Husband Warns Others to Stop taking Yasmin

Cocoa Beach, FLPeter says birth control isn't something a guy normally talks about, but after his wife almost died from a blood clot in her lung, he convinced his daughter to stop taking Yasmin and he told the neighbor across the street about it; her daughters were on Yaz.

"My wife, Deona, just got out of hospital—she almost died," says Peter. "She had been on Yasmin for two years; when the doctors told us Yasmin birth control was likely the cause, I was furious." Peter says 24-year-old Deona was the epitome of health: she was the track and field champ at her high school and never got sick; neither did she smoke nor drink alcohol.

"Deona complained of a pain in her neck three few weeks ago," says Peter. "Like a typical guy, I didn't pay much attention and suggested she take an aspirin. Then the pain moved down the side of her body, down her shoulder and side to her arm. The pain got bigger and more intense; when it got close to her chest I got concerned. By the time we got to the clinic (just one mile down the road) Deona was coughing up blood.

She had an x-ray but nothing showed up; Deona was diagnosed with acute bronchitis and the doctor prescribed her Z-pack, a strong antibiotic. We picked up the meds, and she was in pain all night. Deona spent two more days in pain before we called the clinic again (we don't have any medical insurance). This time we saw another doctor and he told us to get to the hospital immediately and get a CAT scan. And stop taking the Z-pack.

The hospital admitted Deona right away: they found a blood clot in her lung that had traveled from her leg. The doctors asked what she was taking. As soon as we told her she was on Yasmin, they said to stop taking it immediately. And the nurses said other people had similar incidents—at that hospital alone!

I was so relieved that it wasn't cancer or TB, but this was very serious. Deona was given morphine and Percocet because she was in so much pain. They kept her in the hospital for five days (our hospital bill is about $20,000). She stopped coughing up blood but she will have to stay on the blood thinner for the next six months.

We also found a great doctor so Deona is in good hands. Now she can't do anything too strenuous. We cycle and walk and she looks after our son. But I am angry—I almost lost my wife. I'm going to have a vasectomy so Deona won't need to put any more chemicals in her body.

I went online and googled Yasmin/side effects/blood clots. I found your LawyersandSettlements site and starting reading stories about other women who suffered from taking Yasmin or Yaz. I was reading exactly what happened to Deona.

So I filed a complaint and your lawyer called me right away. I signed a contract and now we are gathering all the medical records. The fact that Bayer is killing women all over the world and they know it is worse than the tobacco companies. These drug companies think they can just write a disclaimer and minimize the dangers, but that is so wrong. The fact that it happened in this day and age, and Deona only took Yasmin for 2 years is unbelievable and inexcusable.

I read the Yasmin label and it said women over 35 and who smoke are more at risk to get blood clots. But Deona is one of the healthiest people I know…I called my doctor and said, 'I know you are not legally liable but be careful when you prescribe Yasmin/Yaz to anyone else.'"