Pitched as birth control with benefits, did Yaz cause a woman’s blindness?
We bring you a nightline investigation that affects millions of americans it’s one of the most popular pills on the market today but our reporting suggests that using it can increase the risk of dangerous side effects that may even cause death in young otherwise healthy patients we begin with the story of a 24 year old woman who’s convinced that this drug is the
Reason she nearly died and ended up blind hers is among the mounting claims that have prompted an fda investigation here’s abc’s chief law and justice correspondent chris cuomo in 2007 carissa uber socks had started a new pediatric nursing job on christmas day her boyfriend surprised her at work with a marriage proposal she wanted to look her best for the wedding
And says she saw commercials suggesting help with bloating and acne – to treat the emotional and physical premenstrual symptoms that are severe enough to impact your life i was like oh yeah that sounds like a miracle drug yes and there’s no other birth control like it barre pitched yaz as the birth control of choice for women desperate for relief from severe pms
But two months later karissa’s legs started to ache she had worked a long shift and didn’t think much of it but by the next evening she was gasping for air her fiancee called 911 to the hospital larissa’s heart stopped for minutes no heartbeat also known as dead to some people right carissa had massive blood clots in both lungs her coma lasted almost two weeks
But the damage will last forever right now can you see me yeah can you see anything and that’s how you woke up yes the big question was y as the cause of the clotting her coma and her blindness all birth control pills come with some risk two to four women per 10,000 will suffer blood clots and some will die as a result yaz had generated buzz touting it as the new
Pms pill in news segments like this one a miracle pill that gets rid of most of the uncomfortable symptoms of pms sales rocketed to nearly 2 billion dollars a year making it the company’s top selling drug internal documents obtained by abc news show the giddy reactions of some executives this is outstanding can we get good morning america to do the same segment t
He the fda was not amused the fda wants us to correct a few points in those ads they said yaz was not shown to be effective for common pms just a rare and serious form of menstrual symptoms the company denied wrongdoing but agreed to spend 20 million dollars on corrective ads you should know that yaz is for the treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder or pmdd
And moderate acne not for the treatment of pms or mild acne yet by then millions of women had already switched to yaz bayer sites its own studies as proof that yaz is just as safe as other birth control pills but several independent studies have put yaz’s risk two to three times higher dr. susan jack authored an independent study involving a million women the
Two bayer sponsored studies found no difference in risk while the four independent studies all found increased risks she says she sent her findings to bear what they didn’t respond the studies that have found increased risks are not in the best interest of the company thousands of women are now suing bayer including karissa uber socks but the company denies any
Wrongdoing citing those lawsuits bayer refused to be interviewed and instead sent us a statement saying yaz is as safe as any other birth control pill when used correctly so we called to press for an why aren’t you putting someone in the chair with something as important as this if you have specific questions may i ask you to send them to me but we had already
Sent them detailed questions but you don’t want to just discuss it i’ll be in the office monday and when we repeatedly called back no answer from bear and no answers for karissa whose life is changed forever everything that i thought and i worked so hard for has disappeared you’re not a pediatric nurse right now no i’m not you don’t have the future you thought you
Were going to have yeah you’re not engaged anymore no not and you believe it all happened and started with a pill called yes yes our thanks to chris cuomo for that investigation the fda meanwhile is now reopening the case on yaz conducting its own new review of the drug safety and if you’re considering your birth control options experts say you should as always consult your own doctor
Transcribed from video
Yaz Birth Control Investigation By ABC News
