Mother Wishes Doctors Stop Prescribing Zofran

Seattle, WATaci was prescribed Zofran to treat morning sickness by three doctors during the first trimester of her pregnancy. No wonder she thought the antinausea drug was the best thing since sliced bread. Unfortunately, her twins were born with a number of complications, which may be Zofran birth defects.

“I was prescribed Zofran by three different doctors because my GP couldn’t handle twins, and I was also prescribed the med when I went to urgent care.”

Looking back, Taci believes her doctors were influenced by the Zoloft manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), to prescribe it off label. She didn’t even know it was given to her off label. “I am mad at GSK but I also believe the doctors were careless. They should know about Zofran birth defects,” says Taci. “How can they not know - it’s all over the Internet and there are ads on TV.”

That is how Taci connected the dots - from watching a TV ad about Zoloft and its link to birth defects. Strangely, she was first prescribed Zofran 4mg pills but her insurance wouldn’t cover the pills, but they did allow a nurse to inject Zofran once a week, up until her twins were born at 33 weeks.

“I had an emergency C-section and the twins were rushed to the NICU,” Taci explains. “My son was resuscitated at birth and put on a ventilator and both of them were on an NG feeding tube. My son was diagnosed with chronic lung disease and kidney nephrosis, which is water on the kidneys. He was recently diagnosed with autism.”

Taci’s twins are now two years old. Her son is nonverbal and has a moderate hearing loss and vision problems. Her daughter also has autism. Taci gave birth to her third child one year ago. She didn’t take Zofran during her second pregnancy and her daughter is perfectly healthy.

“I don’t know if Zofran could be linked to the twins’ birth defects but when I read stories similar to mine online, particularly Zofran’s link to autism and heart issues, I wonder.” Taci has filed a claim because her son will need special education and there is just so much her husband’s health insurance will cover. He is going to physical therapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy, and looking after him is a full-time job.

A number of Zofran lawsuits accuse GSK of “off-label” marketing. The drug giant has been GSK, marketing Zofran as a treatment for morning sickness since 1998. In their lawsuits, plaintiffs say that, had they been aware of taking the drug off label and aware of the risks of birth defects which have now been associated with the drug, they would never have used it to begin with.

“I hope these lawsuits will get Zofran removed permanently,” Taci adds. “There are other ways to treat morning sickness. I just hope doctors will stop prescribing it.”