Fourth Gen Birth Control More Dangerous Than Previous Three Combined.

There has been an ever-growing concern over the risk of blood clots related to Yaz and Yasmin birth control pills, due to their active ingredient drospirenone, known as the 4th generation progestin. The concern has grown to the point where the FDA has launched an investigation into claims that drospirenone can lead to an excessive risk of Yaz blood clots in women taking the pill. The drug drospirenone is a newer version of levonorgestrel, which was found in the typical birth control contraceptive until about eight years ago. The FDA found that the risk of blood clots and venous thromboembolism was excessively high when compared to older levonorgestrel-containing pills and recommended that the labels be updated. Both the FDA and its European counterparts note that the overall risk of a blood clot is still small.


Yaz and Yasmin tablets are a type of hormonal contraception commonly used as a contraceptive pill, though, in recent years, they have begun to be prescribed to young women for severe acne as well. Yasmin tablets contain two active ingredients, ethinylestradiol and drospirenone. These are synthetic versions of the naturally occurring female sex hormones, estrogen and progesterone. The daily dose of hormones taken in the pill work mainly by tricking your body into thinking that ovulation has already happened. This prevents an egg from ripening and being released from the ovaries each month. Taking the contraceptive pill usually results in lighter, less painful and more regular menstrual bleeding. This means it is sometimes also prescribed for women who have problems with particularly heavy, painful or irregular periods. However, it is clear that the negative side effects of Yaz outweigh the positives.

Some experts say that drospirenone disrupts the body’s normal mechanism of regulating a balance between salt and water. This results in elevated potassium levels, known as hyperkalemia, which can cause potentially life-threatening heart problems and other health issues, including: venous thromboembolism, panic attacks and gallbladder disease. A study published by the British Medical Journal examined the potential risk of gallbladder disease from Yaz, finding that women taking the newer pills may be 20% more likely to experience Yaz gallbladder disease than those taking levonorgestrel.