Attorney Ben Stewart: Mirena Users Have Suffered “Permanent Damage”

Portland, ORWomen choosing a method of birth control could be forgiven for thinking the decision is complicated, given the number of side effects and adverse reactions to watch out for. Just as oral contraceptives come with risks, so is there a risk of Mirena side effects, including a risk of Mirena uterine perforation. These Mirena birth control side effects can be permanent, says Ben Stewart attorney at Stewart Law Group, PLLC.

“Mirena is an interuterine device, which has been used as an alternative to birth control pills,” Stewart says. “The main demographic is married women who have had one child and elect not to use oral contraceptives. They use the IUD device in the interim period while deciding whether or not to have a second child. Mirena uses the synthetic hormone levonorgestrel, and is a hormone disrupter.”

As with other forms of birth control, however, Mirena apparently comes with serious side effects, including migration of the device through the patient’s uterus and into the abdominal cavity.

“Lawsuits have been filed on behalf of women injured by Mirena,” Stewart says. “These women have suffered permanent damage. It goes into the abdominal cavity and releases hormone suppressants into the body cavity. One plaintiff who filed a lawsuit had it implanted in 2009. In 2010, she had a hysterectomy to remove it, but doctors couldn’t find the IUD in her uterus. During the operation, they found the device in the left abdominal wall. It had migrated through her uterine lining, through her body cavity and to the left abdominal wall.”

Other symptoms associated with Mirena include cessation of menstruation, ectopic pregnancy, sepsis, pelvic inflammatory disease, abscesses, infertility and erosion of adjacent areas, including the vagina. Decreased libido was reported in approximately five percent of Mirena users in clinical trials, Stewart says. Furthermore, Bayer received a letter from the US Food and Drug Administration warning the company that it overstated Mirena’s efficacy in marketing claims that touted the device could improve a woman’s sex life and help her “look and feel great.”

Since Mirena was approved, two million women in the US have had the device implanted, while 15 million women globally have used it.

“We’re just seeing the beginning of litigation,” Stewart says. “There are 118,000 potential plaintiffs nationwide. Right now, to be eligible for a lawsuit, the woman must have had the IUD migrated and had a hysterectomy as a result, or had the IUD perforate an organ. We’re looking at women who have had the IUD implanted within the last two years.”