Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals and other birth control manufacturers are facing dozens of lawsuits alleging their contraceptives caused countless women to suffer tumor-like symptoms from a neurological condition known as idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (also known as pseudotumor cerebri) can cause several serious side effects, including migraines, headaches, and vision problems. Because these symptoms are similar to brain tumor symptoms, the condition is also sometimes referred to as a false brain tumor. Regardless of the term used, these birth control side effects can be painful, debilitating, and disorienting for women.

One form of birth control that has allegedly caused several cases of idiopathic intracranial hypertension is the Mirena intrauterine device (Mirena IUD), a contraceptive product implanted in a woman’s uterus to provide long-term birth control.

According to some Mirena birth control lawsuits, the culprit of the intracranial hypertension symptoms might be the levonorgestrel hormone released in small amount by the Mirena IUD into the woman’s bloodstream. Plaintiffs claim that this hormone causes spinal fluid build-up, resulting in incredible pressure on the brain and optic nerves and eventually leading to idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

The Mirena IUD is not the only form of birth control accused of causing women to develop pseudotumor cerebri. Other contraceptive products named in  several intracranial hypertension birth control lawsuits include:

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

Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension Symptoms

Based on recorded pseudotumor cerebri cases, some intracranial hypertension symptoms allegedly exhibited by birth control users include:

• Frequent headaches/migraines that start  behind the eyes and increase in intensity with eye movement
• Pulsatile tinnitus
• Dizziness or nausea
• Vomiting
• Blurred vision, double vision, blind spots
• Vision loss in one or both eyes
• Difficulty seeing to the side decreased peripheral vision)
• Seeing light flashes (photopsia)
• Neck stiffness
• Neck, shoulder or back pain
• Problems walking
• Forgetfulness
• Depression

While the exact cause of intracranial hypertension is still unknown, many researchers and physicians suspect that the hormones contained in many birth control product may be the primary cause of this painful neurological condition.

Mirena Litigation

Currently, Bayer is facing over 1600 Mirena IUD lawsuits alleging other problems associated with the birth control products besides intracranial hypertension, most notably the uterine perforation and migration side effects that cause severe internal injuries to Mirena IUD consumers. In 2014, these lawsuits were centralized into a multidistrict litigation (MDL) and a separate multicounty litigation (MCL).

As for Mirena pseudoutumor cerebri lawsuits, a group of 10 plaintiffs who claim they developed idiopathic intracranial hypertension after using the Mirena IUD have proposed the establishment of a Mirena brain injury MDL that would encompass additional side effects not associated with the perforation and migration of the birth control product.

Lawyers estimate that if an MDL is established for Mirena brain injury lawsuits, the number of cases that join the litigation could encompass up to 60 lawsuits.