Ortho-Evra Side Effects

From Public Citizen:

When Johnson & Johnson received approval from the FDA in November 2001 for Ortho-Evra, a contraceptive patch, the company claimed its product would have two key advantages over existing oral contraceptives:

1) A constant delivery of hormones

2) Improvements in compliance compared to the daily dosing of oral contraceptives

It sounded like a great deal. Women could wear the patch on their skin for seven days before removal. No longer would they have to worry about taking a pill at the same time every day or about the ups and downs of hormone delivery associated with pill use. However, evidence soon emerged showing that the patch wasn’t as great a deal as originally thought.

....

Indeed, evidence compiled by Public Citizen reveals that the patch exposes women to:

• More estrogen and a greater range of estrogen levels;
• A possible two-fold increase in the risk of blood clots;
• Increased painful side effects such as breast discomfort, severe menstrual pain, nausea and vomiting;
• An increased likelihood of discontinued contraceptive use; and
• No improvement in contraceptive outcomes.