Depo-Provera Lawsuit Filed Over Pseudotumor Cerebri Side Effects

A California woman indicates that side effects of the Depo-Provera birth control shot caused her to develop pseudotumor cerebri (PTC); a condition that involves a dangerous build up of fluid pressure around the brain, resulting in severe headaches, vision problems and other health complications. 

In a complaint (PDF) filed in the California Superior Court for Alameda County in March, which was recently removed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Krystyne Lopez indicates that Pfizer failed to provide adequate warnings for users and the medical community about the link between Depo-Provera and pseudotumor cerebri.

Lopez indicates that she was diagnosed with the condition in November 2013, resulting in the need for multiple lumbar punctures. However, she did not discover that the pseudotumor cerebri side effects were caused by Depo-Provera until the last two years, indicating that the drug makers actively concealed information about the risks associated with the birth control shot.

“Had Plaintiff been adequately warned of the potential life-threatening side effects, she could have chosen to request other birth control medications or devices and avoided Depo-Provera’s potentially life threatening side effects,” according to allegations raised in the lawsuit. “Defendants negligently, recklessly and wontonly failed to warn Plaintiff and the general public, of the risks associated with taking Depo-Provera. Defendants failed to do so even after various studies showed that there were problems concerning the risks of PTC associated with Depo-Provera and/or its active ingredient, a synthetic progestin or Progesterone compound.”

Pseudotumor cerebri, which is also sometimes referred to as idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), typically causes severe headaches, ringing in the ears, blurred vision, blindness and other problems due to a build up of fluid pressure on the brain. While treatment for the condition can relieve the pressure, delay in removing the underlying cause of the fluid build up around the brain can result in permanent damage to the optic nerve, which may lead to blindness and other vision problems that can not be reversed.

The lawsuit filed by Lopez raises allegations similar to those being pursued in hundreds of Mirena IUD lawsuits, involving claims brought by women who developed the condition due to the long-acting birth control implant.

Health experts say that almost all cases of PTC/IIH result in some loss of vision. However, if detected quickly and treated, that vision loss can be negligible and often unnoticed. It is often linked to a form of optic nerve damage called papilledema. The lawsuits indicate that the manufacturers’ failure to warn about the PTC risks exposed women to an increased risk of severe and permanent injury.

Lopez presents claims for strict liability, negligence, breach of warranty, fraud, and fraudulent concealment.