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Yaz Birth Conrol Gallbladder Disease

The gall bladder is a small, pear-shaped organ located under the liver. The gall bladder's function is to store bile, a substance produced by the liver that helps the body to digest fat.

For women of childbearing age who are not taking oral contraceptives or other estrogen-containing medications, those at increased risk to develop gallbladder include women:

  • With weight problems (e.g., overweight/obese, have lost weight very quickly on their own, or suffer from eating disorders)
  • Whose normal diets include foods that are high in fat, cholesterol and/or sodium, and those whose daily fiber intake does not meet the USDA guidelines (14 grams per 1,000 calories consumed);
  • That have diabetes;
  • That have a family history of gallbladder disease; or
  • Who are pregnant, or women who delivered after a long or difficult labor.

Signs and symptoms of cholecystitis and gallstones are similar, and include:

  • Severe and steady pain in the upper right part of your abdomen that radiates
    from the abdomen to the right shoulder or back
  • Loss of appetite, nausea or vomiting
  • Abdominal bloating
  • Tenderness over the abdomen if touched
  • Sweating, fever and chills

Since Bayer first obtained approval for the sale of the oral contraceptive Yasmin in 2001 and the subsequent approval of Yaz in 2006, the two drugs became two of the most lucrative drugs marketed by the pharmaceutical giant, with approximately $1.8 billion in worldwide sales. In 2008, the generic Ocellla (Yasmin) was approved for sale by Barr Laboratories.

Unfortunately, as the fame of Yaz,Yasmin and Ocella increased, a number of reports revealed that the women taking these two drugs had an augmented risk for severe side effects, including gall bladder disease, blood clots, pulmonary embolism (PE) or deep vein thrombosis (DVT), heart attack or strokes.

While woman are more likely than men to develop gallbladder diseases, the risk for women with no other risk factors for gallbladder disease or gallstones has been revealed to be higher in women taking medications that has forms of estrogen, which includes Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella, as well as for women taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drugs.