WARNING ABOUT YAZ BIRTH CONTROL PILLS

I have been on yz for 3 years without any problems. My sister in law and cousin are also on yaz and have never experienced any problems

I have been on Yaz for years (after switching from Yasmin) and I loved it. I have tried many different birth control pills but all of them had unwanted side effects. Yaz was the best one for me, until February of 2009. I was shopping and suddenly had vision disturbances like a migraine was starting. My left eye was crawling with light in the shape of a crescent and it spread to my right eye and the only thing I could do was stop shopping and drive home. I don't remember much of the drive home and as I was getting out of my truck, my left side went numb. I went inside and opened up my computer to check email and my son asked me a question - I responded but the wrong words came out of my mouth! I read the words on the computer scream outloud and none of them were right! I immediately called my mother-in-law who is an ER nurse and she rushed to my house to come get me. All I could say was 'I can't talk right' -- she took me to the ER, she had to admit me herself because I couldn't speak right, they had to bring me back in a wheelchair and everything, so scary. My head hurt really bad, it was obvious I had a migraine too but all my symptoms pointed to a stroke. I KNEW that's what I was having. Eventually my confusion went away and my speech came back and later, my numbness & weakness started to go away. I was given morphine a few times and later, Toradol through IV to help the migraine. After many tests I was told I just had a really intense migraine and the next day I had a brain scan which I was sure would tell us I had a stroke or mini-stroke but again I was just told it was a bad migraine. They all knew what medications I took, Yaz being one of them, but NO one ever said anything about the side effect of stroke from taking Yaz, especially with patients who already have migraines. I didn't even find anything out about this until a few months later when I started seeing commercials on TV about all the lawsuits. On top of all this, we weren't covered by insurance when I went into the ER so we were faced with an $11,000 medical bill for the ER visit, the medications & the additional tests the following days. Luckily I was able to qualify for financial assistance from the hospital and they wrote off their portion of the bill but I am still paying a few thousand dollars for everything else. I am now in the process of figuring out where to go for legal help - does anyone have any suggestions for me? I also have an appointment with my doctor next month so I can stop taking Yaz. Since no other birth control pills seem to work well for me, and we're done having children (I have 3 boys) I will look into a more permanent kind of birth control. Thanks for listening to my story!

There is a law firm in LA (Girardi & Keese) you can contact about your Yaz problems and they can be reached at 213-977-0211. My daughter had a similar experience with Yaz. She was taken to her company's doctor who treated her for a migraine instead of having her go to the emergency room. She experienced more problems due to the drug he gave her (Treximet) and we believe had another stroke. It wasn't until I flew in and took her to the emergency room that we learned she had a blood clot in her brain which caused her to have a stroke. It was located in the speech center of her brain which was why she couldn't talk. She has also had breathing problems. She had to go to speech therapy for three months before she could go back to work. She was only 24 at the time this occured and in extremely good health. She is a non-smoker and very physically fit. A cheerleader in college and a gymnast since she was 3. The hospital ruled out that she was pre-disposed to blood clots so the only thing it could have been was YAZ! You are taking your life in your hands if you take this birth control.

I've been taking Yaz for about a year and a half and haven't experienced any problems until this September through now. One morning I started experiencing numbness that traveled through my whole right side including my mouth and ear. My right eye would get blurry or get a blindspot and when I would try to speak it would be slurred or the sentence I was thinking to say, wouldn't be the one I said at all. My head would get lightheaded, sometimes a headache and I could focus or remember anything said to me at the time. It was really scaring me because it was happening about twice a week for 2 1/2 months. At first I thought maybe I was having a stroke, but of course people I talked to said that the symptoms were happening to often, with no major damage as a result and I was too young (I'm 19). I finally talked to a doctor on my campus who said this could be as bad as I thought, that I may be having mini-strokes and theres a good chance its Yaz related. So tomorrow I go in for a brain MRI to find out.

Has anyone experienced any of these symptoms?

I have taken yaz on and off for the past year and 1/2. I have stopped taking many times because I was suspicious that it was doing me more harm than good since I get pain in my legs every time I am on it. After reading these posts I see that it is a good thing that I am deciding to go off of it for good. I use Yaz for my severe PMDD and PCOS but honestly Prozac would be much better for the pmdd and I can deal with a little acne. OUr life is worth so much more than looking good or having regular periods or preventing mood swings. I thought that having severe PMDD was potentially life threatening due to how depressed I become and the thoughts that overwhelmingly follow but now I realize YAZ is much more life threatening. My heart is just racing because I am still not out of the woods since the back of my thigh has been hurting for almost a week now and it hurts even worse when I sit for an hour. Now I am afraid that something might happen so I am going to see the doc soon about this and stay away from that birth control pill and all birth control pills. It's not worth it to be this miserable and afraid because of a stupid pill.

I am 26 years old, very fit, non-smoker, teacher, and healthy. Last year, February 2009, I had a stroke. It began with my vision. I was watching television, and all of a sudden, I could only see a small part of the screen. Almost all of it was blacking out. I got up to go eat and could not remember what I had eaten for lunch, my cat's name, my best friend's last name, or my fiance's last name. I was getting scared, but still just thought I was tired. My tongue started feeling tingly and then one side of my face. I started trying to think of a word and when I tried to say it, gibberish would just come out. I could not speak correctly or articulate what I was thinking. It was the scariest moment of my life. My fiance took me to the ER, they ran tests, scans, and sent me home because they said they couldn't find anything. After seeing multiple cardiologists, neurologists, and my normal doctor, they all ruled it to a be stroke. Of course I was on YAZ for years, and my doctor finally figured it out. He told me it was for sure the birth control. I went to tell my gyno, and she told me there was no way that my birth control could have caused a stroke-impossible. Well, obviously she was wrong. The other specialists all agreed that it was the Yaz that caused the stroke. I hope my story will help others because this was very frightening, and I would not wish this on anyone. Please, please use a different method of birth control because it may safe your life.

This is a very interesting thread. I work with organ transplant and I have noticed an increasing number of young women presenting with strokes which they succumb to and hence become candidates for organ procurement. The one common link to these cases is that these women all are on Yaz oral contraceptives (and not another OCP). I believe that this is a dangerous OCP which has an unusual amount of serious side effects (all meds have side effects, however this drug is associated with serious side effects it seems in a large amount of cases). I would recommend, if starting, or switching OCP's, choose a different one.

I have been on YAZ for 3 years as well... I mean, it has done for me what it says- regular periods, gave me clear skin, and I do have a very smooth period. I have not suffered any problems and neither have my friends who are on the same pill as well. However, after doing some research, I am going to talk to my doctor this week about switching because it makes me uncomfortable that so many people have all had a bad experience with this pill.

Do people not read the warnings or listen to them when taking any birth control? All kinds of birth control pills have the exact same risks to them. I have been on it for years and have never had an issue. Like some of you have said you can feel clots coming down this is not due to the pills I had that before Yaz and I still get them. It all depends on your body. If you don't know there are risks involved or don't know the risks you should not be taking birth control pills because they all have the same risks!

All kinds of birth control pills certainly DO NOT have the same risks. Yaz hit the market as a unique birth control because the main drug (Drospirenone) prevents fertilization in a manner that thickens the blood, which leads to clots. If all birth controls were the same then this symptom would happen with all of them, but that is not the case. I am very happy for those of you who have not had any problems, but understand you are only part of a larger demographic. Just read these pages. There are people here who have been significantly disabled because of this drug, even people who have lost loved ones. There are over 25,000 cases out there pending against Yaz, but the only way we can truly end the manufacturing of this drug is if we are united. I would encourage anyone who has had problems with Yaz to read and learn about this law firm that is trying to organize the voices of those who have been harmed by Yaz to put a stop to it's production. There are so many other safer alternatives out there than one that has had so many problems.


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I was wondering if anyone out there has developed gastroparesis after taking Yaz. My 18 year-old daughter has recently been diagnosed with gp and it has changed her life drastically. She took Yaz for 14 months and hasn't felt well for most of that time. After reading some of these comments 2 weeks ago, she stopped taking Yaz. I'm hoping to see an improvement in how she feels. Has anyone experienced muscle spasms in their arms, legs, or abdomen? She has these daily and it's been happening for months. She says it feels like something crawling under her skin. She was having severe headaches also while on the pill and those have lessened. I just hope she continues improving and that the Yaz didn't cause any other permanent damage. (besides the gastroparesis)

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Hi I have not started the Yaz pill yet but I will be shortly but after reading all of the postings that I have read I am scared to now. Is it worth taking this pill because pills are different for everyone. Everyones body is different.

I just came off Yaz two weeks ago and I can't belive how awesome I feel.
Happy, healthy, and clear headed.

Yaz definitely helped my periods and acne, but man oh man, it felt like it was ruining my body. And it made me angry and sad all the time. Defintely trying something else next time.

i am 19 years old and i have been on yaz for around 6 months or less and within the last four months i have had to have my gallbladder removed because i had gallstones, i have had numbness in my arms and shoulders and just recently i had pain in my lower right area of my ribs and my upper right shoulder. I had some blood work done and x-rays, nothing showed up in the x-rays and thank god my blood work came back irregular. i then had a ct scan and they discovered i had blood clots in both of my lungs. i was in the hospital for 3 days and i am now on blood thinners and have to get shots in my stomach. starting on yaz was the worst decision i could have ever made. I have also experienced alot of depression since starting this pill, it has affected the last several months of my life and this is not something a 19 year old college student should have to deal with.