Comments on: Yasmin / Yaz Class Action Lawsuit-Like Consolidation Sought

By: Afraid to die

Afraid to die — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 06:32:17 +0000

Sunday 23 October 2011.
I am writing this so others would hopefully not fall into this trap.
I was put on YAZ about three months ago. I am 47 and my doctor put me on it to even out my hormones. I started having strange head pains. I don’t want to call it head aches as these pains felt like it was “rods” of pain shooting from inside my head. I started feeling dull and lifeless and became unable to sleep.The pain was tremendous. Then about a week and a half ago on Wednesday night, the pain got to the point thta it was unbearable. The blood was pulsing so hard through the left side of my neck I pushed my fingers against it to slow it down. My head was cracking open and I was unable to breath. I was gasping through my mouth. I managed to make it through the night without going to the hospital but felt incredible ill the next morning. Despite feeling ill I started my day and decided to work from home. I was on the phone and started sweating, my heart started beating very strange and at times felt like it was breaking through my chest. I thought it was probably some sort of anxiety attack. My temple felt like an insect was trying to get through my veins and choked it then there was a “release” and it felt like the blood rushed through flushing the insect. It sounds pretty gross but this is the best description. I have been struggling wiht bouts of depression and thought that it was linked to having started a new job, so that night I called an online Counsellor as I just wanted to go to sleep and not wake up, but I am having difficulty sleeping so no release there. I felt so sick and tired I just wanted to die. I told them that I was having problems driving and they warned me that they would have to override patient confidentiality if I did.
I went to work the next morning and experienced the palpitation, sweating and then double vision, I felt as though I could not speak , my thoughts slowed down and later self exam revealed that my pupils were not responding as they should to light. They were like the rest of me.. sluggish. I called my husband . Honestly I was not sure I was going to make it through that episode and started trying to think what my last words to my husband were. I wanted to see him before I died. I was feeling like I was going to die. I did not die and made it home. We called TeleHealth and was advised to go to emergency immediately. I was afraid to go. I wanted to die with my husband close by me. NOT in a hospital. In retrospect I was feeling so badly it clouded my judgement . I should have gone. thIS was just over a week ago and I am now scheduled for a CAT SCAN in two days. I have some strange lingering symptoms.
My left eye muscle does not feel as tight as the right eye muscle. I cannot close my left eye as I used to before. It is very subtle. I am thinking of taking a video and slowing it down to see it there is a time differential in the closing.Left upper arm.. aching !
A couple days later. walking through the kitchen. Massive muscle spasm on left side of back. unable to raise or move my head.
Still unable to turn my head fully and the muscle is still sore on my left shoulder. Restricted movement to the right side. The muscle aches this is now about 6 days post incident.
Many symptoms have continued since then , my doctor took me off of YAZ last week Tuesday, since then, insomnia, bruising on skin. Terrible headaches. Feel like I have a cold. I keep coughing and it feels like water in my lungs. Friday, loss of use of Left arm, pins and needles cramps which eventually went away after several hours, now constant pain in left arm bruise on skin that is not painful to touch. Today.. loss of use of right arm. Pins and needles cramps middle three fingers folded in.. extreme pain up fore arm. Lasted about 5 minutes. Now heavy feeling in right arm.
This morning .. painful pins and needles cramps at the top dead centre of my head. Cramping moved down to my cheeks and into my ear. Felt light headed and dizzy and pain deep in left ear. Vision impacted. Not blurred but not clear. Feels like I just woke up and keep rubbing my eyes. It is now 2 am Tuesday Morning. I am afraid to sleep. The pain is very bad in my left arm. It feels like someone put too much A535 UNDER the skin on my forearm and my upper arm is sore and burning. Pins and needle cramps have not gone away still at the top of my head. I keep coughing. It feels like water in my lungs. My calves ache as though I have been exercising. My friends came over on the weekend and I told her my doctor took me off of my birth control and put me on aspirin. She asked which Birth Control and when I told her YAZ she mentioned to me that her doctor put her on Alesse as they had heard some negative news about YAZ. Following her advice tonight I decided to research YAZ and realized that my symptoms are not in my head as I first thought. ( I thought I was just depressed and bringing these symptoms on my self in some way ) I am terrified as I am 47 and have many of the symptoms that people have mentioned. I have a beautiful 6 year old and sweet caring husband. Now it seems that I inadvertently have impacted my life and may be on a time bomb waiting to go off. I am worried that the pain in my left arm and severe cramping today in my right arm are related to blood clots. The “insect” in my temple was probably a clot trying to pass through the vein. I am documenting my symptoms so maybe someone else can relate to it and it will serve as a warning to see your doctor fast.
It is 2:23 am. I have insomnia, but I am still alive.

By: Joann

Joann — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:44:23 +0000

In 2002 I saw a very pro pill ob/gyn. Expressing my reasons for not wanting to go onto any form of the pill because of the various side effects, I was informed it would be the only way to “regulate” my periods and so in the end I gave in.
After being prescribed two different pills that I had bad reactions to (the first broke me out in a red rash around my mouth and the second had me in bed or throwing up), she decided to put me on the “new” pill, Yasmin. Being that there were no generic forms for it back then, I paid, even with health insurance, something like $36 for my first month.
One week after starting Yasmin I developed shooting pains in my lower abdomen and a reflux. Thinking it was bad indigestion I took a Pepcid and suffered through it. One week later, another attack. While discussing this with my mom she mentioned that she thought it might be the pill and since I hadn’t wanted them in the first place maybe I should just stop taking them. Thinking this sounded like a good plan, I stopped. So I ended up taking Yasmin for a total of two weeks.
For the next 8 or so months I suffered through these pains at least once or twice a month. Finally, after witnessing many of these “attacks” my boyfriend gave me the “you better go to the dr. or else” speech and in the summer of 2003 I finally gave in (I’m really stubborn) and went to the ER. I was informed there that it was my gallbladder and was set up with a doctor who performed an ultrasound. While reviewing the ultrasound he told me that I had more gallstones than he had ever seen in anyone, let alone a 20 year old woman, and scheduled me for surgery.
The almost funny thing about this lawsuit was that during the time this was occurring for me, I mentioned that I thought it had been the Yasmin to both my ob/gyn and my surgeon and they dismissed it. Being the stubborn person that I am, I kept those pills and still have the last two weeks in an expired pill pack in my bathroom. Safe to say I was slightly relieved when I saw the advertisements on Tv stating that there was a lawsuit against them.

By: Tonia

Tonia — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 02:17:34 +0000

Took Yaz which resulted in pulmonary embolisms (blood clots in my lungs). Blessed to be alive, if you are reading this due to possibly thinking about taking Yaz, DO NOT TAKE IT!!! It is not worth your life!!!!! Many have died as a result of blood clots etc. from taking Yaz!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Blood thinners needed for 6mo. now possible lupus from it as well.

By: Sabrina

Sabrina — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 21:39:15 +0000

I took Yaz for about 1 month. I had shortness of breath, pain in my calf and foot. Went to urgent care and then was rushed to ER. Diagnosed with PE in my lungs. Never had this problem. Yaz is a horrible pill and should be taken off the market. I am now involved in a class action. Now, I have to take a blood thiner for the rest of my life. And, yes, I to spent a week in the hosptital as well. Thank God, I went in when I did

By: Erin

Erin — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 20:56:42 +0000

This comment is directed toward Sarah who stated, “Did any of you read the possible side effects associated with taking this drug? All these things are listed!” Yes, Sarah, I was aware of the side effects of the pills and was concerned about taking them when I was 19 years old. I had a consultation with my gynecologist where I expressed my concerns about the side effects of the pills. My doctor told me I had absolutely nothing to worry since I was so young, healthy, and active. If my doctor would have went into a little more detail about the seriousness of the side effects, I might not have went on the pills at all. When your doctor seems completely confident that you are not at risk of any side effects and reassures you of it, you are more willing to not worry about the side effects.

By: Erin

Erin — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 20:51:10 +0000

In 2010, I suffered from pulmonary embolisms from taking Yaz birth control pills. My clots were so large that they were almost completely blocking my pulmonary arteries. Thank goodness I got to the hospital when I did. I was treated in the hospital for five days. I am now taking blood thinners for at least 6 months. I am 20 years old and I am young, active and NOT overweight. This entire experience has been a complete nightmare, and after reading the other posts on this form, I do not know why something has not been done about this drug.

By: Sharon

Sharon — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 06:45:26 +0000

wow, I cant believe there are so many of us that have had a Pulmonary Embolism. I had a pain in my leg for a few days. Then shortness of breath as well and then woke up in the middle of the night and had great pain in the chest and could hardly breath. I was rushed to hospital and later diagnosed with a DVT, PE .. thank goodness they picked it up. Or would not be here writing this post. I have been on blood thinners warfarin for 4 months. I am now suffering fatigue all the time and depression.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:22:53 +0000

I have been takeing yasmin for two years. Not realizing it but I had been suffering from canker sores on a daily basis I would have at least three of them in my mouth feeling constant fatigue. It did not hit me until I was spotting on Yasmin and had to switch to avianne that my canker sores were completly gone and I no longer felt tired unfortunatly I had gained so much on aviane that I had to go back on Yasmin . And that is when I clues in that all this time we had been testing me for everything from HIV to lupus to hepatitis to anemia it was actually the birth control that was doing this. Becauseonly 3 days after takeing yasmin again I was constantly tired had 5 canker sores in my mouth. This pill is so bad for you I am now getting off of it after this month for good

By: Krissy

Krissy — Wed, 19 May 2010 21:09:53 +0000

I have been on YAZ for three years. I got back from my honeymoon on a Tuesday and by the following Tuesday I was admitted into the hospital for a pulmonary embolism. The doctor’s have concluded it was a result of me being on the birth control pill. It has been an awful experience and I am now required to be on blood thinners for six months.

By: Stefani

Stefani — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:44:47 +0000

I’ve been taking Yaz since Oct. 2009 after switching from Loestrin fe24 because it caused severe depression.Everything seem to be ok the first couple of months until I started noticing different mood changes and I began to doubt whether it was me or the BC.About six months into it I noticed a total loss of sex drive and I was constantly angry.Four months in I began to get migraines at the onset of my period.
Just recently I got fed up with trying to find a BC that does not effect me negatively and stopped.Now several days later and this morning I woke up with severe charlie horses in both legs. I am hoping that this is all they are and they do not turn into blod clots.My one leg is still sore.I will moniter the situation. What makes me angriest of all is that my GYN is prescribing this crap that causes all these problems.When I told her I was having problems on the Loestrin she told me it was my age, I am only 34.She wanted to put me on antidepressants.It seems like alot of doctors these days are just drug pushers.
I don’t trust any form of hormonal birth control anymore.