Women who experience headaches simultaneous with taking hormonal birth control may be experiencing the first stages of pseudotumor cerebri, a birth control side effect that can lead to chronic headaches and vision loss.

Pseudotumor cerebri, also known as idiopathic intracranial hypertension or benign intracranial hypertension, results from an increase of pressure inside the skull. The name “pseudotumor cerebri” refers to the simultaneous occurrence of brain tumor symptoms though no actual brain tumor is present. It most typically occurs in women of childbearing age, and obese women are particularly susceptible.

Pseudotumor Cerebri Symptoms

Symptoms typically begin with a daily or almost-daily headache, sometimes accompanied by nausea, ringing in the ears, or changes in vision. The increased pressure can sometimes cause vision loss due to a secondary condition known as papilledema, or swelling of the optic nerve. This swelling can lead to a loss of peripheral vision. Because the loss begins at the outer edges of the field of vision, patients often do not notice it until they start bumping into objects they hadn’t noticed. As papilledema progresses, vision becomes blurry and the loss of peripheral vision may grow to cover the entire field of vision. Once vision loss sets in, it is typically permanent even if the intracranial pressure is later relieved.

Treatment for Pseudotumor Cerebri

Diagnosis of pseudotumor cerebri is usually done through a doctor’s exam, with imaging studies or a lumbar puncture if needed. Treatment for pseudotumor cerebri requires the patient to stop taking drugs, such as birth control, that are known to cause pseudotumor cerebri. In obese patients, weight loss may also relieve symptoms. The more severe cases may require surgery to relieve intracranial pressure symptoms. Some doctors endorse using a spinal tap to relieve pressure by draining cerebrospinal fluid, though the usefulness of that procedure is still debated.

Causes of Pseudotumor Cerebri

Certain types of hormonal contraceptive medications are known causes of pseudotumor cerebri. These medications are not limited to oral contraceptives: they include implantable devices like the Mirena IUD as well as injections such as Depo–Provera.

Pseudotumor Cerebri Lawsuits

Within the wave of litigation over the Mirena IUD, claims have arisen out of certain plaintiffs’ episodes of pseudotumor cerebri. About 1,800 such Mirena lawsuits have been consolidated into the Mirena IUD multidistrict litigation, or MDL, currently pending in federal court in New York. Most of these Mirena lawsuits are over the Mirena’s tendency to perforate the uterus and migrate to elsewhere in the abdomen. However, a few plaintiffs’ claims are based on episodes of pseudotumor cerebri. These plaintiffs requested to have their claims separated into their own MDL. The court denied that request, finding there were not enough such claims to justify a separate consolidation.

A similar consolidation of Mirena lawsuits is also pending in New Jersey state court as a multicounty litigation, or MCL.

Typically, plaintiffs in these lawsuits claim the manufacturers of these birth control medications failed to adequately warn consumers or their doctors about the increased risk of pseudotumor cerebri. It’s common for them to raise claims for negligence, defective design and manufacture, breach of warranty, fraud, or concealment of vital safety information. Successful plaintiffs may be compensated for medical expenses, physical injury, pain and suffering, lost wages, or lost earning potential.