If you take Paxil to treat depression, please take note of serious side effects that could harm your health.
The FDA is advising doctors not to prescribe the antidepressant Paxil to women in their first three months of pregnancy or to women who are planning to become pregnant because of the risk of serious birth defects.
The FDA has already asked pharmaceutical manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline to reclassify the drug as a “Category D” drug for pregnant women – meaning that studies in pregnant women have shown a risk to the fetus.
Paxil was approved by the FDA in 1993, but since its launch, there have been numerous reports of suicide and other dangerous side effects linked to the drug. A 2004 British study found that patients taking Paxil were four times more likely to attempt suicide and an FDA investigation found at least 400 cases of adverse side effects suffered by children taking Paxil. The British government ordered doctors to stop prescribing Paxil to children because of the increased risk of pediatric suicide.
To date, the FDA has not issued the same request; however, the FDA did begin alerting consumers to the risk of birth defects in late 2005. A 2007 report published in The New England Journal of Medicine found a connection between the use of Paxil among pregnant women and brain defects including anencephaly, where a baby is born without a forebrain. There may also be a link between Paxil and persistent pulmonary hypertension.
Two years ago, a Wyoming jury awarded $6.4 million to the family of a patient taking Paxil after he killed his wife, daughter, and granddaughter.
Gemma Law Associates, Inc., is currently investigating injuries and accepting claims involving Paxil. If you believe your baby may have suffered birth defects due to your use of Paxil during pregnancy, or if you believe a family member may have committed or attempted suicide after taking Paxil, contact Gemma Law Associates, Inc., at 855-631-1448 or submit an online contact form.
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