Many Mirena IUD users are discovering that the Mirena is allegedly linked to painful headaches and possible blindness. Across the country, women are complaining of experiencing tumor symptoms without actually having a tumor and suffering mild to major headaches after using the Mirena IUD.

According to injury reports, Mirena IUD users typically start experiencing these symptoms after one to six months after the device is implanted, with most of the patients being in their 20s. According to eHealthMe.com, a recent survey was conducted on women who were current or former Mirena IUD users and reportedly suffered benign intracranial hypertension, or pseudo tumor cerebi. These patients were also taking the medication called Alvedon.

The study contained the injury reports from 62,955 patients who were using the Mirena IUD, and these injury reports were submitted to the FDA and on social media. The results were officially tallied on Feb. 15, 2015 with a total of 60 patients who reported suffering pseudotumor cerebi. While this number seems small compared to the entire patient population, experts are concerned by the fact that there are any numbers at all.

Since its release in 2000, the Mirena IUD has been a popular contraceptive method for women across the United States. Unfortunately, this birth control product has been at the center of numerous lawsuits for various injuries women allegedly suffered, which now includes pseudotumor cerebi.

This is unfortunate as this device is advertised to be 99 percent effective against pregnancy, as stated by Bayer Pharmaceuticals. It is a small T-shaped device that is made from a biologically safe plastic that is directly inserted into the woman’s uterus, where it then releases a synthesized progestin called levonorgestrel, which is a hormone that prevents ovulation and sperm-to-egg fertilization.

Due to the device’s convenience and longevity, it made up for approximately 10.4 percent of all contraceptives used in the United States in 2011. Additionally, the IUD (intrauterine device) is the most popular birth control method in the world, with an estimated 150 million prescribers. Its popularity show no signs of stopping, as millions of women in the United States continue to use the device, despite the recent Mirena IUD lawsuits.

Previously, numerous women complained that the device perforated and migrated away from their uterus and had embedded itself in another part of their abdominal cavity. This led to a variety of complications including: cramping, severe abdominal pain, unwanted pregnancy, and ectopic pregnancy.

For safety reasons, Mirena maker Bayer recommend that women who have not yet had children not use this device, due to the unknown side effects levonorgestrel may have on unborn children.

While these allegations continue to pour in, Bayer Pharmaceuticals must now face this new Mirena allegation of pseudotumor cerebri as an increasing number of patients report these severe headaches.

Overview of Pseudotumor Cerebi

Pseudotumor cerebi (PTC) is a medical condition that is typically characterized by severe headaches, migraines, vision loss, and permanent blindness in severe cases. Also known for being described as a ‘false brain tumor,’ pseudotumor cerebi occurs when large amounts of cerebral spinal fluid builds up in the brain and skull. This condition causes symptoms similar to a brain tumor to develop, resulting in many misdiagnoses by healthcare physicians.

PTC was first associated with the Mirena IUD and other birth control products was in 1995, when a study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, where several contraceptive methods were studied in active patients. The results showed a significant number of women suffered PTC, primarily from subjects who were exposed to levonorgestrel.

As of now, no definite links have been identified between PTC and levonorgestrel but medical experts call for further studies. PTC is a major concern for healthcare providers, as this condition progresses quickly, and can result in permanent blindness.

Experts explain that this condition causes sight damage because the extra spinal fluid puts pressure on the optic disc, causing it to swell.

Patients who are diagnosed before vision loss are typically treated with medications. However, severe cases call for a certain type of brain surgery, where the excess spinal fluid would be drained from the skull with a tube-like device, called a shunt.