Latest news with #DepoProvera
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Women claim seizures, weight gain and heart problems were caused by contraceptive jab linked to brain tumours
Women have alleged that the contraceptive jab, which has been linked to brain tumours, left them suffering debilitating side effects that, in some cases, 'ruined' their lives. Posting on social media, a number of patients have said the injection triggered heart palpitations, anxiety, weight gain and extreme mood swings, with many wishing they never took it. The jab, administered to some 5 million women in the UK, is given every three months and stops reproduction by preventing eggs from being released by a woman's ovaries. But its safety has recently been called into question after studies found the injection, known by the brand name Dep-Provera, raised the risk of brain tumours five-fold. Researchers found those who had the jab were far more likely to develop a meningioma, a type of brain tumour that is non-cancerous but can kill by compressing the brain and nerves if it grows too big. Last October, UK watchdog the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority called for the injection's manufacturer Pfizer to include a warning about the risk in patient information leaflets. Pfizer, the drug firm behind the jab, also wrote to NHS doctors urging them to stop women from using Depo-Provera immediately if they were diagnosed with a meningioma. On Wednesday, it came to light that some 200 UK women who feared the jab was to blame for their meningioma are now considering legal action. About 400 US women have launched a class action against Pfizer and other generic makers of Depo-Provera. Now, women have taken to social media to complain of a range of health problems they believe were caused by the jab. In one TikTok video a women named Emily Rose said the shot 'completely ruined' her life. In the caption of the video, she wrote that she wouldn't recommend it unless you're 'prepared to do your research'. She claimed to have suffered heart palpitations, anxiety, loss of appetite, and described feeling like 'a complete stranger' to herself. Others echoed her experiences in the comments section. One mother said getting the contraceptive jab was 'literally the worst mistake' she has ever made, while another told of 'skyrocketing anxiety', 'headaches from hell' and visual disturbances. 'I regret it so much,' she added. In another TikTok video, a women named Calyssa described 'life-ruining' withdrawal symptoms when she stopped having the jab. Specifically, she claimed it was responsible for extreme weight gain—causing her to gain more fat than she did during pregnancy. In the caption to the video she said: 'The Depo-Provera birth control I can say ruined my life and body. 'Getting off of it made conceiving take longer and my body had withdrawal effects where the weight gain went up before it went down. 'Plus, I was always moody and rageful with it. It gave me rage.' Elsewhere, in a Reddit post shared late last year, a 24 year-old woman with no prior health issues shared her suspicions that two seizures she suffered may have been linked to the jab. The woman claimed she had an initial seizure in June 2024 while driving 'out of nowhere', which landed her in the back of an ambulance. While she remarkably sustained no injuries, her car was 'totaled'. The hospital carried out tests which all came back clear, but one week later she claimed that she suffered another seizure. 'My body was hot, heavy & tingly, and then my boyfriend said I went 'lifeless' in my eyes and started to seize,' she wrote. The only common theme she claimed she noticed was that she had received her Depo jab a week before each seizure. Sherry Brown, of Louisiana in the US, is one of the women who believe the contraceptive jab left them with a life-altering brain tumour. She told MailOnline that she started taking Depo-Provera in 2001, when she was drawn to the jab for its convenience compared to the pills she took before. However, she stopped taking the injection in 2003 due to weight gain, staying off other birth control until undergoing a hysterectomy in 2004 when she was 27. Brown thought nothing of her time on Depo-Provera until she randomly passed out in 2019 and hit her head. Doctors discovered a meningioma in her brain, though they decided not to start any treatments due to its small size. Two years later, in 2021, Brown lost her sense of smell. She also suffered regular memory lapses, taking several minutes to remember routines she had spent years perfecting. Scans revealed a second meningioma. Though the newer tumour was too small for doctors to risk removing, her primary growth had grown to about 1.5 inches, roughly the size of a silver dollar coin. Earlier this year, at age 47, Brown underwent a gamma knife procedure, which uses radiation to stop tumour growth without making any incisions. She will have scans later this year to see if the procedure stopped the primary meningioma from growing. If it is unsuccessful, she will likely have to have brain surgery to remove either one or both tumours. 'It's a constant fear and thought in the back of my mind: Are the tumors going to grow? Is either one of them going to grow?' Brown said.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) Ends Acepodia Partnership Amid Depo-Provera Legal Woes
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) is navigating a period of strategic upheaval and legal scrutiny as it ends its clinical collaboration with Acepodia and faces mounting lawsuits over its contraceptive, Depo-Provera. The decision to mutually terminate the partnership with Acepodia, which focused on autoimmune disease drug development, is attributed to PFE's global resource prioritization and not to Acepodia's capabilities. The wind-down is expected to have no impact on Acepodia's clinical programs, with both companies leaving open the possibility of future collaboration. Pixabay/Public Domain Simultaneously, Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) is embroiled in multidistrict litigation involving approximately 400 lawsuits alleging the company failed to adequately warn about the risk of brain tumors linked to long-term Depo-Provera use. Recent studies have intensified scrutiny, and hearings are scheduled as the company faces accusations of prioritizing profits over patient safety. Despite these challenges, Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)'s performance has remained stable, mirroring broader market trends. However, investor sentiment is cautious: the company's total shareholder return fell 11.11% over the past year, underperforming the US pharmaceuticals sector's 10.5% decline. Analysts note that the current share price reflects these uncertainties, with only a marginal upside projected, underscoring the importance of future earnings and revenue growth for PFE's outlook. While we acknowledge the potential of PFE to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PFE and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this READ NEXT: and Disclosure: None.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Popular medicine taken by millions of women every year has given them BRAIN TUMORS
Hundreds of women in the US are suing pharmaceutical giant Pfizer over claims its popular birth-control injection left them with 'life-altering' brain tumors. Each year, around 2 million women are prescribed the contraceptive shot, called Depo-Provera, which many are drawn to for its convenience. Your browser does not support iframes.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Hundreds of women ready to sue over contraceptive jab linked to brain tumours - as doctor warns prescribing drug 'verges on medical negligence'
Hundreds of women in the UK are considering taking legal action over fears a contraceptive jab has put them at risk of a potentially fatal brain tumour. Every month, about 10,000 prescriptions are handed out in England for medroxyprogesterone acetate, known under the brand name Depo-Provera, NHS data shows. But a study, published last year, revealed women who had used it for more than a year were five times more likely to suffer a meningioma, a type of brain tumour. It is non-cancerous but can kill by compressing the brain and nerves if it grows too big. Last October, UK watchdog the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority called for the injection's manufacturer Pfizer to include a warning about the risk in patient information leaflets. Pfizer also wrote to NHS doctors urging them to stop women from using Depo-Provera immediately if they were diagnosed with a meningioma. The study by France's National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety analysed data on more than 18,000 women in France who'd had surgery for meningioma between 2009 and 2018. While the number who developed a tumour while using the jab was small, the risk was significantly higher than for those not on it. MailOnline reported earlier this month how an 18-year-old was advised by her gynaecologist to take the injection to avoid having her period. Jessica Blake said she has suffered 20 seizures since first taking the injection in January 2024 which she described as 'utterly terrifying'. While no doctor has been able to directly correlate Ms Blake's seizures with the medroxyprogesterone (Depo-Provera) injection, Ms Blake believes there 'has to be' a connection, given that she suffered from no prior medical conditions. She said: 'I've gone to A&E every time I've had these seizures and my most recent one led to me ending up in recuse. 'It's so frustrating and I feel lost. It's like a burden on my shoulder – I can't go out without worrying I'm going to have another seizure.' About 400 US women have launched a class action against Pfizer and other generic makers of the jab. They allege that the firms were aware of the link with meningioma but failed to adequately warn users of the risks. All the women developed meningiomas after using the jab for at least a year. Ahead of a court hearing on Friday in Florida, Virginia Buchanan, from US law firm Levin Papantonio, said: 'This will bring us closer to achieving justice for women who have never been warned about the increased risk of developing a brain tumour.' A UK medical legal expert, who did not want to be identified, said his firm had been approached by about 200 women who feared the jab was to blame for their meningioma or had put them at increased risk of it.
