Prozac Side Effects

Prozac , manufactured by Eli Lilly, has been linked to serious, life-threatening birth defects.

Fluoxetine (Prozac) is used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (bothersome thoughts that won’t go away and the need to perform certain actions over and over), some eating disorders, and panic attacks (sudden, unexpected attacks of extreme fear and worry about these attacks). Fluoxetine (Sarafem) is used to relieve the symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder, including mood swings, irritability, bloating, and breast tenderness. Fluoxetine is in a class of medications called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). It works by increasing the amount of serotonin, a natural substance in the brain that helps maintain mental balance.

Are there problems with Prozac?

Prozac is used by millions of Americans to treat depression. More specifically, pregnant women have been prescribed Prozac to help with anxiety involved with their pregnancy. The fetuses of these women using Prozac or other SSRI antidepressants such as Paxil, Celexa, Lexapro, Symbyax, and Zoloft are at a greater risk of developing a birth defect.  Some known symptoms of birth defects caused by Prozac are listed on our symptoms page.

The two most common forms of an SSRI antidepressant congenital heart defect are atrial septal defects or ventricular septal defects. Atrial septal defect (ASD) is a form of congenital heart defect that enables blood flow between the left and right atria via the interatrial septum. There is a hole in the wall between the two upper chambers of the heart that allows for this blood flow exchange. Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) is when there is a large opening between the ventricles allowing a large amount of oxygen-rich blood from the heart’s left side through the defect on the right side. It is then pumped back into the lungs, even though it has been oxygenated. This is wasteful, since blood that’s already been to the lungs is returning there, and blood that needs to go to the lungs is being displaced. The heart, which has to pump an extra amount of blood, is overworked and may enlarge.

The results of the study have shown that babies born to mothers who took Prozac were more likely to develop Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn (PPHN), than babies born to mothers who did not take Prozac during pregnancy. PPHN is failure of the normal circulatory transition that occurs after birth. It is a syndrome characterized by marked pulmonary hypertension that causes hypoxemia and right-to-left extrapulmonary shunting of blood. With inadequate pulmonary perfusion, neonates develop refractory hypoxemia, respiratory distress, and acidosis.

SSRI antidepressants like Prozac may cause two separate congenital abnormalities called Omphalocele and Craniosynostosis . An omphalocele is a congenital (present at birth) abdominal wall birth defect in which the infant’s intestine or other abdominal organs stick out of the belly button (navel). In babies with an omphalocele, the intestines are covered only by a thin layer of tissue and can be easily seen. Craniosynostosis is a congenital (present at birth) defect that causes one or more sutures on a baby’s head to close earlier than normal. Sutures are connections that separate each individual skull bones. The early closing of a suture leads to an abnormally shaped head.

Do I Have a Prozac Lawsuit?

Use the form on this page to have an injury law firm specializing in birth defect lawsuits contact you to see if you may be eligible for financial compensation.