Yaz in Washington Times- Andy Bederman Quoted

Posted on December 2, 2009 by Greenberg & Bederman

There are many frustrating things about the work that we are doing with women who have been injured by Bayer’s line of birth control. The idea that these women came to us after being hospitalized for taking what was supposed to be a safe drug is bad enough. But what makes it even worse is that Bayer is continuing to deny that Yaz, Yasmin and Oscella are dangerous despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. We also find it aggravating that while the Food and Drug Administration has been taking some positive steps towards bringing Bayer’s rampant and irresponsible marketing under control, they are still moving unacceptably slowly when it comes to having the drug removed from the shelves. They are currently running “more studies,” but they don’t expect to have that done within a year.

There is also an element of frustration in the deafness of the media. Greenberg and Bederman and other law firms like us have practically been crying from the rooftops about the dangers of Yaz, Yasmin and Oscella. We have been running radio and TV ads, we have been all over YouTube, and we have been running this blog, and up until today, the dangers of these birth control pills have received barely any coverage in either local or national media.

Finally, the Washington Times has taken notice that there is something very wrong with these pills, and that there has been something wrong with them from the very beginning.

 

For those of you who do not know about these dangers (which isn’t surprising, considering how little coverage this has received,) all three of the pills in Bayer’s line of birth control pills contain a synthetic variation of progestin called drispirenone. Bayer came to the conclusion that this variation could not only prevent pregnancy, but could also help clear up moderate forms of acne and help prevent some of the heavier symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD.) Drispirenone might very well do all three of those things, but what it also does is dramatically raise the potassium levels in the bloodstreams of the women who take them. These risks exist in practically all forms of oral contraceptives, but the inclusion of drispirenone amplifies them to a remarkable degree. It raises the chances of blood clots forming to exponential levels. These blood clots can then break apart and travel through the blood stream, where they can then cause strokes, heart attacks, and pulmonary embolisms. As well as increasing potassium levels in the blood, drispirenone has been shown to increase the cholesterol levels in the bile ducts of the gallbladder. This increases the risk of gall bladder disease, which may not be as dangerous as strokes, heart attacks or embolisms, but is still an extraordinary painful thing to go through.

This isn’t speculation on our part. Hundreds of otherwise healthy women all over the country have been hospitalized due to strokes, heart attacks and pulmonary embolisms, and more than a few have died. Many have also been forced to undergo gallbladder removal surgery, or have suffered excruciating pain due to the formation of gallstones.

One of the victims of Yaz in particular is named Lottie Green, who is mentioned in the piece in the Washington Times:

“In her left lung, the pulmonologist told her, was the largest blood clot they had ever seen and there were others in her right lung as well, she said.”

Ms. Green came to us for legal help, and we are moving forward with the case. We would very much like it if she were the last woman who was forced into the hospital due to the use of Yaz or Yasmin birth control pills, but considering both Bayer’s denials and the FDA’s foot-dragging on the issue, but we are afraid that she wont be.

We have to question the priorities of the media these days. Considering that so many cable news outlets are forced to fill up twenty four hours, you would assume that they would be able to find a readily available pill that is potentially deadly to women at least somewhat newsworthy. But instead we are given hours of talking head analysis over the significance of President Obama bowing to the Emperor of Japan, or whether or not Celebrity A and Celebrity B are going to get a divorce. If it were bubble gum or baby food or deodorant that were making a high percentage of its users suffer strokes, heart attacks, pulmonary embolisms or gallbladder disease, then surely there would be news every hour on the hour, with exposes on 60 Minutes to go with it. But for some reason, the very real dangers of Yaz, Yasmin and Oscella are being ignored. Kudos to the Washington Times for informing the public in the Washington, D.C. area.

Greenberg and Bederman is a D.C. area injury law firm that is currently helping women who have been injured due to the use of Yaz, Yasmin or Oscella, contact Greenberg and Bederman in Maryland, D.C, Virginia or Baltimore for a free yaz lawyer legal consultation today.

To learn more about yaz side effects, please read our yaz page.  To learn more abour our yaz lawyer, Andy Bederman, please read yaz bio or watch his yaz lawyer video.
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Side Effects of Yaz

Posted on November 25, 2009 by Greenberg & Bederman

We have spent the past month or so taking the Bayer Corporation to task over their line of birth control pills, which go under the names Yaz, Yasmin and Oscella. We have been doing this for quite a few reasons, chief among them the fact that they have decided to use an ingredient called drospirenone that creates dangerous side effects. This synthetic variant of progestin has been shown to increase the likelihood of blood clots not just in women who smoke or women over thirty five, but in any woman who uses the pill at all. The damage from these adverse side effects  of this “new and improved” ingredient has been substantial. Hundreds of women have reported serious bad side effects and complications after taking this pill, ranging from strokes and heart attacks to pulmonary embolisms, and the FDA has received over fifty reports of deaths.

A product which establishes a casualty list is bad enough, but what we find equally bad about this whole scenario is that the advertising campaigns that were used to promote Yaz in particular were misleading. They understated the increased dangerous side effects of the pill while promoting supposed secondary benefits of the pill, which, as it turns out, weren’t all that effective in the first place. All of this served to get more and more women to buy a pill under misleading circumstances, which meant that more and more women were in danger.

In all fairness, nearly all birth control pills carry some risk of blood clots and other dangerous side effects. All of the makers and manufacturers of birth control pills are well aware of this. But with other birth control pills, the amount of incidents where blood clots occur are quite small, with the number remaining around 1%. And even with that number, the vast majority of manufacturers of birth control pills advertise their products responsibly. They tell you what the pill does, does not do, and, most importantly, they tell you what the risks and serious side effects are.

 

For instance, if you look at this Ortho Tri Cyclen advertisement from 2004,the advertisement spends half of the air time selling the product, and the other half very clearly stating what the side effects and risks are:

Serious as well as minor side effects have been reported with the use of oral contraceptives. Serious risks, which can be life threatening, include blood clots, stroke and heart attacks, and are increased if you smoke cigarettes. Cigarette smoking increases the risk of serious cardiovascular side effects, especially if you are over 35. Women who use oral contraceptives are strongly advised not to smoke. Some women should not use the Pill, including women who have blood clots, certain cancers, a history of heart attack or stroke, as well as those who are or may be pregnant. The Pill does not protect against HIV or sexually transmitted diseases.

It should also be mentioned that on the website for this pill, they provide the phone number and website information for the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting Program. They have also been providing this same information in some of their advertisements for Tri Cyclen Lo, a new birth control pill that claims to do nothing spectacular except regulate menstruation and prevent pregnancy. Yet they still provide all the safety information that they can on dangerous side effects.

If you contrast this with the initial advertising campaign that Bayer used to promote Yaz, in which the new and potentially dangerous side effect ingredient is not mentioned, dubious claims are made about its secondary benefits (like curing acne or stopping premenstrual dysphoric disorder,) and the standard disclaimers are used as if they would apply perfectly when in fact they did not, it seems that Bayer put profits well above the safety of those who would use their birth control  products.

Bayer was actually ordered by the FDA to re-do their whole marketing campaign, which they did at a great expense, and they have even utilized Google Ads that feature permanent links to safety information of Yaz and the actual FDA-approved label.

This is all well and good, but it doesn’t change the fact Bayer is still manufacturing and marketing a pill that uses a dangerous  ingredient causing serious side effects that has left hundreds of women with strokes, pulmonary embolisms and gallbladder injuries. Their intention is to keep selling the birth control pill, and to fight any and all challenges to their market share. This means that they will continue to haggle with the FDA and peddle Yaz as a magical elixir that will clear your skin and make you feel better, and they will continue to use flashy and expensive advertising to do so, regardless of the dangerous side effects.

If you have been injured or hospitalized due to the use of Yaz, Yasmin or Oscella, you are not alone, and you also have legal options. In fact, there have been so many cases filed against Bayer across the country that the standards under which the cases will be tried have been consolidated under multi-district litigation. This means that the cases will be handled without added delays and extensive costs of a similar lawsuit.

Greenberg and Bederman is currently offering legal assistance to women in the Washington, D.C. area who have been injured or hospitalized from the dangerous side effects due to the use of Yaz, Yasmin or Oscella. During our twenty five years as a firm, we have helped thousands of people all over Virginia, Maryland and D.C. receive fair compensation for injuries that occurred due to no fault of their own. If you or a loved one has been injured due to Yaz, Yasmin or Oscella, contact Greenberg and Bederman for a free legal consultation today.

To learn more about yaz injuries, please visit our website and click on the yaz page, or visit our site on Youtube and watch our yaz video.

 

To learn more about yaz side effects, please read our yaz page.  To learn more abour our yaz lawyer, Andy Bederman, please read yaz bio or watch his yaz lawyer video.
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Yaz, Yasmin, Ocella and Gallbladder Injury

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Greenberg & Bederman

Yaz, Yasmin, Ocella and Gallbladder Injury

Over the past few months we have been staying on top of the news about Bayer’s line of birth control pills. As many of you probably know, there have been serious medical problems that have been surfacing among women who have used Yaz, Yasmin, and Oscella, which is the generic version of Yasmin.

Women all over the country have been suffering from strokes, pulmonary embolisms and heart attacks, which are being caused by blood clots that generally form in the legs of users of these pills. The cause of these clots is due to elevated levels of potassium in the bloodstream, which falls firmly at the feet of one of the two main ingredients of Bayer’s line of birth control pills. Rather than use the standard ingredient of progestin, Bayer decided to go with Drispirenone, which is a synthetic variation of progestin that was shown to be effective in fighting acne and the mood swings that sometimes come with PMS.

We believe that Bayer was well aware of the increased dangers of drispirenone, but chose to downplay them in advertisements, labeling and the information that was given to doctors.

We also believe that Yaz, Yasmin and Oscella are causing gall bladder disease in the women who use them. In addition to raised potassium levels in the blood stream of users of these pills, it has also been show to increase the level of cholesterol in bile, which the gallbladder is primarily concerned with storing. Once the cholesterol level goes up, the gallbladder’s storage abilities are slowed down, which can and often does lead to gallstones.

Gallstones might not seem to be a serious medical problem, but anyone who has suffered the severe pain that accompanies them could certainly tell you otherwise. There is also the very real danger that a gallstone might get caught in a bile duct, which can cause the bile to stop being produced. The only remedy for this is painful and expensive surgery in which the gallbladder is removed.

 

While we can agree that gallbladder disease is not as dangerous or life altering as a stroke, heart attack, or pulmonary embolism, it is still a painful and expensive medical condition. And if this disease is brought on solely due to the use of a drug product that was marketed without mention of these serious side effects and risks, then we believe that the manufacturer of Yaz, Yasmin, and Ocella should be held accountable in a court of law. We also believe that victims of this sort should be compensated for their medical bills, time taken off of work and physical and emotional pain.

Greenberg and Bederman is a Washington, D.C. area law firm that has offered legal assistance to injury victims of all types for twenty five years. We have helped victims of car accidents, medical malpractice and premises liability, and we have also helped those who have been injured due to faulty and dangerous pharmaceuticals. We can say with absolutely no hesitation that Yaz, Yasmin and Oscella qualify as faulty and dangerous.

Women have been taking the Yaz, Yasmin, and Ocella  birth control pills in hopes of preventing pregnancy, curing acne, or helping with PMDD or PMS and have been injured or worse died from these dangerous drugs. If you or a loved one has been injured or hospitalized due to the use of Yaz, Yasmin or Oscella, contact Greenberg and Bederman for a free yaz gallbladder injury legal consultation today.

 

 

To learn more about yaz, yasmin, or oscella dangers, please vist our website and click on the yaz page, or go to our youtube site and watch our yaz attorney video.

 

To learn more about yaz side effects, please read our yaz page.  To learn more abour our yaz lawyer, Andy Bederman, please read yaz bio or watch his yaz lawyer video.

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Yaz and Yasmin Should be Recalled?

Posted on September 29, 2009 by Greenberg & Bederman

 Yaz Stroke Lawyers MD, DC, VA

One of the biggest selling products of the pharmaceutical company Bayer are a line of birth control pills that go by the names of Yaz and Yasmin. Key elements of the marketing strategy of these pills are what could be billed as peripheral benefits. Aside from the obvious purpose of the pill (avoiding pregnancy,) Bayer is also claiming that the pill helps prevent acne, and even helps users deal with some of the more emotionally charged aspects of the menstrual cycle:

“Can the pill be good for you? Can you feel OK when you're on it? Is it doing anything positive for you besides preventing an unwanted pregnancy? The answer to all these questions is yes! Discover it for yourself.”

If Yaz and Yasmine worked perfectly and had no potentially dangerous side effects, then we would have no problems whatsoever with Bayer touting these other aspects of the pill. But the fact is that there have been some quite serious allegations of very real danger to the users of these pills, and ignoring these while touting other minor aspects of the products to increase the customer base strikes us as the height of irresponsibility.

It also strikes us as very sadly familiar. There is a long history of corporate irresponsibility when it comes to women and birth control, and the Yaz line of pills are simply the latest examples.

In the early 1970’s, a company named A.H. Robbins began an aggressive marketing campaign for a new product called the Dalkon Shield. The Shield was an intra-uterine device (IUD) that was presented as the safest and most effective way for women to avoid getting pregnant. There wasn’t a pill that you had to take every day. There wasn’t anything that you had to remember to do. In fact, the strongest marketing aspect for this device was that a woman could simply have it inserted and then could practically forget it was there.

 

That’s what A.H. Robbins said, anyway. What was not mentioned in the marketing campaign was that this device was, like many pharmaceutical products before and since, tested in a rushed and slipshod manner and put on the market before they realized that something was going very, very wrong. The only real test that was performed on the Shield was one that determined whether or not it prevented pregnancy. Any other side effects were not considered or tested for.

The Dalkon Shield caused severe pelvic infections in over 200,000 American women, with the worst cases resulting in infertility and even death. What made the episode even more shameful was that A.H. Robbins fought tooth and nail for each and every case that was filed against them for damages, to the point that it was close to twenty years before any victims or their families received any compensation.

The Dalkon Shield is considered a watershed case because it caused both government agencies and manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and medical devices to seriously overhaul the way that they tested and marketed their products. As a result of this infamous IUD, products involving the reproductive functions of women have improved dramatically with regards to safety.

But as much as birth control products and devices have improved, there are still very real dangers involved in some of the products out there. In 2002, Johnson and Johnson released the Ortho Evra Birth Control Patch, which is a transdermal device that is meant to be worn for a week at a time. While both the patch and standard birth control pills work the same way (using the hormones progestin and estrogen to prevent eggs from being released from the ovaries for fertilization,) the main difference is that the hormones in pills are filtered and diluted through the digestive system, while the hormones in the patch are administered through the skin directly to the bloodstream. As a result, your average patch user is carrying 60% more estrogen in her bloodstream than the average user of a pill.

The problem here is that heightened levels of estrogen in the blood stream can lead to thromboembolism, which is the formation of blood clots in the legs. Blood clots can and will travel throughout the bloodstream, where they can end up in the lungs or the heart.

The first high profile victim of a pulmonary embolism was a perfectly healthy 18 year old girl named Zakiya Kennedy, who collapsed on a subway platform in Manhattan and died on the way to the hospital in April of 2004. Johnson and Johnson’s response was to deny everything, despite the fact that a CBS News story revealed that:

“…the company's own records reveal that it received some 500 reports of serious problems associated with the patch between April 2002 and December 2004.”

What followed was the inevitable incredibly lengthy bureaucratic ping pong match between Johnson and Johnson and the FDA, in which the FDA made the suggestion that perhaps Johnson and Johnson should include the dangers of blood clotting on the label, and Johnson and Johnson was given a lengthy opportunity to explain why they didn’t think it was necessary, and the FDA took a very long time to consider Johnson and Johnson’s explanations, all while more than a few of the users of this patch were not only suffering from serious adverse effects, but were also quietly receiving cash settlements, as reported in The New York Post in April of 2006:

"Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical of Raritan, N.J., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, has settled a dozen lawsuits for millions of dollars in the last few months, and more than 100 other suits are pending."

Finally, in January of 2008, the FDA ordered Johnson and Johnson to mention prominently the potential dangers of using this product. But all this really did was provide Johnson and Johnson with the opportunity to say to anyone who got hurt “Look, we told you this might happen. The warning is right there on the box.” The Ortho Evra birth control patch is still available for sale to this day.

You would think that with such a high profile product failure to use as an example, other pharmaceutical companies would stay well away from any sort of birth control that utilizes elevated levels of hormones and their accompanying dangers of blood clots, but Bayer apparently had no compunction whatsoever.

Which brings us to the Yaz line of birth control pills.

The culprit here is a variation on progestin called drospirenone, which is not used by any other birth control pill on the market. And again, we seem to be having the same problems with clotting that we had with the birth control patch, along with a host of others, including kidney failure, strokes, heart attacks, and, unfortunately, deaths:

“Over 50 reports of Yasmin or Yaz deaths were received by the FDA between the first quarter of 2004 and the third quarter of 2008, according to some of the complaints filed in the United States. The deaths involved women as young as 17 and included cardiac arrests, pulmonary embolisms and strokes, with elevated levels of potassium in the blood frequently reported.”

We would like to make the suggestion that perhaps simply making a bigger and bolder label on the box is not the solution here. While it is true that the percentage of Yaz users who suffer severe injuries is comparatively small, we have to wonder what sort of twisted arithmetic is going on over at Bayer when they can consider even a few of their customers dying or suffering from strokes as an acceptable outcome. Under no circumstances should any product be on the market where regular use has the potential to kill you, no matter how remote the outcome.

Recent studies published in the British Medical Journal reveal that women who use Yaz™ or Yasmin™ oral contraceptives are more than twice as likely to suffer serious health complications than women using other oral contraceptives. Yaz™ and Yasmin™ have been linked with the following serious health complications:

    • heart attack
    • stroke
    • organ failure
    • gall bladder disease
    • blood clots/deep vein thrombosis
    • pulmonary embolism

 

Greenberg and Bederman is currently accepting clients who have suffered serious adverse affects from the use of either Yaz or Yasmin birth control pills. If you or a loved one have suffered from the use of Yaz or Yasmin contact Greenberg and Bederman for a free legal consultation today from a Yaz or Yasmin lawyer.

 

To learn more about yaz, yasmin, or oscella dangers, please vist our website and click on the yaz page, or go to our youtube site and watch our yaz attorney video.

To learn more about yaz side effects, please read our yaz page.  To learn more abour our yaz lawyer, Andy Bederman, please read yaz bio or watch his yaz lawyer video.

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