Many women have taken birth control medication for years without side effects or problems from its use. Birth control pills are easy and convenient to take, and fill a need for women who choose not to get pregnant. For some women, the hormones in the pills help treat irregular or painful periods, ovarian cysts, acne and other physical conditions unrelated to the desire to prevent pregnancy.

However, some women develop troubling symptoms after taking the pills for weeks, months, years, or even decades. These women have migraines, cloudy vision, what feels like sinus pressure behind the eyes, and see gray spots move across their vision. At first, many of these women might dismiss the symptoms as allergy or sinus related, but as their symptoms progress in seriousness and cause conditions like a decline in memory, hearing a weird whooshing in the ears that sounds like a heartbeat, or severe neck stiffness or pain, the women start to question whether something more is going on. Some women may even wonder if they have a brain tumor.

Because the signs and symptoms can be subtle at first, they can be easily misdiagnosed by a doctor or ignored by a patient. But for those who do take note and have a physician that correctly diagnoses the condition, women learn that they have a condition called Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension.

What is Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH)?

“Idiopathic” means the cause of the condition is uncertain. Although IIH is linked to birth control pill use, the mechanism of how it causes the condition is uncertain. “Intracranial” refers to the pressure inside the brain, while “hypertension” is increased fluid pressure. In this case, that refers to the pressure of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. The fluid creates a high pressure within the skull, which can cause minor to severe problems.

IIH is also called Pseudotumor Cerebri, meaning “false tumor,” because the symptoms of IIH mimic a brain tumor. It also used to be called Benign Intracranial Hypertension, but because the condition can cause visual loss, it is no longer considered benign.

The main symptoms of increased intracranial pressure include:

• Double vision
• Pain behind the eye and with eye movement
• Papilledema (swollen optic nerve, may lead to vision loss or blindness)
• Pulsatile tinnitus (whooshing noise in the ears in sync with the heartbeat)
• Severe headache
• Temporary vision loss or odd visual phenomena

Other reported symptoms include:

• Balance problems and decreased spatial awareness
• Fatigue
• Memory loss and concentration difficulties
• Nausea and vomiting
• Sensitivity to bright light and sound

Many patients may be diagnosed simply with migraine with aura, until a visual exam by an ophthalmologist prompts a further exploration into possible IIH.

Some women with IIH have mild symptoms, and others are disabled by the severity of the condition. Many women have later made the connection between their birth control pill and this condition, and have filed birth control lawsuits against the various drug manufacturers for not adequately warning them about the dangers of their birth control choice.

Birth Control Lawsuit Information

If you have been diagnosed with Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension/Pseudotumor Cerebri, you may be entitled to legal compensation. Contact an experienced attorney to discuss your legal rights.