There are many different types of birth control utilized by women across the United States to prevent pregnancy, as well as to regulate menstrual cycles and other bodily functions related to hormonal prescription contraceptives. When taking hormonal birth control, many women are made aware of the possible side effects they may encounter when taking these products by either their doctor or by reading the medical inserts included with the pharmaceutical product or device. However, many women may not have been made aware that one possible complication linked to the use of hormonal birth control is a condition known as pseudotumor cerebri.

Pseudotumor cerebri is a neurological condition that causes a patient to experience excessive cerebral spinal fluid buildup in their skull, resulting in painful pressure in the brain that can lead to other complications, including blindness.

Some types of brand name birth control and contraceptive devices linked with incidences of pseudotumor cerebri include:

• Yaz
• Yasmin
• Beyaz
• Ocella
• Mirena IUD
• Depo-Provera
• Implanon
• Nexplanon
• NuvaRing
• Ortho Evra
• ParaGard

Attorneys are currently seeking women who have suffered from pseudotumor cerebri after taking these hormonal birth control products to determine if they have legal standing to bring a pseudotumor cerebri birth control lawsuit to court.

What is Pseudotumor Cerebri?

Pseudotumor cerebri (or benign intracranial hypertension) is a neurological condition that stems from increased pressure in the brain. Because of an increase in cerebrospinal fluid, perhaps stemming from the bodies inability to properly absorb it from the skull back into the bloodstream, the fluid builds up and creates immense pressure within a person’s skull.

Some pseudotumor cerebri symptoms that may occur as a result of fluid build-up include:

• Frequent headaches or migraines that may originate behind your eyes and worsen with eye movement
• Ringing in the ears that pulses in time with your heartbeat, creating a “whooshing” sound (pulsatile tinnitus)
• Feeling dizzy or nauseated
• Vomiting
• Blurred vision, double vision, blind spots
• Vision loss affecting one or both eyes
• Difficulty seeing to the side
• Seeing light flashes (photopsia)
• Neck stiffness
• Neck, shoulder or back pain
• Problems walking
• Forgetfulness
• Depression
• More

Because many of these symptoms are similar to those of a brain tumor, this condition is also sometimes referred to as a false brain tumor.

While scientists are still puzzled as to what exactly causes pseudotumor cerebri , some theorize that it may be linked to the use of hormonal birth control pills and other devices. According to some research, birth control that contains the progestin hormone levonorgestrel may contribute to the body’s poor absorption of cerebrospinal fluid, thus increasing a woman’s chance of developing pseudotumor cerebri.

If you or someone you love has suffered from pseudotumor cerebri after taking a birth control product, you should consider speaking with a birth control attorney to see if you have legal claims.