{"id":686076,"date":"2026-07-11T13:42:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T13:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/686076\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T13:42:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T13:42:17","slug":"no-woman-should-be-given-depo-jag-without-risk-warning-victims-left-mutilated-hit-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/686076\/","title":{"rendered":"“No woman should be given depo jag without risk warning” Victims left mutilated hit out"},"content":{"rendered":"

The women, who were each diagnosed with brain tumours after taking the birth control, are demanding a change to side effect guidelines as the known victim toll in Scotland soars to 150.\"Tammy<\/p>\n

Tammy Croston was left without the use of one of her eyes after surgery to remove her tumour went wrong(Image: UGC)<\/p>\n

Women left mutilated by a contraceptive jab have demanded that NHS Scotland urgently updates side-effect guidance after they suffered horrific side effects..<\/p>\n

Victims with brain tumours, bulging eyes and sight loss after taking Depo-Provera are calling for an immediate change to wording that states there is a “small chance” of developing a meningioma tumour with frequent use.<\/p>\n

But a study published in the British Medical Journal in 2024 found that women who used the jag were five times more likely to be diagnosed with meningiomas than women who have never used the birth control.<\/a><\/p>\n

It comes as 150 Scottish women are currently being represented by Thompsons Solicitors in their fight to seek damages against drug manufacturer Pfizer after the Daily Record highlighted their cases.<\/p>\n

\"Tammy<\/p>\n

Tammy in hospital(Image: Supplied)<\/p>\n

When we first started to highlight the issue back in February this year, we were only aware of two victims.<\/p>\n

That number has risen rapidly as we continued to unearth the scandal.<\/p>\n

Tammy Croston, 47, runs an online community support group for women who have taken Depo-Provera<\/a> and suspect their tumours are linked to the drug.<\/p>\n

She says there are currently 400 members<\/a> with numbers “tenfolding”.<\/p>\n

The mum-of two, from Cupar in Fife, was left without the use of one of her eyes after surgery to remove one of her four meningiomas <\/a>went wrong.<\/p>\n

\"Tammy<\/p>\n

Tammy Croston after surgery<\/p>\n

Tammy <\/a>told the Record: “This guidance needs to be changed immediately. There are 150 known victims in Scotland but across the UK, support groups are being formed with hundreds, if not thousands, of women who are scared about the life-altering side effects of Depo-Provera.<\/p>\n

“The correlation <\/a>was made by professionals two years ago, but women are only managing to make the link now because of the exposure this story is getting in the Daily Record.<\/p>\n

“It is irresponsible for the NHS to continue to keep this guidance when women are popping up everywhere with tumours after taking Depo for years.<\/p>\n

“Our numbers are tenfolding.<\/p>\n

“When going for contraception, women deserve to know the full facts about this jab <\/a>before they make a decision and right now, they’re not getting that.<\/p>\n

“No woman should be given this drug without a full warning<\/a> of the risks.”<\/p>\n

\"Trish<\/p>\n

Trish after surgery(Image: UGC)<\/p>\n

Trish Saunders, from Aberdeen, began using Depo-Provera<\/a> in 1999.<\/p>\n

The 45-year-old was prescribed the jab for heavy periods and used it consistently until 2016.<\/p>\n

She was diagnosed with a 5mm meningioma<\/a> after her eye became swollen in 2013. Surgery to remove the mass left her with a half-paralysed face.<\/p>\n

She said: “There is no ‘small chance’, the chance of developing a tumour <\/a>after taking Depo-Provera is extremely likely. We are living proof of that and our numbers are amassing.<\/p>\n

“To suggest that it is rare to develop a tumour just isn’t true.<\/p>\n

“We have undergone invasive operations <\/a>and therapies and have been left with life-changing injuries.<\/p>\n

“Women deserve to know the truth when they go to their doctor for contraception<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“The current advice is irresponsible.”<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The tangerine-sized tumour, and cyst, in Kirsty’s skull(Image: Supplied)<\/p>\n

Kirsty McCord, 52, from Biggar in South Lanarkshire, was 18-years-old when she began taking Depo Provera.<\/p>\n

She was diagnosed with a meningioma<\/a> roughly the size of a tangerine after she suffered a seizure last year.<\/p>\n

She said: “This wording needs to be changed to remove ‘small risk’ – I am living proof that that’s not the case.<\/p>\n

“This guideline must be changed so GPs can conduct best practice to allow women to be fully informed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“It’s reckless to suggest there is a small risk of developing a meningioma from Depo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Hundreds of women are coming forward across the country to speak up about their fears.<\/p>\n

“It’s time the NHS acknowledged that this is as serious <\/a>as it gets.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

(Image: Supplied)<\/p>\n

Kirsty Moore, from Dundee, had to undergo invasive brain surgery<\/a> and several gruelling rounds of radiotherapy to shrink a tumour she developed after taking the injection for over 20 years.<\/p>\n

The 37-year-old only came off the drug earlier this year after learning of its deadly links to meningiomas.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, she has been left with a bulging eye due<\/a> to the location of the mass inside her skull.<\/p>\n

She said: “The wording needs to be changed immediately.<\/p>\n

“There are loads of young girls out there who will be taking Depo <\/a>because of how easy and convenient it is.<\/p>\n

” In years to come, some of them may develop meningiomas when they aren’t aware of the full facts.<\/p>\n

“The NHS has a duty of care and it must make women aware that there are serious implications of taking Depo.”<\/p>\n

In 2024, when the scientific link was made between Depo-Provera and meningiomas<\/a>, the first major lawsuits were filed against Pfizer in the US.<\/p>\n

Women alleged the drug caused their brain tumours and that the company failed to warn them.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

(Image: Daily Record)<\/p>\n

News of their cases then spread to the UK before women began sharing their stories with the Record earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Last month, women took their cases to Holyrood to demand politicians to push for a public inquiry into the use of the injection <\/a>in the UK.<\/p>\n

The monumental sit-down <\/a>was secured just days after Pfizer agreed to settle over 5,000 lawsuits in America.<\/p>\n

\"Women<\/p>\n

Women affected by Depo-Provera speaking to politicians at Holyrood(Image: Daily Record)<\/p>\n

Thompsons Solicitor Emma Bruce, who is representing the women in Scotland, said: “No woman should be prescribed Depo\u2011Provera without first being fully informed of the increased risk of developing a meningioma associated with its use, thereby enabling her to make an informed decision about her treatment.<\/p>\n

“The devastating consequences suffered by our clients following their diagnosis of a meningioma must not only be fully acknowledged, but also given serious weight when acted upon.<\/p>\n

“The risks associated with this medication must not be minimised, downplayed or dismissed.<\/p>\n

Anything short of this undermines a woman’s right to informed consent and personal autonomy.”<\/p>\n

It is equally important that lessons are learnt from our clients\u2019 experiences to ensure that future generations of women are afforded the information necessary to make informed choices <\/a>about their healthcare and are not exposed to the same preventable harm.”<\/p>\n

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Public Health Minister Maree Todd said: \u201cI have the utmost sympathy for women who may have been harmed by Depo Provera. I met with some of the women to hear first-hand of their experiences and I have agreed a series of actions with them that we will take forward, including issuing a letter directly to healthcare professionals in Scotland.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe regulation of medicines is reserved to the UK Government, meaning any further investigation into Depo Provera would be a matter for it the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to consider.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Pfizer said: “Patient safety is our top priority. We conduct rigorous and continuous monitoring of all our medicines, including assessments of reported adverse events, in collaboration with health authorities around the globe. Depo-Provera (medroxyprogesterone acetate) has been approved in more than 60 countries over the last 30 years, has a well-established efficacy and safety profile and has been a treatment option for millions of patients during that time.<\/p>\n

“People should talk to their doctor, pharmacist or nurse if they have any concerns or experience any side effects.”<\/p>\n

Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google\u2019s preferred sources. Click HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The women, who were each diagnosed with brain tumours after taking the birth control, are demanding a change…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":686077,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[59,102,3780,7335,56,54,55,658],"class_list":["post-686076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-gb","tag-health","tag-nhs-scotland","tag-sex","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-women"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=686076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/686077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=686076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=686076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=686076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}