It is a medication given to stop premature laborWhat is terbutaline?
I have seen several commercials on Fox News Network regarding Terbutaline and Autism lawsuites. If anyone is interested in finding out what's going on...here is the number they are advertising. I have called but haven't spoke with anyone yet.
Peter Angelos 1-800-556-5522.
Wow i didnt take terbutaline with Damian but I did with my youngest Maliek and I am starting to worry about him. He is having sleeps problems similar to how Damians, and he rocks alot, but other than that he is right on target so im not going to jump into anything yet just going to watch, his rocking is really wierd though anytime he is in his exersaucer or his walker he rocks but the exersaucer rocks when he does it so I think he is just playing. We'll see though i now know what to watch for. I hope that medicine didnt cause any problems.I did take terbutaline and feel very strongly that it contributed to my son's
autism. However, I'm always leery about calling a 1-800 legal number
advertised on tv. Do you happen to know if this is a part of a class action
lawsuit?
Once you hear from them, please let me know what type of law firm you're
dealing with, including where they are located, etc. If they are looking for
class action plaintiffs or are in the process of filing a class action lawsuit, I
would be interested in talking with them. Well... Peter Angelos is a well respected attorney. That's about all I know right now. I will definately advise what I find out. I plan on probing the whole thing. I have NO INTEREST in an attorney getting rich by using my childs name. Know what I mean?I had it with only Sharlet and she is the only ASD dx.
I have had 4 attorneys turn me down on this because they said it was too much work!! I am going to call Mr. Angelos and see how it goes.
We've already contacted a lawyer. I took Terbutaline from 24 weeks until the twins were born. It wouldn't be a class action lawsuit against the drug manufacturer. They didn't do anything wrong. It's the doctors who haven't paid attention to the FDA's warnings dating back to 1997 that need to be sued!!
Terbutaline is an asthma medication that is commonly used to treat preterm labor. Terbutaline is sold under the brand names Brethine and Bricanyl. Recent studies have shown a link between the use of Terbutaline during pregnancy and an increased risk of brain damage and cognitive deficits in the baby. A recent study conducted at Duke University illustrated the risk of Terbutaline to infants.
The study showed that the use of Terbutaline might leave the brains of children susceptible to other chemicals ubiquitously present in the environment. The study suggests that certain early drug or chemical exposures can predispose people to particular ailments. Recently, the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program has recommended that Terbutaline no longer be given to women with mild intermittent asthma while they are pregnant.
As early as 1997 the FDA issued its first warning about the use of Terbutaline Sulfate for the treatment and prevention of preterm labor. Terbutaline sulfate, in various dosage forms, has been approved by FDA for the treatment of asthma but it has be given to pregnant women subcutaneously, to stop early labor. The use of Terbutaline sulfate to treat preterm labor is an unapproved or "off-label" use. Premature labor occurs in approximately 20 percent of all pregnancies in the United States.
Of those, an estimated 1 million women annually are treated with Terbutaline or related drugs to halt the early contractions. The drugs administered to pregnant women also penetrate to the unborn baby where they affect brain development.
My wife was on Terbutaline (at least your description of the drug sounds the same) for a week prior to one of our sons births, and I'd be interested in references for the studies, since I do not remember hearing that it was bad for the kids.
The one that alerted me to a potential link was an article in the Fall 2006
Cure Autism Now (CAN) newsletter. Here's the link:
I, too. have twins; one affected by autism, the other NT. I received
terbulatine starting at 24 weeks for pre-term labor. I took it 24/7 until
the twins were born at 36 weeks.
Wencub - I'm interesting in hearing about your lawsuit (or at least the
preliminary discussions regarding it). Given the drug is prescribed off-
label and is not FDA approved for use in pre-term labor, a class action
lawsuit is not feasible. Guess this means those impacted are left with
suing their OBGYN for malpractice?
At a minimum, I hope further research is done in this area. There was an
earlier thread on this topic and at least 15 responders with a child on the
spectrum indicated they had taken some form of terbutaline. Thanks for the link, although firefox users might prefer:
I actually just contacted a lawyer about this about a month ago and he turned down my case. I was not on it for a very long time but I was on three different medications. Plus I tried to refuse these shots and instead of listening to me they sent a psychologist in to talk to me
Not sure what I am going to do next here...
just playing devil's advocate here, but I'm assuming terbutaline is only
given when the labour is going to cause the baby to be significantly
premature?
If that's the case, NOT receiving terbutaline would also carry serious risk.
A baby born more than 3 or 4 weeks early has a high risk of longterm or
permanent physical and developmental problems. Once you drop below
that 28 or 30 week mark, the chances of the baby's survival drop
dramatically too.
I don't believe that doctors are secretly out to get us, being intentionally
negligent, or giving us risky medications off-label just for the fun of it.
I'm certain that those doctors who administer terbutaline to women
experiencing preterm labour weigh those risk factors they're aware of
(some risk factors only become apparent over time) against the risk
factors that come with preterm delivery. Certainly, doctors should take
better care to explain these risks to parents, so that they can make an
informed decision. However, I'd hate to see a useful medication, which,
off-label use or not, no doubt saves and helps many infants discarded.
It is terrible that terbutaline may have caused the autism in some of your
children. It would be equally terrible had your children been born
dangerously early, and had lifelong physical and cognitive disabilities
(deafness, blindness, heart problems, lung problems, kidney problems,
learning disabilities, and so on and so on), or even worse, had they not
survived at all.
JMOI took tributaline with my second from 30 wks, well as of now im 24 wks and docs just put me back on it. Im having contractions and am dialated 1cm, the doc said my choice is to take it or to be put on magnesium and in the hospital. The problem with that is the only unit we have for preemies is an hour away, it was so hard when my second was born but I cant imagine to have to be away from both of my boys for that long, what do I doWhat I take issue with here is the lack of informed consent. Would I have
taken terbutaline if I'd known if could cause autism? Probably. However,
if I'd known the risks going in, I would have been clued in to the
possibility of autism from the start and would have most likely started
early intervention for my son at a MUCH earlier age (rather than at 3.5). I
don't appreciate the fact I was not given all the information up front, even
if my OBGYN was only doing what she felt was best given the
circumstances. I had a right to know what factored into her decision and
to be a part of it.
I've also read articles that question the effectiveness of Terbutaline over a
long period of time. In a nutshell, no one knows for sure whether or not
a few quick hits is just as effective as a 24/7 dosage. And since no one
wants to test out their theories (since it's not supposed to be used for
pre-term labor per the FDA), I'll never know whether or not I could have
limited the exposure significantly with a much lower dosage.
All to say, I see the use as controversial and believe women have a right
to know in advance of both the risks and benefits.
[QUOTE=shenom]What I take issue with here is the lack of informed consent. Would I have taken terbutaline if I'd known if could cause autism? Probably. However, if I'd known the risks going in, I would have been clued in to the possibility of autism from the start and would have most likely started early intervention for my son at a MUCH earlier age (rather than at 3.5). I don't appreciate the fact I was not given all the information up front, even if my OBGYN was only doing what she felt was best given the circumstances. I had a right to know what factored into her decision and to be a part of it.
I've also read articles that question the effectiveness of Terbutaline over a long period of time. In a nutshell, no one knows for sure whether or not a few quick hits is just as effective as a 24/7 dosage. And since no one wants to test out their theories (since it's not supposed to be used for pre-term labor per the FDA), I'll never know whether or not I could have limited the exposure significantly with a much lower dosage.
All to say, I see the use as controversial and believe women have a right to know in advance of both the risks and benefits. [/QUOTE]
This is the same issue I have - I am more upset at the fact of the information provided - I was told it was perfectly safe to use and I was given pills as early as 17 weeks!!!! - with a prescription for 6 refils of over God knows how many pills per refill
Wow! I had never knew anything about the link between terbutaline and autism. I too was given this for preterm labor along with an astounding amount of other drugs for asthma. And the mag sulf drip. I knew there were indications for possible birth defects but, I had never heard about autosm linked to it.
I am not familiar with this drug, but I completely agree with previous posts about informed consent. I work for a drug company so I am very aware of the prevalence of off-label drug use. Before I started working in the pharmaceutical industry, I never read the package insert on a medication before. (The package insert is that document with the teeny-tiny print often folded up very small that is included in the box with the bottle of medicine.) I read them now, and I highly recommend that everyone read them.
The entire content of the package insert is approved by the FDA and backed up by numerous clinical trials to prove safety and efficacy. It is illegal for a pharmaceutical company to promote any use of the drug there. At my company, if a sales rep talks to a physician about off label use they will be fired. However, once a drug has been approved for sale for one purpose, doctors are free to prescribe it for any other purpose that in their professional judgment is both safe and effective; they are not limited to its official, FDA-approved indications.
While I think all physicians should inform you that they are prescribing an off-label use, many won't. The way to protect yourself is to read the insert and if you don't see an indication on there for your condition, call your doctor and ask a lot of questions.