$$. There are side effects associated with ANY medications out there—some people get them, some people don’t. The thing is, lawyers put commericals on TV to create mass hysteria and get people to jump on the “class action” lawsuit, so they can make millions and the people involved in the suit get $20. A case can be made for any medication on the market, whether over the counter or prescription–and nobody is forcing you to take it. Some women just CAN’T TAKE ORAL BIRTH CONTROL PILLS!!! So, find another method of birth control and get over it. Women claiming to have gained 40 pounds have a bigger problem than being on Yaz or Yasmin—they have a problem keeping their mouths closed and not putting food into it. If you take something and you don’t feel good on it, then stop taking it!! Simple as that. Yaz and Yasmin happen to be some of the best oral birth control pills out there today, and they are not without side effects, just like anything else. I’ve seen someone have an anyphylactic reaction to Bacitracin ointment, so the most benign product can affect people with side effects and allergies to the product. You can’t blame the manufacturers of YAz and Yasmin—the risk and benefits are clearly stated in the in-box pamphlet, and if you didn’t read it, then you’re stupid. Everybody should be informed about the medication they take, and a large part of being informed is being pro-active in your own care, not depending on someone else to “educate” you because that isn’t their job. Any woman that smokes while on oral contraceptives is stupid, because smoking while on oral contraceptives is a HUGE risk for blood clots. You have to be your own advocate and take responsibility for your own health, make informed decisions and not try to blame somebody else or some other entity (such as a drug company) for a side effect that was clearly explained as a risk.

Has anyone gotten pregnant while taking Yaz?