Zoloft is an antidepressant drug manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. Its generic name is setraline. According to media reports, when Zoloft was released in the global market, it instantly became one of the biggest-selling antidepressant drugs.. However, there are new findings that suggest some patients who take antidepressants like Zoloft receive no medical benefits from the drug compared to placebos. Numerous medical professionals and researchers have been consistently reporting various Zoloft side effects.
One major side effect of Zoloft was found in the number women who were prescribed with the drug during the first trimester of pregnancy; their newborns suffered from congenital birth defects and their mothers have had withdrawal symptoms that made them suffer for days, weeks or even years after giving birth.
There is a wide range of birth defects associated with Zoloft and the studies have linked the drug to cardiovascular defects like ventricular septal defects and atrial septal defects. These typically occur when the mother has taken Zoloft within the first trimester of pregnancy, during which the baby's heart is still forming in the womb. Moreover, pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) is another Zoloft side effect. It is some kind of high blood pressure in babies’ lungs. It can really be serious and can lead to death in extreme cases. Limb abnormalities and craniosynostosis (skull deformation) are also other birth defects that are allegedly blamed on Zoloft. These birth defects can be very critical. While some after-effects can mend on their own, others cannot and can even lead to further operations and complications. It was also known that newborns may also have low blood sugar and experience difficulty in breathing, vomiting, seizures, tremor and irritability.
The public health advisory of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated this:
“FDA is advising health care professionals to discuss the potential risk of birth defects with patients taking Zoloft who plan to become pregnant or are in their first three months of pregnancy. Health care professionals should consider discontinuing Zoloft (and switching to another antidepressant if indicated) in these patients. In some patients, the benefits of continuing Zoloft may be greater than the potential risk to the fetus. The FDA is advising health care professionals not to prescribe Zoloft in women who are in the first three months of pregnancy or are planning pregnancy, unless other treatment options are not appropriate.”
Due to the above-stated birth defects, Pfizer was ordered by the FDA to change the pregnancy category of Zoloft from C to D. The meaning of the D category is that studies conducted in pregnant women had presented proof that the drug puts the fetus at stake. Medical professionals said that it important to properly verify the type and timing of the medications prescribed for pregnant women as well as those who are planning to get pregnant soon. Patients affected by the drug have already been pursuing Zoloft lawsuit against Pfizer.
References:
health.usnews.com/usnews/health/articles/070627/27antidepressant.htm
One major side effect of Zoloft was found in the number women who were prescribed with the drug during the first trimester of pregnancy; their newborns suffered from congenital birth defects and their mothers have had withdrawal symptoms that made them suffer for days, weeks or even years after giving birth.
There is a wide range of birth defects associated with Zoloft and the studies have linked the drug to cardiovascular defects like ventricular septal defects and atrial septal defects. These typically occur when the mother has taken Zoloft within the first trimester of pregnancy, during which the baby's heart is still forming in the womb. Moreover, pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) is another Zoloft side effect. It is some kind of high blood pressure in babies’ lungs. It can really be serious and can lead to death in extreme cases. Limb abnormalities and craniosynostosis (skull deformation) are also other birth defects that are allegedly blamed on Zoloft. These birth defects can be very critical. While some after-effects can mend on their own, others cannot and can even lead to further operations and complications. It was also known that newborns may also have low blood sugar and experience difficulty in breathing, vomiting, seizures, tremor and irritability.
The public health advisory of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated this:
“FDA is advising health care professionals to discuss the potential risk of birth defects with patients taking Zoloft who plan to become pregnant or are in their first three months of pregnancy. Health care professionals should consider discontinuing Zoloft (and switching to another antidepressant if indicated) in these patients. In some patients, the benefits of continuing Zoloft may be greater than the potential risk to the fetus. The FDA is advising health care professionals not to prescribe Zoloft in women who are in the first three months of pregnancy or are planning pregnancy, unless other treatment options are not appropriate.”
Due to the above-stated birth defects, Pfizer was ordered by the FDA to change the pregnancy category of Zoloft from C to D. The meaning of the D category is that studies conducted in pregnant women had presented proof that the drug puts the fetus at stake. Medical professionals said that it important to properly verify the type and timing of the medications prescribed for pregnant women as well as those who are planning to get pregnant soon. Patients affected by the drug have already been pursuing Zoloft lawsuit against Pfizer.
References:
health.usnews.com/usnews/health/articles/070627/27antidepressant.htm
RSS Feed