A report on ABC 15 out of Arizona deals with the thousands of women who have suffered complications as a result of using the Mirena intrauterine device.
According to the report, 59,229 users filed complaints with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about the devices since 2004. The most common is “expulsion,” in which the device came out on its own. But there were also more than 1,300 reports from 2008 through 2012 of an IUD perforating a user’s uterus.
The ABC 15 report includes an interview with one such patient who needed surgery after the IUD floated into her abdomen and had to be removed by surgery. She learned of the problem after experiencing pain so severe that it sent her to the emergency room.
The report quotes her as saying: “They told me that it needed to be removed as soon as possible. It was horrible. I would never recommend it to anyone.”
The ABC 15 story said there were more than 3,700 complaints of abdominal pain from Mirena users between 2008 and 2012.
A number of women have filed lawsuits claiming manufacturer Bayer overstated Mirena’s benefits in its advertising while trying to conceal some potentially dangerous side effects.
The report quotes a lawyer as saying: “There’s nothing in the warning that gives these individuals any idea that once they walk out of their doctor’s office with this device in place that they need to be cognizant of this risk.”
ABC 15 says some relatively less serious complaints were reported as well, including acne, migraines and back pain.
Patients should consult their doctors before making any changes in their medication. A consultation with a Mirena lawyer is also important if surgery was required from Mirena.