There was an interesting article in the Washington Post this morning. A woman named Anne Miller describes the intense emotional upheaval that she goes through every month right before she begins her menstrual cycle. At first glance, most people would assume that she was talking about run of the mill Pre-Menstrual Syndrome. But in fact, she is talking about something that makes PMS seem like a walk in the park. She mentions bursting into tears in the supermarket because she can’t decide what to make for dinner. She talks about bloating to the point where she grows an entire dress size. In her own words, every month she “battle(s) a monster.”
What Ms. Miller is referring to is called Pre Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder, or PMDD. She quite aptly describes it as “PMS on steroids.”
In the article, a doctor from the University of Virginia theorizes that a woman who suffers from PMDD has a certain brain type which reacts harshly to the chemicals that are released during a normal hormone cycle. Ms. Miller goes on to say the following: “Those of us who have it liken it to an out-of-body experience: We go kind of crazy, even while part of us knows that the behavior isn’t right.”
It isn’t the sort of thing that you can joke about. The article cites instances of women brandishing knives and behaving erratically. It mentions women who essentially lock themselves away until the irrational feelings go away. And it also mentions that scientists basically have no idea what causes it. There is also no cure.
We think that last part is important to mention, especially because a major pharmaceutical company has listed relief of PMDD symptoms as one of the side benefits of its line of birth control pills. In fact, this particular pharmaceutical company is quite adamant in this pills effectiveness of PMDD treatment. It says right on the web site that “YAZ is the ONLY birth control proven to treat premenstrual dysphoric disorder.”
Maybe we are splitting hairs, but Bayer (the company that makes Yaz) doesn’t seem to clarify that there is a difference between “treating” a condition and “curing” it. And by claiming that Yaz is “proven” to treat PMDD, there are probably many women who are taking these birth control pills solely for the supposed relief of their PMDD symptoms. This wouldn’t necessarily be a problem if it weren’t for the fact that Yaz, Yasmin and the generic version Ocella have proven to be remarkably dangerous.
The difference between Bayer’s line of birth control pills and any other oral contraceptive on the market is an ingredient called drospirenone. This is a chemically altered variant of progestin, which is one of the two main ingredients (along with estrogen) in most of the other oral contraceptives out there. This new ingredient is what allows Bayer to tout the supposed secondary benefits of these pills, including a cure for acne, lack of weight gain and, as we mentioned, treatment for PMDD.
But there are other less beneficial side effects to drospirenone. While it is all well and good that Yaz might clear up some forms of acne, we are willing to bet that someone who is considering using Yaz would not consider unnecessary blood clotting to be a positive trade off. Yaz and Yasmin users have experienced increased potassium levels in the blood stream, which causes increased blood clots in the deeper veins of the legs. The health hazards begin when the clots break apart and the pieces travel through the veins and arteries, where they can cause blockages in places where orderly blood flow is critical.
Blockages in the blood stream lead to things like strokes, heart attacks, pulmonary embolisms and deep vein thrombosis, all of which have happened to otherwise healthy women who were prescribed Yaz, Yasmin or Ocella. The British Medical Journal has published a study which states that there is a significant increase in blood clots among women who take Bayer’s line of birth control pills than there are among women who take any other type of oral contraceptive. So while we don’t particularly have a problem with a drug that claims to treat the symptoms of PMDD, we do have a problem when that drug causes perfectly healthy women to end up in the hospital. Or the morgue.
If you happen to be one of the 6% of women who suffer from PMDD, we would recommend that you avoid Bayer’s line of birth control pills for any sort of PMDD relief. In fact, we would recommend that you avoid Yaz, Yasmin or Ocella completely.
Greenberg and Bederman is an injury law firm based in Washington, D.C. We are currently representing women who have been injured due to the use of Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella. If you or a loved one has been hurt or hospitalized due to the use of Bayer’s line of birth control pills, contact Greenberg and Bederman for a free legal consultation today. We are capable of helping anyone in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.
To learn more about Yaz, Yasmin, or Ocella birth control dangers, please watch our yaz video, or read our yaz page.