April 17, 2006
These cases are incredible tragedies for the women 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 caused by the high hormone levels in Ortho-Evra. In another case 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. With the use of Ortho Evra, these young women are having strokes, heart attacks and are unfortunately dying in their late teens and early 20s.
March 08, 2006
The FDA will launch an exhaustive review of the safety of medicated patches such as Ortho Evra, the agency announced last week. Ortho Evra, a birth-control patch, has been linked to blood clots, strokes, heart attacks, pulmonary embolisms and deep vein thrombosis (DVT). A New York fashion student died in 2004 while using the Ortho Evra patch. An autopsy showed a blood clot had traveled to her lung.
March 01, 2006
Ortho Evra is the first transdermal (skin) patch approved for birth control. The weekly prescription patch releases norelgestromin (a progestin hormone), and ethinyl estradiol (an estrogen hormone), through the skin into the blood stream to prevent pregnancy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Ortho Evra, manufactured by Ortho McNeil, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, in November 2001.
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December 15, 2005
Last month the FDA announced it was revising the label for the Ortho Evra birth control patch due to the high levels of Estrogen women are exposed to when using the drug. The agency said women may be exposed to 60% more estrogen while on the patch than if they were taking a normal birth control pill.
Read the entire Ortho Evra FDA Q&A.;