Yasmin Side Effects

The FDA has recently warned that Yasmin side effects include a 75% increased risk of developing a blood clot, which can cause lifelong disability or death. Since 2004, at least 50 deaths have been linked to Yasmin.

Yasmin Overview

Yasmin is a once-daily oral contraceptive pill that was invented by Berlex Laboratories. Since it was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Yasmin has been used by millions of women to prevent pregnancy. Yasmin contains the following hormones:

3-mg drospirenone
0.03-mg ethinyl estradiol

The controversy surrounding Yasmin stems from one ingredient: drospirenone. This is a synthetic version of a female reproductive hormone called progestin, which inhibits ovulation. With older types of progestin (levonorgestrel, norgestrel, norethindrone), the risk of developing a blood clot was about 6 women for every 10,000 taking the medication. With drospirenone, however, researchers quickly discovered that 10 women out of 10,000 developed a blood clot. An extra 4 cases of blood clots doesn’t sound like much, but the problem is, tens of millions of women switched from older birth control to Yaz or Yasmin when they were first sold. As a result, thousands of women suffered Yasmin side effects, including blood clots, pulmonary embolisms, heart attacks, and death.

Yasmin and Blood Clots

One Yasmin side effect is an increased level of potassium in the bloodstream. In some women, elevated potassium levels increase the risk of forming blood clots. Normally, the body needs blood clots to stop bleeding after an injury. However, a blood clot can be life-threatening if it forms spontaneously and is not naturally dissolved. If pressure increases behind the clot, it can break loose, and will travel through the bloodstream until it becomes trapped inside a major internal organ. This can cause a life-threatening Yasmin side effect, such as pulmonary embolism, heart attack, or stroke. These emergency conditions can easily cause organ damage, permanent disability, or death.

FDA Warnings for Yasmin

In September of 2011, the FDA concluded a massive study that included more than 800,000 women using Yasmin to prevent pregnancy. They issued a safety warning after finding that women taking Yasmin were 75% more likely to develop a blood clot.

The FDA also issued several warnings regarding the marketing campaign for Yaz and Yasmin, which was a major reason why millions of women switched from older birth control to Yasmin. The FDA was concerned because the ads were “misleading” and “failed to communicate any risk information.” Risk information about Yasmin side effects might have warned women that the medication was equally effective at preventing pregnancy, but had a higher risk of side effects compared to other birth control pills.

The FDA sent the following warning letters: