“Yasmin is Life-Changing”

Forney, TXI took Yasmin birth control for about six months to treat menstrual problems—I took it right up until I had a hysterectomy,” says Cris. “After my surgery I felt pretty good for a few days but then I had difficulty breathing so I went back to the hospital and they found two pulmonary embolisms—I was terrified!“

Cris is lucky to be alive. When she first complained to her primary doctor, he said it was likely a reaction to anesthetic but it got worse so she went to ER. She had x-rays and was admitted right away: “I was a walking time bomb,” Cris says. Her pulmonary doctor said that the bilateral blood clots in both of her lungs could have been there for some time.

“Needless to say I was very sick,” Cris says. “I was also very confused--no one could explain how this happened. Until this happened I was very healthy and nobody in my family had a history of blood clots or any respiratory problems. I was given heparin shots in my stomach and coumadin—an anti-coagulant--and stayed in hospital for a week. I had to be checked daily for 90 days and had blood taken almost daily, until the drugs were regulated in my blood stream.

"No one ever mentioned the link between pulmonary embolism and birth control, but the hospital knew I had taken Yasmin. My gynecologist just kept saying that she couldn’t understand how this happened—I don’t blame her because this was back in 2005, when I was in my late 40s, so I may have been one of the first cases.

"So many things in my life changed because of Yasmin. For instance, I can never take estrogen again. I would have considered taking HRT for a while to help get me through menopause. Instead I just get anti-depressants and they aren’t cheap.

"A pulmonary embolism has a life-long impact. It affects your diet, your exercise routine, traveling. I travel a lot with my job so Yasmin even affected my career. If I’m getting on a plane I need to wear tent-hose—the compression hose you wear with a hole in the feet if you are susceptible to deep-vein thrombosis. It helps keep the tension off your feet and avoid swelling. And there are meds you can’t take and foods you can’t eat on coumadin—no salad, no spinach, no foods containing Vitamin K, no alcohol. For a whole year after being hospitalized I really had to watch my diet.

"Even though this happened to me back in 2005, I just signed a medical release form from my attorney and I may be able to join the Yasmin lawsuit. I imagine there is a statute of limitations in everything but I guess there were no warnings about Yasmin side effects seven years ago. Of course I would be happy to get some amount of compensation but more than that, I just hope Yasmin lawyers will help put an end to people taking Yasmin and Yaz. I don’t understand why it is still on the market.”

Although Bayer has started to settle Yasmin lawsuits, Yasmin attorneys say it is not too late to file if you have experienced Yasmin blood clots, and Yasmin DVT. Bayer is also settling Yaz birth control claims.