Paxil: "Absolutely do not take it."

September 15, 2007, 2:30PM. By Heidi Turner

Westminster, COWhen Rhonda Aldrich found out she was pregnant, she told her doctor she was taking Paxil and asked if there were any concerns about the drug. She notes her doctor said, "There is nothing on the label stating that Paxil will harm the baby." So Aldrich continued taking Paxil.

Aldrich says that while she was in labor, the baby's oxygen levels dropped. As soon as Brandon was born, he required oxygen. However, no one could figure out why Brandon was having problems breathing. Everything seemed to have developed properly. A doctor from the children's hospital was called in and Aldrich finally learned that there was a problem with Brandon's heart.

Brandon was required to stay in the hospital for five days, during which blood work, EKGs and other medical tests were performed. Eventually, Aldrich was given a diagnosis: Brandon had a double inlet left ventricle, meaning that his left ventricle was not fully developed and the wall in his heart did not extend all the way to the bottom. This meant that Brandon's blue and red blood was mixing together and oxygen was not being carried to the rest of his body.

Brandon required several open-heart surgeries, during which his heart had to be stopped and he was put on a heart/lung machine. The first surgery occurred when Brandon was only eight weeks old. A band was implanted to slow the blood flow to his lungs in an attempt to stop his heart and lungs from working too hard.

Following that surgery, Brandon was on lasix and antibiotics and had to see a doctor for a follow-up every four months until his second open-heart surgery. The surgery occurred when he was one-and-a-half years old. At this surgery, Brandon's blood vessels were rerouted so that the blood from the main artery in his neck would be carried to his lungs before entering his heart.

Aldrich says the second surgery was traumatic for Brandon, but it was not his final open-heart surgery. He had a third surgery at three-and-a-half years old, this time to reroute blood from his legs to bypass his heart. This would ensure his blood was oxygenated right away and no non-oxygenated blood would go to his limbs. This last surgery was very difficult for Aldrich, who notes that Brandon did not want to be taken in for surgery. "When they took him away for the last surgery, he looked at me and said, 'Mommy, I died when they took me.'"

Brandon spent over a month in the hospital after the third surgery. He had been discharged after a couple of weeks, but fatty acid leaked into his chest cavity, requiring doctors to implant chest tubes. Although he was only 23 pounds at the time, Brandon was required to be on a no fat diet. Luckily the hole in Brandon's chest cavity closed up while he was in the hospital and he was eventually allowed to return home.

Between each of the surgeries, Brandon had to undergo further procedures to check on his progress. "They put in a camera to check on his heart," Aldrich says. "They had to go in through his groin and he had to lie flat on his back for seven hours after."

Brandon is now five years old and weighs 28 pounds. Aldrich says he tires faster than other children and has been slower to develop. The high doses of heart medicine he took have ruined his teeth, so Brandon requires a three-hour surgery for tooth caps. Aldrich always has to watch him closely, especially when he is sick, to see if he turns blue.

"It's not something that goes away," Aldrich says. "I think about it daily. It's there right away when I wake up."

She also notes that Brandon has been affected by the procedures. "He won't take his shirt off when he goes swimming because people will ask about his chest scar, which he calls his zipper."

"If I can help one other child not go through this, I want to," Aldrich says. She advises women dealing with similar situations to contact support groups and talk to other people. She also thinks that women should not take Paxil while they are pregnant. "Absolutely do not take it. It's too dangerous for the baby. It should be avoided."