Women who choose Mirena as their birth control method often do not know about the possibility of Mirena intracranial hypertension as a serious and life-altering side effect.

A Virginia woman, plaintiff Chanthinia W., has filed a Mirena intracranial hypertension lawsuit against Bayer claiming that the device caused intense headaches, blurred vision, double vision and dizziness.

Mirena is an intrauterine device (IUD) that prevents pregnancy by the slow release of hormones. Shaped like a “T”, Mirena is flexible device that is placed inside the uterus, where it slowly releases levonorgestrel.

Mirena was approved in 2009 by the U.S Food and Drug Administration to treat heavy menstrual bleeding. Mirena has been shown to be more than 99% effective in preventing pregnancy, and the device should be removed after five years.

This medical device is one of the most popular forms of reversible birth control. It is estimated that over 150 million women use Mirena. In the United States alone, over 2 million women use Mirena.

The reason why Mirena’s effectiveness is far greater than oral contraceptives is that oral contraceptives rely on perfect use. Because Mirena slowly releases hormones automatically, the patient does not need to remember to take a daily pill.

However, even though Mirena seems like a “wonder” contraceptive, many patients and doctors are worried about a potentially life-changing side effect. In addition to other side effects such as device migration, ecoptic pregnancy, pelvic inflammatory disease, device expulsion and pregnancy complications, Mirena intracranial hypertension is also of concern.

Mirena intracranial hypertension is a condition in which an increase of pressure inside the skull mimics the effects and symptoms of a brain tumor. This condition is also called pseudotumor cerebri.

Mirena intracranial hypertension is characterized by nausea, blurred vision, dimmed vision, dizziness, ringing in the ears as well as moderate to severe headaches.

Chanthinia claims that this is what she began to experience not long after she was implanted with Mirena in June 2014. She alleges that she was not made aware of the potential serious side effects like pseudotumor cerebri and because of this, she holds Bayer responsible.

In this Mirena intracranial hypertension lawsuit, the plaintiff alleges that Mirena is defective and that she has suffered as a result. She claims she has become permanently injured and will incur medical expenses in the future as well as having incurred medical expenses in the past.

This Mirena intracranial hypertension lawsuit brings forth claims of negligence, design defect, failure to warn, strict liability, breach of implied warranty, breach of express warranty, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraud by suppression and concealment, and loss of consortium.

Chanthinia’s Mirena Intracranial Hypertension Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-cv-04285-UA in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.