Bendectin And Birth Defects (Page 29) (Top voted first)

I took this drug in the 1970's while pregnant. Am looking for the side effects to the babies. Drug has been off the market for many years. Not sure on correct spelling. Used for nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. Thank you for any help you can send me. Sincerely, Dana.

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Thank you, Rebekkah, for recognizing that I have an agenda - interjecting science and logic to this discussion, as opposed to say, "let's bring about a legal suit" and "make them pay". What's past is prologue. I applaud looking for themes instead of blaming every unfortunate outcome to befall a child. However when someone asks "has this ever been studied looking for a link?" I provide citations given that this medication is one of the most studied. When someone says "how can you explain that only one of my three children has this defect so it must be the medication" I show that not only is there an explanation, but it's the expectation. When someone says "All these studies must be wrong because they didn't look at stillbirths" I provide a study that includes a database of 15.5 million births, including stillbirths, as opposed to the anecdote of one. The problem, of course, is that none of these studies show what people on this site want them to show. However just because you can make a snowball in D.C. in March doesn't mean that the planet isn't warming. The difference between science theory and belief is that theory tries to explain facts and can test the theory whereas belief is satisfied to ignore the facts.

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I fully understand normal congenital defects. But how do you explain interenal malformations from head to toe. My spine has been fusing together since i was 14 im am now 35 and told by 2 drs that i would b2in a wheelchair by the time i was 30 im not in it yet and i refuse to be in one, this garbage will not beat me there is no explanation for my many health problems and gestational defects and malformations, i have useless little finger that stopped growing at the age of 4, fertility drama and countless operations for things and i am it, me no known family history of anything am i just to believe i am a one off mutated female that has not let this beat me, who has a career and is happily married and is fiercely independent. When you have no explanation and your doctors havent either dont you think that there is a connection, im not out to blame or sue but i would like a reason thats all

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Emtridoc, the mind doesn't only block itself from seeing things that 'logically' shouldn't be there. The mind 'sees' only that which 'it' wants to, and entirely of its own volition at that particular moment [a bit later the 'mind' may change its 'mind' completely which might be too late to do any good] in time, and sometimes of course with a little bit of help from a clever magician on stage etc.

If we are to go down the path of logic, then logic will tell us that it's far more likely that many congenital abnormalities were completely missed rather than every congenital abnormality [caused by a teratogen or not] was fully accounted for in fine detail. Perhaps like every poster on medschat, every doctor/nurse needs be continually reminded to "Please be detailed"?

It's quite possible too that many pregnant women who were prescribed [and even supplied with] Bendectin/Denedox/Diclectin didn't take any of it at all and were then errantly listed with those women who did take the drug, and many women who said that they didn't take any may well have done so too, if they "borrowed" some from a pregnant friend just to try it out etc. Just think of how many times people are prescribed antibiotics and they don't finish the course [even though they may say they did finish 'the course' to avoid any rebuke] simply because they start feeling better [or they don't take any at all for some rea$on], and if you remember, kathy g [whom I replied to in my #524 post] didn't know what it was she took [the mint/peppermint liquid?] when she was feeling nauseous.

Whether or not Bendectin will one day be found conclusively to have caused congenital abnormalities everywhere I don't know, but I'm fully confident in saying that the 'show' [at this stage] ain't anywhere near over yet what with all the curtain calls from folk still wanting to someone in authority to say: It's curtain$ for Merrell Dow*.

There's always a chance too that someone who worked for Merrell Dow may one day blow the whistle on a cover-up, just like Peter Buxtun did in the early 1970s when he finally blew the whistle on what the CDC was up to with its *Tuskegee syphilis experiment* which lasted for forty years. Buxtun had raised concerns in 1966 but the CDC didn't want its study [cited as "arguably the most infamous biomedical research study in US history"] halted until all of the subjects had died and been autopsied.

The Tuskegee syphilis experiment was also characterized as being: "The longest non-therapeutic experiment on human beings in medical history." Whom to trust? Can anyone ever again place complete [or any] trust on anything resulting from a review [Kutcher et al] of what the CDC did or didn't do back then or now? Forty years is a heck of a long time to keep something like the sordid syphilis experiment under wraps, but like they say: "Time and the course of events [or drugs...did I forget to mention whistleblowers?] may reveal all."

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My daughter and I talked a bit about bendectine this past week. As I've noted in previous posts, I took Bendectine with her in 1979 and the year before she was born, my first son died at five months gestation. At the beginning of the fifth month I'd started taking Bendectin and by the end of the month he had died in utero. All of my daughter's children have been born with tongue tie -- which is a very mild version of cleft palate. What we are thinking about is the amount of B6 in Bendectine which pregnant women were exposed to. B6 is a naturally occurring vitamin but in high doses it can have negative effects. We are trying to figure out the possible genetic mutation that could have taken place.

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I took benedectin in 1971. My first child, Stephanie was born ok, we thought. At 5 years of age she was having kidney problems. We took her to a doctor and he diagnosed her as having duplicated ureters on the right side. He said there should be no problem with it. She did have reoccurring kidney infections through adulthood. When she was about 22 she had a miscarriage. She got pregnant again and Dr's thought she had a tubal pregnancy. She was referred to a specialist in Houston. He ran many diagnostics and found that she had a birth defect. She was born with a bicornate uterus. (It too was duplicated with a wall between). I would like to hear from someone on this. My second pregnancy was also a girl. She was born with deformed ears. I lost my 3rd and 4th babies to miscarriage. My 5th child was a girl and she had a stroke at 2 months old. Please get in touch with me as I only gave the short version. My daughter's are now 43, 39 and 34 years old. Thanks for your time.

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Did you take bendectin with all of them?

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Bravo Vicki. Thanks for posting your concerns and I hope all goes well for you at the hearing. I know what it's like to lose sight in one eye [in my case for several months] because I was struck in the eye with a sharp rock as a toddler when my elder brothers were having a rock fight with the boys next door. I'm presuming that you are not in Australia because your daughter would have no difficulty obtaining disability assistance here in OZ given the challenges in life that she has to contend with. She is very lucky indeed to have a Mum like you, and I know exactly what you mean when you say that your daughter and grandchild are a blessing to you. Best of luck and good health to you always Vicki from 'Down Under'.

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I took bendictine in 1979 when I had terrible morning sickness while carrying twins. My doctor told me it would have no side effects. One of my twins developed thyroid cancer at age 16 and melanoma in her 20's. the other one had a problem with her kidney as her ureter was deformed and had 4 or 5 surgeries. She now suffers with bipolar and multiple health problems and has a hard time socially. I wonder if this horrible drug that was taken off the market contributed to this.

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In reply, I live in the USA. I never told my baby doctor I took this drug. My daughters eye problem was not discovered until she was 4, her learning disability at 15, her ADHD and bi-polar as an adult and her heart diease at 38(Which is probably genectic). I have never told any of her doctors I took this drug. So I am one person, that never got counted or should I say my child. It seems that if anything, this drug might have only caused neurological damage with my 1st child. Learning disablities were not that well known when she was little, since no one picked up on it until she was 15. Mental health is just reaching a point that has any depth to it. Example, they are just starting to understand the complex nature of addiction and mental illness, that the mentally ill self medicate which leads to addiction. So my daughter who is 43, has a lot of problems that were never included in the count. So, my question is, how many others never got counted. Also, I consider myself to be above average intelligence, but there are many women my age, that may have missed a bleap in the newspaper over 30 years ago. Many woman of maybe inferior intelligence, that don't ever get on a computer or have limited resources. Woman that never connected the dots. As a matter of fact, I never knew there was a name for my daughters eye problem , until I found this thread.
I did not have morning sickness with my second child, so I did not need any drugs and she is normal.

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I was pregnant 3 times ... in 1963-64, 1969-70 and 1970-71. I was deathly ill with morning sickness every time and took Bendictine. I was startled to see that it has been approved for use again. After my first son was born, I got an IUD but the second pregnancy happened anyway. That son was born prematurely on Jan. 1, 1970 at 6 months, born alive but only lived a few hours. The IUD was twisted in the umblical cord. My OB told me that the child likely would have been defective had he lived. The third son was born in March 1971 and was diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease in 1981. Initially it was thought to ulcerative colitis but when it flared up again and we were living in MN, he was diagnosed as having Crohn's Disease. I have no idea whether his health issues are related to Bendictine ... a tendency to autoimmune diseases is pretty common in my mother's family.

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Hi Marilyn G. Not only has Bendectin been approved for use again and sold under different brand names, but thalidomide, which is a known teratogen, is used to combat Crohn's disease strange as it may seem. It's also used for Hansen's disease (Leprosy).

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Hi Rebekkah. Regarding your saying that you think that pharmaceutical companies may not be held accountable and the dangers of Bendectin etc; another danger always exists regarding forensic evidence about drugs, and it is the ever present danger of blindly trusting scientists who work in laboratories, 'scientists?' like Annie Dookhan who may have tainted as many as 40,000 drug cases whilst working at the now-closed Hinton State Laboratory Institute in Massachusetts. Dookhan should not have been working as a scientist and providing evidence about drugs to courts because she had no qualification to do so. She had falsely claimed both on her resume and had sworn oath that she had a master's degree in chemistry from the University of Massachusetts in Boston, but the university said otherwise. How she was able to get away with it for so long beggars belief because it is not that difficult to check something simple like whether or not a person actually has the proper qualifications. *The Tenure of Valerie Fabrikant* was another classic case of a very dangerous person working for a long time with false qualifications.

It has been errantly said that Dookhan's deception has shaken the integrity of the criminal justice system to the core. This is incorrect simply because the criminal justice system has no integrity at all given the fact that this but putative 'integrity?' is still so-easily corrupted by people like Dookhan, and of course those jurists/jurors who blindly trust evidence given them by pseudo-scientists and other persons whom, though perhaps 'qualified', still don't know their onions.

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I would like to rephrase something.....I did not mean to say women of inferior intelligence. What I meant was, this was a long time ago. Before personal computers. Some people our age, never needed to use a computer and do not use computers. So there could be many women who missed this altogether, but not because they were not smart. The news came out before computers.

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Well said Vicki. When I read your #555 post ~10 days ago I was nearly going to say something about the "Many women of maybe inferior intelligence" bit, but I'm glad now that I didn't given that you've now explained what you really meant. It all hinges on the meaning of the word "intelligence" which can also mean "information", quite apart from how "smart" a person may be, and as far as "intelligence" [smartness] goes, I think everyone should have a good look at the *Dunning-Kruger effect* as it explains much. Charles Darwin was a pretty smart cookie and he is reported as having said: "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge."

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My mom took a morning sickness pill (I am assuming was bendictine) while she was pregnant with me. I was born in 1976 with severe club foot in both my feet. She also took it with my older brother who had mild club foot in one foot, and my aunt (father's sister) took it with my cousin who had mild club foot in one foot. They linked that to the pill.

I have just been diagnosed with Aspergers and am wondering if that may have something to do with this medication as well. Obviously I have been struggling with the Aspergers all of my life (age 38 now) but have only now been diagnosed. I also have severe anxiety disorder and social anxiety disorder probably as a result of living with undiagnosed Aspergers.

I also have fertility issues, but was able to have one son. He also likely has Aspergers, according to my doctor.

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Hi Aurora. This article about "Girls with Aspergers" (link below) may be of some help to you if you've not seen it before. I note that you write very well and wonder if you have ever considered writing a book one day and/or giving talks (like Mary Temple Grandin does - I think she's amazing having designed the *Hug machine* etc.) about how you have managed to deal with the challenges life has given you.

autismdigest.com/girls-with-a/

In a 2010 'Time magazine' interview, Temple Grandin said that she no longer uses a *Hug machine* (Wiki): "It broke two years ago and *I never got around* to fixing it. I'm into hugging people now."

Although Temple never got *around* to fixing it she then very cleverly decided to get her arms *around* people instead...and we all know the benefits derived from a good hug when we're in need of one or we know of someone else who needs one.

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I also took the drug BendictIne In 1972 for morning sickness for 9 months. My son was diagnosed with spastic paraplegia which is a crippling desease that your muscles tighten up and you're eventually wheelchair bound. Would like to know if this could be from the drug bendictIne

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Wow. I'm not sure how to feel right now. What other issues could I have and not know about?! I was born in 1964 and my mom took Benedictine when she was pregnant with me. I was always tired and had tummy troubles.I always had a hard time getting food to go down and still do. My ribs on the left side are kind of flat on the side and squared off instead of curving around to the front. I always had growing pains in my chins real bad and I got cramps in my feet so bad they felt like all the bones were broke and I couldn't walk till it want away. At 15 my parents took me to the hospital with sever stomach pain. After going over my history and learning that my mom took Benedictine they wanted to test my stomach acid. He said there were links to high acid production and this med. My acid level was twice what it should be but it was 3 a.m. and they didn't know at that time if the stomach was active or at rest at 3 a.m. so it could be higher when I ate. I have bad teeth because the high acid starts in my mouth eats at the enamel on them. My roots are strong but my tooth shatters when I get one pulled. He put me on prescription antacids and I had to make changes in my diet and eat smaller more frequent meals so there was always food for the acid to work on. He said if it bothers my stomach don't eat it. After I moved out I couldn't afford to keep up with my medical so I had to go with 'if it hurts, don't eat it' and' keep food in there at all times'. I've had to cut out so much from my diet over the years to the point where theres not much I can eat. The strangest thing to me is how BAD pepper is for me. It was the first thing he told me to cut out. The chemical reaction is very painful. I have not been able to find a doctor since that even believes that 'over active stomach' is actually a medical issue. At one point I was told it was an ulcer, and since the treatment was the same, I went with it just to get the meds I needed. After they came out with the blood test for ulcers I had it confirmed that I don't have one. Its tough knowing what you were told and not being able to find a doctor to help you. I don't know what the long term affects of not maintaining this is, I had to quit the antacids, they were preventing my system from absorbing my meds that I'm on now. I have other siblings that are fine, my mom didn't need anything while pregnant with them. Unfortunately for me, they have always seen things as me just looking for attention, making this all up. Finding this web site is so amazing! I'm glad to see I'm not the only one having a hard time with side affects that doctors are trying to tell us are nonexistent. I hope my information can help even one person figure out why their tired all the time for no reason and why they can't today what they just ate yesterday!

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see betty medeci at birth defects in children

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Fred-I will look into that. Thank you!
Interlineal Peruser, I appreciate the info! At the time of my diagnosis at 15 yrs old, I was told my esophagus was burned from the acid coming back up due to the high quantity of acid my stomach was creating, causing my stomach valve to not work right. After taking Gaviscon, an antacid by prescription at that time, it controlled the acid and eventually my valve healed. I haven't had an issue with 'acid reflux' since then. My problem is Bendictine caused a chemical imbalance in my digestive system causing a high acid production and preventing my system from absorbing nutrients from the food I eat and major problems with medications, there are more that I can NOT take then what I can, side affects from sever flu symptoms to that sharp pain in my gut to they just plain don't work at all. My acid levels are twice what it should be and since digestion starts in the mouth it ate the enamel off my teeth. It also can cause numerous other problems over time which is why I'm concerned about not being able to find a doctor in my area who will take me seriously on this issue, I need to find out what, if anything, more is going on due to this. I don't have my medical records from back then to prove 'over active stomach' IS a real thing. I have controlled the acid with my diet and antacids over the years but now I'm on pain management for other issues and the antacids prevents my pain meds from being absorbed. I wasn't getting the relief I needed from them and they weren't showing up in my U.A.s. I had to quit the antacids. I have tried every 'home remedy' over the years including the apple cider vinegar (it came right back up! lol) adjusting my diet as needed and stretching my meals out through out the day to keep food in there (eating every 2 hours) has worked. I just get to where I have to quit eating things here and there as my stomach can no longer tolerate them. If I get a sharp pain like a hot knife twisting in my gut then I know I can't eat it any more, its also a sign I need to get food in my gut asap. Its been 32 years since I've had orange juice! I use to drink a big glass every morning, I still miss it! I'll have to look into the gum chewing but I'm not sure about it with the acid levels also being produced in the mouth. My teeth aren't too good due to the acid eating the enamel off them years ago. Thank you for the input! Have a great day!

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