Ortho Evra
January 8, 2007Ortho Evra user says the patch caused her neurological damage
Although several studies have examined the link between the Ortho Evra patch and blood clots, heart attack or stroke, a new case suggests that there may be a link between the patch and neurological damage as well. According to a Wisconsin woman, she suffered symptoms of neurological damage after using the birth control patch.Kristin Gruber was prescribed the Ortho Evra patch in 2003. In September 2006, she began to experience dark, purple spots under her fingernails which grew so painful that she was unable to perform common tasks. Soon afterward, Gruber began to experience headaches.
When she saw a news story about the link between Ortho Evra and blood clots, Gruber stopped using the patch immediately. Although the birth control patch side effects on her fingers quickly went away, Gruber began to experience recurring numbness in her hands, feet, knees and face. The numbness made it difficult for her to do everyday things like writing a check at the store—and even, sometimes, to stand up.
Tests by a doctor revealed that Gruber has less sensation on the right side of her body, so much so that she can barely tell the difference between hot and cold. In addition, she suffers from nominal aphasia, a condition that makes it difficult to think of the names of well-known objects. Alarmed by these symptoms, Gruber’s doctor has sent her to visit a neurologist to test whether they are side effects of Ortho Evra.
Gruber herself believes that the Ortho Evra patch was directly responsible for the neurological problems she is now experiencing. She says that Ortho-McNeil, the manufacturer of the Ortho Evra patch, should have done more to warn users about the risk of birth control patch side effects.
But Gruber also feels that the company needs to warn doctors about the risk of Ortho Evra side effects, so that they don’t prescribe the drug to their patients. “Obviously, doctors have about as much information about this drug as their patients do. My doctor wouldn’t have prescribed this drug if she knew of any side effects,” she says.