A young woman has filed a lawsuit against Bayer HealthCare citing severe Mirena headaches after being implanted with the Mirena IUD.

Plaintiff Sadie M. is only thirty years old. She had the Mirena IUD inserted into her body on Jan. 25, 2013 and it seemed like the procedure was without any complication whatsoever.

She claims that both she and her doctor relied on the information in the Patient Information Booklet that Bayer provides regarding Mirena.

Very quickly after the Mirena intrauterine device was placed in her body, Sadie says she began experiencing severe symptoms including strong Mirena headaches and extensive vision problems including blurred vision, nausea, dizziness and tinnitus, or a ringing in the ears.

Just a few months after its implantation, in May 21013, Sadie had the Mirena IUD removed because the device had shifted. A new Mirena IUD was implanted without any complication.

Later that year, in August 2013, Sadie saw her doctor for her severe headaches and vision problems. According to her Mirena headaches lawsuit, Sadie was diagnosed with papilledema, or a swelling of the optic nerve.

She had her Mirena IUD removed again, allegedly because her papilledema and Mirena headaches were due to the device itself. She also was forced to undergo a lumbar puncture which determined the source of her Mirena headaches was a condition known as pseudotumor cerebri, or intracranial hypertension.

What Causes Mirena Headaches?

Mirena is an intrauterine device, or IUD, that is designed to prevent pregnancy. Mirena is a small T-shaped device placed in the uterus that releases a small amount of a hormone, levonorgestrel.

It has been approved for U.S. use since the year 2000 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is more than 99 percent effective in preventing pregnancy for many women.

IUDs make up at least 10% of doctor-issued contraceptives in the United States, and about 2 million U.S. women use Mirena.

Mirena releases a small amount of the hormone levonorgestrel over time directly into the uterus. Researchers are not exactly sure how Mirena prevents pregnancy, but they believe it works by thickening the cervical mucus so that sperm may not enter the uterus, or that it inhibits the survival of sperm.

Regardless of how it works exactly, Mirena has been shown to prevent pregnancy in nearly all women who use it, with only .7% becoming pregnant in 5 years.

However, many women who use Mirena have complained of severe side effects including vision problems and Mirena headaches.

Some studies connect Mirena to an increase in the pressure inside the skull. This is called idiopathic intracranial hypertension or pseudotumor cerebri. The symptoms of this increased pressure mimic that of a brain tumor.

It is believed that Mirena headaches are due to a buildup and lack of absorption of cerebrospinal fluid back into the bloodstream. Normally, this fluid is constantly reabsorbed back into the body, but Mirena has been linked with the body’s inability to do this. This increases pressure inside the brain.

This increased pressure can cause vision problems such as the ones Sadie experienced as well as Mirena headaches.

This Mirena Headaches Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-cv-05338, in the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. It is a part of the Mirena MDL In Re: Mirena IUS Levonorgestrel Related Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2767, in the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.