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NUVARING BIRTH CONTROL
NuvaRing has been used as a method of birth control by American women since 2001, despite the fact that the vaginal contraceptive ring has been linked to serious side effects such as blood clots, stroke and heart attack. NuvaRing has been blamed for at least 12 deaths and more than 50 lawsuits have since been filed against Organon USA Inc., —the manufacturer—and Schering Plough Corp., the pharmaceutical giant that recently purchased Organon.
NuvaRing is a flexible, plastic ring that is manually placed in the vagina and delivers types of progestin and estrogen, both contraceptive medications that work by suppressing ovulation and preventing the penetration of sperm. Combination oral contraceptives contain both estrogen and progestins. Second and third generation oral contraceptives (OCs) differ in their progestin component, while third generation OCs contain the progestin desogestrel. NuvaRing contains desogestrel.
In 2003, the New England Journal of Medicine published two studies, concluding that the use of low-estrogen oral contraceptives containing desogestrel significantly increase the risk of venous thromboembolism, a potentially fatal type of blood clot. NuvaRing releases a dangerous dose of etonogestral per day—an active desogestral metabolite—into a woman’s system when she uses the contraceptive, which is 21 days per month.
In February, 2007 the Public Citizen concluded that third generation oral contraceptives doubled the risk of blood clots and it asked the FDA to ban oral contraceptives that contained forms of desogestral. In its letter to the FDA, the consumer advocacy group blamed NuvaRing with a higher risk of strokes and other cardiovascular problems. (Etonogestral has been directly linked to adverse cardiac side effects.)
Blood clots (Venous thrombosis) usually occur most in the lower extremities but can also occur in the abdomen, the veins of the brain, the upper extremities, and in superficial veins of the extremities. Blood clots can be life threatening: in a wrongful death lawsuit against the makers of NuvaRing, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) has been blamed for the sudden death of an otherwise healthy woman who used this birth control device for only six months.
In December, 2007 Mrs. Jackie Bozicev's autopsy revealed that a blood clot traveled through her pelvic region and lodged in her lungs, causing her death. A wrongful death lawsuit was subsequently filed in Essex County, New Jersey claiming that Organon and Schering-Plough Corporation knew about the potential side effects associated with NuvaRing and concealed those risks from the public, including the FDA during the approval process. A spokesperson for Schering Plough said that blood clots are a rare, but potential risk long associated with all combined hormonal contraceptives.
The NuvaRing website states that the risk of getting blood clots may be greater with the type of progestin in NuvaRing than with some other progestins in certain low-dose birth control pills. It also says that it is unknown if the risk of blood clots is different with NuvaRing use than with the use of certain birth control pills, even though the FDA approved the drug in 2001.
Long-term studies on the risks of NuvaRing have not yet been completed and critics claim that the manufacturer is placing more emphasis on its ease-of-use rather than its safety. The manufacturer's marketing campaign does not mention that NuvaRing doubles the risk of blood clots, heart attack and stroke compared to other oral contraceptives. Nor does the warning in the package insert, or label, adequately warn women about the risk of developing blood clots. Instead, it says that the hormones in NuvaRing "may cause changes in your blood clotting system which may allow your blood to clot more easily".
If you or someone you know uses the NuvaRing, you may want to discuss potential risks involved with your doctor. If you have experienced any side effects as a result of using NuvaRing, you may want to seek legal help, sooner than later.
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