An Ohio woman has filed a Mirena side effects lawsuit against the makers of her birth control device claiming that she experienced severe Mirena side effects. She holds Bayer, the device manufacturer, responsible.

Plaintiff Ashley P. of Ohio, is 29 years old. She was implanted with the Mirena IUD on Nov. 29, 2014. She claims that, at the time of implantation, she didn’t experience any Mirena side effects or problems.

However, a little less than two years later, Ashley says she began experiencing what she later came to believe are Mirena side effects, such as severe headaches and neck pain.

What is Mirena?

The Mirena IUD is an intrauterine device women used for the prevention of pregnancy. It is shaped like a “T” and is made of flexible plastic. Over time, it releases small amounts of a hormone called levonorgestrel.

Doctors aren’t exactly sure how levonorgestrel prevents pregnancy, but it may prevent conception by thickening the mucus of the lining of the cervix to keep the sperm from fertilizing the egg, or it may thin the lining of the uterus and suppress ovulation.

Mirena and PTC

According to Ashley’s Mirena lawsuit, she went to the emergency room in June 2016 with neck pain and headaches. She says that about a week later, during an ophthalmology exam, she was diagnosed with bilateral papilledema and sent to a different hospital for testing. During an MRI, it was discovered that she had protrusion of optic nerves which may be caused by a condition known as intercranial hypertension.

One week later, Ashley says she was forced to endure a diagnostic lumbar puncture, an invasive test to evaluate increased intracranial pressure. She was then diagnosed with pseudotumor cerebri (PTC). This condition has been connected with Mirena side effects.

Ashley alleges that when she began with Mirena in 2014, she was unaware that it was associated with certain side effects such as the abnormal elevation of the skull’s cerebrospinal fluid. This can increase the pressure inside the skull and, symptomatically, can look very much like a brain tumor.

This condition, known both as pseudotumor cerebri as well as idiopathic intracranial hypertension, can be caused by the poor absorption of cerebrospinal fluid into the bloodstream or by its increased buildup.

Normally, this fluid is constantly produced then reasbsorbed into the body. However, with some women who experience Mirena side effects, this fluid is not reabsorbed at the normal rate, can buildup in the brain and cause pressure and tumor-like symptoms.

Symptoms of pseudotumor cerebri include headaches or migraines that are frequent, ringing or whooshing in the ears, dizziness or nausea, blurred vision, nausea, vision loss, double vision, neck stiffness or neck pain, forgetfulness and depression.

Ashley claims that because of Mirena use she has been “permanently injured and has incurred or will incur past and future medical expenses, has experienced or will experience past and future pain and suffering, has incurred or will incur lost wages, and is subject to an increased risk of future harm.”

This Mirena Side Effects Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-03251-PAE-JLC in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.