Yaz is a combination birth control, containing both drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol. When taken as directed, Yaz is 99-percent effective at preventing pregnancy. It is also FDA-approved to treat premenstrual dysphoric disorder, (premenstrual syndrome symptoms so severe that they affect your everyday life), although it has not yet been determined whether the benefits of Yaz in respect to PMDD continue for more than three menstrual cycles. Yaz is sometimes also prescribed as a treatment for moderate acne.
Step 1
Talk to your family practice physician or gynecologist. Yaz is only available by prescription, so you'll need to have a health care professional prescribe it for you before you can purchase it.
Step 2
Ask the doctor's office staff to fax your prescription to the pharmacy of your choice. Most offices will perform this service as a courtesy so that the prescription will probably already be filled if you visit the pharmacy later in the day. This saves you the extra trip of dropping the prescription off yourself beforehand, since pharmacies will accept faxed prescriptions from doctor's offices but not from patients.
Step 3
Visit the prescription pickup window at the pharmacy where your prescription was faxed . Identify yourself by name; you may be required to show picture ID as well. Make sure to double-check the labeling on the package to be sure that it contains Yaz birth control pills and that you've received the quantity you wanted to purchase. Also, check to see if there are any refills on the prescription. If there aren't, it means you have to ask your physician for another prescription once your current supply runs out.
Tips and Warnings
- The prices for the same prescription medication can vary from pharmacy to pharmacy. If money is tight, you can call several pharmacies and compare prices to find the one with the cheapest price on Yaz. Your doctor's office might also know which pharmacy has the lowest prices.
- Yaz's unusual side effect is that it caused increased potassium levels, so if you have kidney, liver or adrenal disease, chronic cardiovascular disease or chronic inflammatory disease, your physician may prescribe you a different birth control pill. He may also ask you to take a blood test to check your potassium levels during your first month of taking Yaz.
