Ortho Evra Contraceptive Patch Side Effects

July 17th, 2005, the Associated Press International (API) reported that they were aware of at least a dozen women, most in their late teens and twenties who died in 2004 due to blood clots that are believed to be related to the use of the Ortho Evra Patch. According to 16,000 federal drug reports filed with the FDA, dozens more women survived strokes and other blood-clot related side effects In fact, API found 23 different fatalities associated with the patch, but the primary cause of death in each case was not always clear.

Some people suspect that there are many more deaths related to Ortho Evra but that aren't reported as such because coroners or doctors are not considering the effect of birth control in the fatal or near-fatal event, so they are not reporting all cases to the government.

These cases are incredible tragedies for the victims and their families. In one case, a 25 year old woman had a stroke and was placed in the Intensive Care Unit, where her condition was so fragile that her family was unable to speak or touch her in any way because even the slightest amount of stimulation could create a fatal level of pressure on her brain.

After the death of this beloved sister, daughter and wife, the coroner stated that her headaches and stroke may have been side effects of the high hormone levels in Ortho-Evra. In March 2004, a young woman from New York died after being on the patch six weeks. A 17-year-old St. Louis girl using Ortho-Evra died from a pulmonary embolism which is a deadly blood clot.

Young women are typically at low risk for blood clots and strokes, but with the use of Ortho Evra, these young women are having strokes, heart attacks and even dying at increased rates.

In November 2005, Ortho McNeil, the makers of Ortho Evra , revised the birth control warning label to include additional risks and side effects:

"Most side effects of the Patch are not serious and those that are, occur infrequently. Serious risks, which can be life threatening, include blood clots, stroke and heart attacks and are increased if you smoke cigarettes."

Women using the Ortho Evra Patch are "exposed to about 60% more estrogen if they use ORTHO EVRA than if they use a typical birth control pill containing 35 micrograms of estrogen. In general, increased estrogen exposure increases the risk of side effects."



These changes to the label do little to warn women and their doctors of the potential risk of dying while using the Ortho Evra birth control patch.

Ortho Evra was the first contraceptive patch approved in 2002 by the FDA for Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals under the giant company Johnson and Johnson. Ortho Evra and other birth control methods for these pharmaceutical companies generates over $1 billion in annual sales.