Ortho Evra Patch vs The Pill
In January 2008, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning that women who used the Ortho Evra patch were more likely to suffer blood clots than women who use birth control pills.
The agency had issued a similar warning in 2006 after a study found that women were twice as likely to suffer blood clots while using Ortho Evra as with the pill.
This increased risk of blood clots with the Ortho Evra patch is caused by the increased hormones dose that it delivers. Because the patch releases its hormone dose through the skin and directly into the bloodstream, women who use the Ortho Evra patch received a 60% higher dose of estrogen than they would with birth control pills.
Ortho Evra users receive up to 60% more estrogen than women who use the pill.
Because estrogen can lead to the formation of blood clots, this increased hormone dose raises the risk of blood clots with the patch.
As a result, women who use the patch may be at risk of other serious Ortho Evra side effects, including heart attack, stroke, deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism.
At least 23 users of the birth control patch have died as a result of the Ortho Evra side effects that they suffered. Hundreds of additional women have experienced other side effects of Ortho Evra. Many of these women have filed Ortho Evra lawsuits against the manufacturers of the patch, alleging that they were never properly warned about the health risks posed by the Ortho Evra patch.
