Zarah® Side Effects | Zarah Lawyer, Zarah Attorney

Zarah (drospirenone / ethinyl estradiol) is a popular birth control pill. Unfortunately, thousands of women who have used this medication have reported serious Zarah side effects, including blood clots that could cause a heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism, disability, or death. If you suffered a side effect of Zarah, you may be entitled to financial compensation for your medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost income, and more. We can help you seek justice and compensation for your injury.

Zarah Overview

Zarah is a birth control pill. It is manufactured by the drug company Watson Pharmaceuticals, and it was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September 2010.

Zarah contains the following amount of active ingredients:

3 mg of drospirenone
0.03 mg of ethinyl estradiol

Zarah and Yasmin

If you used Zarah, you may have initially been prescribed Yasmin. Zarah is the generic equivalent of Yasmin. Both medications contain the same active ingredients, dosage, intended purpose, risks, safety, and side effects. The only major difference is that Zarah is manufactured by a generic drug company, and is usually significantly cheaper than Yasmin. Many insurance companies require women to switch to generic drugs when they become available.

Zarah and Drospirenone

Research has found that the most effective birth control pills contain a combination of two hormones: estrogen and progestin. Synthetic estrogen (ethinyl estradiol) has been widely-used in medicine since the 1940s. There are many different types of synthetic progestin. The older generations of synthetic progestin include levonorgestrel, norgestrel, northethindrone, and more. The newest, “fourth generation” type of synthetic progestin is called drospirenone.

All types of synthetic progestin have a common side effect: a slightly increased risk of developing blood clots. With the older generations of progestin, the risk was approximately 4-6 women per 10,000 taking the medication. With drospirenone, the risk is approximately 10 women per 10,000. Numerically, the increased risk is not very high. However, birth control containing drospirenone is no more effective at preventing pregnancy, yet carries a slightly higher risk. Given this information, it’s safe to assume that most women would choose the less risky medication.

However, when the first birth control pills were approved, tens of millions of women switched to the birth control pills containing drospirenone. Their decision to switch was partly due to a $270-million advertising campaign that the FDA later called “misleading” for “failing to include any risk information.” By the time Bayer decided to run a corrective advertising campaign, thousands of women had already suffered side effects.

Serious Side Effects of Zarah

The most serious side effect of Zarah is death. It is unknown exactly how many women have died after using this medication. However, the families of at least 50 women have filed lawsuits against Bayer, alleging that birth control pills containing drospirenone caused their family member’s death.

For some women, the hormones in Zarah increases levels of potassium in their bloodstream too high. This can cause kidney problems, gallbladder damage, hyperkalemia, irregular heartbeat, and sudden death. High potassium also increases the risk of developing blood clots. One Zarah side effect is called deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which occurs when blood clots form deep inside the body. DVT is different from blood clots on the surface of the skin, which are usually not life-threatening. Blood clots that form deep inside the veins have a high risk of become dislodged from their original location, floating in the bloodstream, and becoming stuck in an internal organ. Some of the most serious Zarah side effects occur when a blood clots gets stuck in the brain, heart, lungs, or other organ. Blood clots can cause an ischemic stroke, heart attack, pulmonary embolism, organ damage, organ failure, permanent disability, or death.