Hormonal birth control pills and implants like the Mirena IUD have been linked to an increased risk of pseudotumor cerebri, a medical condition that mimics the effects of a brain tumor and can cause severe headaches, migraines, vision loss, and permanent blindness.

These undisclosed side effects of birth control products like Yasmin, Yaz, Depo-Provera and the IUD Mirena have led to several birth control lawsuits against the drug makers.

What is Pseudotumor Cerebri?

Pseudotumor cerebri is a condition that mimics the effects of a brain tumor and can cause severe headaches, migraines, vision loss, and permanent blindness.

Pseudotumor cerebri is also known as intracranial hypertension. Pseudotumor cerebri, which literally means “false brain tumor,” involves an abnormal elevation of cerebrospinal fluid in the skull, causing increased pressure in the patient’s skull.

The disorder is prevalent in women who use some form of hormonal birth control. While pseudotumor cerebri only occurs in about one person per 100,000 in the general public, obese women under the age of 44 are nearly 20 times more likely to develop the disorder.

Because symptoms closely resemble those of a brain tumor, it is often misdiagnosed. This further complicates the process of making a diagnosis and means pseudotumor cerebri is an easy condition for medical professionals to miss altogether.

What are the Symptoms of Pseudotumor Cerebri?

Pseudotumor cerebri symptoms may 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

Does Birth Control Cause Pseudotumor Cerebri?

While there is limited scientific evidence about what exactly causes PTC, numerous reports of women who use a form of hormonal birth control who have suffered from intracranial hypertension are documented. Also, a research study conducted in 1995 and published in the New England Journal of Medicine has linked the debilitating condition with birth control pills and contraceptive implants containing the hormone levonorgestrel, such as the Mirena IUD.

Additionally, officials from the National Institute of Health (NIH) warn that birth control pills are a risk factor for pseudotumor cerebri. Several case reports have linked pseudotumor cerebri with exogenous estrogen, progestin-only implants, and birth control injections like Depo Provera.

Pseudotumor Cerebri Lawsuits

Certain hormonal oral contraceptives and IUDs are linked to pseudotumor cerebri. However, the risk of this birth control side effect wasn’t shared with consumers, according to allegations raised in numerous pseudotumor cerebri lawsuits. These pseudotumor cerebri birth control lawsuits accuse drug makers of failing to warn women about the risk of developing pseudotumor cerebri from the effects of birth control.

Potential PTC lawsuits are being investigated for women who were diagnosed with pseudotumor cerebri after using the following birth control products:

• Yaz
• Yasmin
• Ocella
• Beyaz
• Implanon
• Nexplanon
• NuvaRing
• Ortho Evra
• Depo Provera
• Paragaurd
• Mirena

In general, birth control lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.