If legislation passes next year, all pharmaceutical litigation in the coun

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SSRI-Research@

Fri, 16 Sep 2005 23:14:42 -0000

[sSRI-Research] If legislation passes next year, all

pharmaceutical litigation in the coun

 

 

 

 

Australian authorities have just warned that mothers taking Paxil

(paroxetine) are going to be suffering far more depression as they

learn that the drug they were taking to make them feel better has

TWICE the chance of producing a birth defect in their unborn child.

As a result the agency, Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA -

similar to our FDA), has reclassified Paxil from a grade C to a grade

D drug - one that should be avoided during pregnancy.

 

The new warnings for Paxil and other SSRIs are spelled out in the

following quote:

 

" Details from a preliminary analysis of GlaxoSmithKline data showed a

higher incidence of congenital malformations, particularly

ventricular septal defects, in babies born to women taking the drug.

 

" Babies of women taking paroxetine in the first trimester of

pregnancy were 2.2 times more likely to be born with a congenital

malformation and 2.08 times more likely to have a cardiovascular

malformation than those born to women taking other antidepressants,

the data showed.

 

" A second population-based Danish study found a 60% increase in

cardiac abnormalities among babies of mothers taking SSRIs. "

 

Now I will remind you that when you hear a warning about one drug in

a class of drugs that are designed to work in the same way DO NOT

EVER think that just because the drug you are taking is spelled

differently and has a different chemical makeup that the result may

be different!! The thing is that the drug works in the same manner -

the end result is the same, not different. And the definition of

stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a

different result.

 

Every time I see doctors take a patient reacting to one SSRI

antidepressant and switch them to another and then another and yet

another, as they so often do, I wonder why they think they are going

to get a different response. It is insane! So when you hear a warning

on one of these drugs expect to sooner or later hear similar warnings

on the other antidepressants. Red flags going up on one of them

should be a red flag for the others in the same class that work in a

similar way. Paxil may have raised red flags first because it has a

stronger effect upon the reuptake of serotonin, but over time you

will get the same effect with one not as strong. Because Celexa and

Lexapro are even more powerful on serotonin reuptake that should make

them potentially more deadly in producing side effects yet, notice

here that the doctor they have interviewed to defend the

antidepressants has suggested that these drugs are safer.

 

Also please note that this agency has warned that Effexor be avoided

during pregnancy due to the severe withdrawal the baby suffers. Other

warnings are also listed on withdrawal in babies produced by the

other antidepressants.

 

Dr. Tracy

______________________

 

Dr. Ann Blake Tracy, Executive Director,

International Coalition For Drug Awareness

www.drugawareness.org

Author of the " Bible on Antidepressants, " Prozac:

Panacea or Pandora? - Our Serotonin Nightmare

& audio " Help! I Can't Get Off My Antidepressant! "

(Order: 800-280-0730)

_________________________

 

 

 

 

http://news.australiandoctor.com.au/articles/41/0c036641.asp

 

 

First trimester antidepressant risk

 

15-Sep-2005

 

 

By Tony James

 

THE antidepressant paroxetine should be avoided during pregnancy

because it may double the rate of birth defects, the Therapeutic

Goods Administration warns.

 

Details from a preliminary analysis of GlaxoSmithKline data showed a

higher incidence of congenital malformations, particularly

ventricular septal defects, in babies born to women taking the drug.

 

Babies of women taking paroxetine in the first trimester of pregnancy

were 2.2 times more likely to be born with a congenital malformation

and 2.08 times more likely to have a cardiovascular malformation than

those born to women taking other antidepressants, the data showed.

 

A second population-based Danish study found a 60% increase in

cardiac abnormalities among babies of mothers taking SSRIs.

 

Although the link may not be causal, the TGA has reclassified

paroxetine from a pregnancy category C drug to a category D drug,

recommending it be avoided in pregnancy.

 

Responding to the findings, psychiatrist Associate Professor Anne

Buist, director of the beyondblue national postnatal depression

program, emphasised the need to weigh up the risks of inadequately

treated prenatal depression against the adverse effects of

medications.

 

continued.