Celexa is a drug prescribed to patients who experience depression and general anxiety. However, the drug can cause serious side effects such as injury to unborn babies and seratonin syndrome, which can lead to a coma. The FDA released warnings about Celexa in 2006.
Depression is often accompanied by anxiety. Depression affects as many as one in four women and one in 10 men, and can make it difficult to work, rest, or complete many daily functions. Depression can also lead to suicide.
Depression can be caused by an imbalance of seratonin in the brain, which is a chemical that allows nerve cells to communicate. When these nerve cells don’t communicate correctly, it can cause heightened sadness, moodiness, worry, fatigue, and general feelings of unhappiness. Celexa works by rebalancing seratonin.
However, side effects of Celexa that have received warnings from the FDA include:
- persistent pulmonary hypertension in babies whose mothers used Celexa while pregnant. This illness affects babies’ breathing and lung function. Some may require intensive care. The illness is usually noticeable immediately after birth or up to 12 hours after birth.
- seratonin syndrome occurs when too much seratonin is released. Symptoms can include confusion, agitation, cardiovascular problems, nausea, fever, overactive reflexes, hallucinations, diarrhea, restlessness, seizures, and death. There is an increased chance of this syndrome in patients who take Celexa as well as a migraine medicine containing triptan.
According to the FDA, pregnant mothers taking Celexa were six times as likely to have a baby with persistent pulmonary hypertension than mothers who did not use the drug. The illness causes babies to have abnormal blood flow, which does not allow oxygen to sufficiently reach parts of their bodies. Some babies with the illness die.
If you or your baby is injured because of Celexa, contact a personal injury attorney immediately.
