Paxil and birth defects

[michelle232]

Hi,

I just recently signed up with a lawyer (the zehl law firm) because my son was born with congenital heart problems and pulmonary hypertension. At first, I thought that it was just something that he happened to be born with, but then I saw a tv add saying that the FDA found a link between Paxil and infant heart and lung defects when taken during pregnancy. Has anyone else seen or read about this?

For months I thought that his problems were from something that I did during pregnancy. After torturing myself, I realized that the only thing I did differenly was take Paxil. I'm not usually one to pass blame, but I feel like I was lied to and now my son is paying the price.

I'm writing this not only to share my experience, but so that people understand how dangerous Paxil can be. I truly hope that none of you have to go through this.

Best wishes,

Michelle

[Katesmom]

We've known about this and other warnings for a while. This is only the beginning.

http://www.paxilprogress.org/forums/...ad.php?t=15964

[scotty]

I'm sorry to hear that your son has to endure this.

[Lilly]

I am sorry you and your family is going through this. As for passing the blame, you are passing it where it belongs. Like Kim said, this is only the beginning. Are his doctors accepting Paxil caused this?

Lilly

[Delynbetter]

The Anguish Caused by Paxil

http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com...l-anguish.html

Rutherfordton, NC: "To the makers of Paxil I want to ask this: how you can live with yourselves, when you know that Paxil can cause heart and lung defects and PPHN in babies?" says Wendy Tinsley. "For five months we didn't know if our son was going to survive."

"When I was 20 weeks pregnant my doctor said it was safe to stay on Paxil," says Tinsley. "But after the first ultrasound, we found out that my baby had a heart defect and he told me to immediately get off Paxil." And that was the beginning of Tinsley's nightmare.

"I started taking Paxil in August 2001 and found out I was pregnant that November 2001. When we got the phone call that our baby had a heart defect the doctor scheduled a 'level 2' ultrasound. Even when my OB doctor told me to quit taking Paxil right away, it still didn't occur to me that Paxil was the cause of any problems - I was so traumatized with this news. I'd already had five perfectly normal, full-time pregnancies and have five perfectly healthy kids.

And I just assumed that the doctor didn't want me taking any medication because of this second ultrasound. At 21 weeks, before I had the ultrasound my placenta ruptured; I was able to hold off the labor for another 3 weeks and Joshua was born at 24 weeks - he weighed 1 lb 12 oz.

When Joshua was two days old, they told us that he would need heart surgery because his PDA valve wouldn't close. And when he was eight days old, he had open heart surgery. He had chronic lung disease and bronchial pulmonary dysplasia (BPD) that caused chronic asthma. He will be five years old next month and he has been hospitalized 42 times, mainly for lung problems.

He didn't come home from NICU until he was four months old. And he had a brain bleed. They did ultrasounds every Wednesday on his head for about two months to make sure the brain bleeds weren't getting worse and to determine whether or not he would need surgery.

But the worst hurdle is his lungs. Joshua's lungs are so weak and his immune system is very low; if he gets a normal cold his lungs give out and he has to be hospitalized anywhere from four days to a week at a time. He has to be on oxygen and on breathing treatments four times a day. He is given steroids frequently to open his airways but in so doing, this compromises his immune system.

Today he is managing but just last month he was back in hospital twice with pneumonia. His lungs will always be bad; it breaks my heart that his chronic lung disease will never go away. His heart is better but it is still a concern.

About two weeks ago, when Joshua was in hospital again, I saw a TV ad that said Paxil caused birth defects. So I came home and looked on the Internet and saw your site. I had always blamed myself, wondering what I had done or didn't do. Then I realized that, after five years blaming myself, it wasn't my fault. Now I am angry at my doctors but mainly the drug makers.

How can [SmithKline Beecham] put Paxil on the market then make people suffer for the rest of their lives and get away with it, so they can make more money? I just don't get it. To me there is no amount of money that can help; no amount can let me forget when my little boy had heart surgery.

[thelma]

I am trying to understand why you would continue to take Aropax (as it is called in Australia) while you were pregnant. Even on the advice of a doctor to still keep taking it, did you not read the information that came with the drug? It says not to take this while you are pregnant for obvious reasons of birth defects.

[Katesmom]

Welcome, Thelma!

I see you have been poking around the site. That's great! There's no better way to get loads of info very quickly. However, you need to know that when you actually respond to old posts, you may be responding to a thread that the OP may not be an active member anymore. Or, the issue could be long resolved. This is a busy and active board and most threads die a natural death after a couple of days.

As for your question, the answer is not so simple. First, the warnings about paxil in pregnancy only came out in the last couple of years. Three years ago, this drug was category B and believed to be completely safe in pregnancy. I was put on this drug at 9 weeks pregnant, not for depression or anxiety, but for pregnancy-induced hypertension. Second, the problems with paxil in pregnancy come in the first weeks of pregnancy. Many women who become pregnant are not PLANNING on becoming pregnant. By the time they become pregnant, the ship has sailed on the safety issues. Their fetus has been exposed during the most vulnerable time in development. And, then, cold turkey is a dangerous option for anyone, but particularly for someone whose hormones are already in chaos. Third, the drug companies are pushing very hard to discourage pregnant women from discontinuing the drug. They have funded a number of studies where the results show that the risks to the fetus are higher with a 'depressed' mom (perhaps really just a mom in withdrawal since they CT them off an AD to do the study) than a mom on ADs. So, anytime there is a story in Parents magazine of on TV, they always end with that info. Moms start to think they would be better off risking being on the meds than to feel bad.

Hope that answers your question.

[thelma]

Hi Kim, thankyou for responding. It is my first time on one of these blogs and I did not realise that this was an old post, but know I will endeavour to check first. I was only put on this medication last year and so was not aware of the previous issues with this med and pregnancy. My mistake, sorry. thanks for the info.

[Katesmom]

Originally Posted by thelma

Hi Kim, thankyou for responding. It is my first time on one of these blogs and I did not realise that this was an old post, but know I will endeavour to check first. I was only put on this medication last year and so was not aware of the previous issues with this med and pregnancy. My mistake, sorry. thanks for the info.

No problem at all! This site is about informing. I just didn't want you to expect a response from the OP here. Often when you dig up old posts, the person who first posted is no longer active.