A New York woman has added yet another Mirena pseudotumor lawsuit to the litigation piling up against Bayer Healthcare. This Mirena pseudotumor lawsuit and others like it allege that the popular birth control device can lead to serious side effects, including pseudotumor cerebri (PTC).

The plaintiff who filed this most recent Mirena pseudotumor lawsuit, Brianna B., is a young woman in her mid-twenties. She says she was implanted with the Mirena device in October 2013. The insertion went without complication, but soon afterward she says she began experiencing serious side effects.

According to the Mirena pseudotumor lawsuit, Brianna started to suffer from severe headaches and even dramatic vision problems, including black outs, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, and tunnel vision.

These vision problems allegedly became so serious that they forced Brianna to seek treatment in September 2014. She says she was diagnosed with papilledema (swelling of the optic nerve), and subsequently underwent a lumbar puncture. This process led to her diagnosis with a condition popularly known as pseudotumor cerebri, but more formally known as intracranial hypertension (IIH).

A few months later, Brianna says she had her Mirena implant removed. Unfortunately, considerable damage had been done at that point, the complaint says. Not only did the Mirena side effects cause physical pain and suffering, but they also led to medical expenses and lost wages—and will continue to do so as her injuries persist.

In response to her pseudotumor cerebri diagnosis, Brianna filed a Mirena pseudotumor lawsuit against Bayer, alleging that her injuries were directly caused by the Mirena IUD device.

Brianna filed her Mirena pseudotumor lawsuit on multiple counts, including negligence, design defect, failure to warn, breach of express and implied warranties, negligent and fraudulent misrepresentation, and several others.

Background of the Mirena IUD

Mirena is a small and flexible birth control device, manufactured by Bayer Healthcare and first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) back in 2000. Since its release, Mirena has quickly become a popular option for birth control. Around 15 million women across the world have been implanted with the Mirena system.

Any medical device or medication will certainly have complications, and Mirena IUD side effects are no exception. However, Mirena birth control has been linked with one particular side effect that could cause lasting dangers for patients–pseudotumor cerebri, or PTC.

Pseudotumor cerebri may initially sound like it is a kind of tumor, but it’s not. Pseudotumor cerebri essentially means “false brain tumor,” and is thus named because of the symptoms it shares with brain tumors without actually involving a tumor at all.

Pseudotumor cerebri is also known as intracranial hypertension, or IIH. Intracranial hypertension is caused by the buildup of excess cerebrospinal fluid in the skull. Excess cerebrospinal fluid can cause several problems, including extreme pressure inside the skull, causing headaches and migraines.

Though this condition is not fatal, patients that suffer from Mirena pseudotumor cerebri symptoms can experience pain and potentially permanent damage, such as vision loss or even total blindness.

Filing a Mirena Pseudotumor Lawsuit

If you or someone you love has used Mirena or a similar IUD and has since suffered from Mirena IUD side effects like intracranial hypertension as a result, you may be able to file a Mirena pseudotumor lawsuit.

While filing a Mirena pseudotumor lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by Mirena IUD side effects, it can help to alleviate the financial burden of medical expenses and lost wages.

The Mirena Pseudotumor Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-cv-07149-UA, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.