Yasmin Double Whammy: Gallbladder Surgery and Blood Clot

Fairhope, ALBrook had taken Yasmin for six years without a problem; she even recommended the birth control pill to her friends--until a few months ago. Now she wants to warn women about Yasmin and Yaz side effects. Brook recently had her gallbladder removed and wound up in hospital again with a blood clot in her lung. Both Brook and her doctor believe her gallbladder problems and the blood clot were caused by Yasmin.

"This past July I thought I was coming down with the 'flu and my doctor thought I had a kidney infection," says Brook. "I had several tests and it was determined my gallbladder wasn't functioning properly so I had it removed and my recovery went well. But a month later I felt another gallbladder attack: it was a sharp pain under my rib cage and around my back. It felt like a stab wound with every deep breath.

On September 5th I wound up in ER. A CAT Scan showed a blood clot in my lung. I also had blood work to confirm that I had clotting factors—my blood was really thick. I was admitted to hospital for six days and placed on Coumadin, a blood thinner. I can't remember much about that time because I was on a lot of pain meds and an anxiety drug; I do remember being very scared.

This time I was told to stop taking Yasmin, immediately. Nothing was mentioned about Yasmin's side effects when I had my gallbladder removed, but the doctors were aware that I was taking it. Now I find out that Yasmin and Yaz is associated with gallbladder problems!

The doctors said the blood clot could have been caused by my previous surgery. When a patient is immobile for a length of time blood clots can occur, but that wasn't my case because I recovered from surgery within a few days. I wasn't even aware that any surgery could lead to a blood clot.

It was shocking. And I recommended Yasmin to so many people! You think something like this will never happen to you. I never paid attention to the news about Yasmin linked to blood clots or gallbladder problems—I had no idea these side effects were so prevalent. Since this happened to me, a lot of my friends on Yasmin or Yaz are going to their doctor and questioning their method of birth control: should they take non-hormonal contraception such as IUD's? I have an appointment next week to talk about my options: I do know that any birth control pill is not an option.

I filled out the necessary paperwork with your lawyer and I'm going forward with a lawsuit against the makers of Yasmin. And I also want to get the word out to women taking Yasmin or Yaz: stop taking it, right now!"