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anti-nausea drug banned in 80's

I'm looking for the name of the drug that was prescribed for anti-nausea in pregnancy in the 70's and 80's that was subsequently banned because of problems it would cause female children.  Also any information about the effects to the child (22)attempting pregnancy.
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Avatar universal
Bendectin.  I was prescribed bendectin in 1983 for nausea.  My son was born without a pectoral muscle and he cannot have children.
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Bendectin
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I was exposed to this awful drug in my mothers womb
It also accounts for many birth defects around the world .it aldo gos under the name thalamide
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Sadly, this response is typical of the responses that keep this issue from being addressed in a meaningful way.  People cite the "fact" that the newer 2-ingredient Bendectin just couldn't be responsible for all of these problems.  And now "scientific471" suggests that we were mistaken, that we were really taking Thalidomide, but that in any case, Bendectin is not the cause of all of these BD's.  Well, "scientific471", some day after all of us are gone, the truth will come out, and it will be as we Bendectin Moms know it is.  We know which drug we took.  We know what it did to our kids.  Please quit ignoring 10's of thousands of women and their children.  There are just too many of us for something not to be staggeringly amiss.  
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This was meant as a response to scientific471's post on Feb 22, 2013, which basically said that those of us who have struggled with the effects of Bendectin are wrong about our conclusion.  Don't know how these posts seem to end up in the wrong spot.  Apologies to anyone who got caught in the crossfire.....
Avatar universal
I took this in 1977 for five months of pregnancy.  I was so sick I could not keep water down from the time I got up until about 5-6 pm.  I gave birth to a 7lb 12oz beautiful girl.  About a year old she was diagnosed with slight heart mummer, as were my other two boys for which I took nothing.  My daughter grew into a healthy woman and is pregnant with the same symptoms I had, very violent nausea.  She has even had IVs to rehydrate her because she could not keep water down.  From what I have read, the same drug is now available.  She is going to try them for a few weeks to try to get through.
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I also took that drug in 80' and 81', for 5 n half months, I was sick 24/7,  I read it causes mental issues also, My1st born, now almost 35, has lots of issues, It did take along time to get pregnant, she had 2 babys were both premies, Her mental is shes on Zoloft, she has severe anxiety, severe depression, doesn't like to leave the house, slacking in evert aspect, and including taking better care of herself...   Help!
Tell her do not take this drug its not a joke its a debilutatong drug its caused di mych harm telk her to please recobcider this is my advise i am a victim of bendectin
Avatar universal
My son was born in 1976 at Travis AFB.  He was a 10 lb baby and I took Benedictine the whole 42 weeks of pregnancy.  As a new born, I noticed he was not acting like a normal newborn.  He took 2 or 3 30 min naps a day and feed every 2 hours around the clock for 9 months.  I believe you could say he was ADHD at birth.  The next 8 years was tedious with him as have the last 39 years.  The only body abnormity was his toes where curled.  His behavior was not great, he had bed wetting issues till 12, he did poorly in school, he has been on medication since 8 years old.  We had him tested and the doctor read me my son from a book.  It was all side effects from Benedictine.  He told me that my son was not producing hormones that he should be producing and that part of his nervous system did not develop.  He advised us to get the pregnancy medical records for the air force and file suit and that we should feel fortunate that he had no deformities.  We requested the records and by some apparent filing mistakes my pregnancy records had disappeared.   My husband got the jag involved and the records were gone.  Surprise!  No law suit!  Now my son is a mess, he is addicted to drugs, his nerves are a wreck, his body is a mess.  It has been extremely interesting reading these comments as it makes me wonder if all his issues stem from this.  I didn't take NOTHING with my other 2 pregnancies and was very sick as well BUT they have no issues at all.  I hate that I did not just fight the nausea out with my first but I trusted the doctors.  A big mistake for my first child, if I had only known.
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Well i congradulate you on your strenghth your a rea mom a mom who loves her child I am a born bendectin baby after reading your story i reflected on my moms story its similar to the story you had my thoughts are pregnancys exposed to this drug bendectin are jyst as qualified to recieve compensation for the long term effects better yet for just being expised at all
Avatar universal
In 1980 while stationed in Gaeta, Italy I was prescribed Bendectin for morning sickness.  April 8th, 1981 I gave birth to a "blue" baby who it turned out was born with Transposition of the Great Vessels.  She underwent several procedures and surgeries as an infant. Most recently she has had many many heart problems including strokes, and having a debit/pacemaker.  She has been in and out of hospital.

On our medevac flight back to USA another baby also had a heart problem and that mother also was prescribed Bendectin.  Sadly that baby did not make it. Her baby went in for surgery before mine and while we "celebrated"the success briefly in  cafeteria she passed away.  Absolutely terrifying as our baby was next for surgery.  

Interestingly back in the states, I gave birth to a healthy baby girl 5 years later.  As I was talking to my nurse, she told me her son was born in with transposition of the great vessels. She also was a military wife, also took Bendectin and the most important fact, in our medical records it did not show we were prescribed Bendectin.  I did have problems conceiving and I had a miscarriage at around 4 months between the two girls.
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Was any side effects listed for boys my son was born in 1980 when he was 5 found out he had a hole in his heart which thankfully was able to be repaired now he is grown found out he was born without a gall-bladder and  has other birth defects took this medication when I was pregnant with him didn't even know it had been banned saw the lawsuit against zofran and it brought back the memory of the benedictine hope this isn't why he is having serious health issues!
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I wonder the same
Avatar universal
Was any side effects listed for boys my son was born in 1980 when he was 5 found out he had a hole in his heart which thankfully was able to be repaired now he is grown found out he was born without a gall-bladder and  has other birth defects took this medication when I was pregnant with him didn't even know it had been banned saw the lawsuit against zofran and it brought back the memory of the benedictine hope this isn't why he is having serious health issues!
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Avatar universal
Hi,
My mom took bendectin in the late 1970's when she was pregnant with my sister and me. My sister was born in 1n 1978 and my sister August the year before. My sister seemed healthy for the most part as a kid. I on other hand had a lot of health issues. At 5 years old I was diagnosed with epilepsy, at 7 with ulcerative colitis ( diagnosis later changed to Crohn's disease), nuerocardiogenic syncope as a teen, Arthralgia,  asthma as a teen, now paradoxical atrial fib, endometriosis, GERD, Esophogitis , adenomyosis. I am anemic and nuetropenic a lot of the time,  rhumatoid doctor just last week told me he really believes I have a second autoimmune disease and he is doing tests to confirm which one. I get constant UTI's, kidney infections. We went thru 3 fertility treatments to get pregnant. Thru IVF I got pregnant with twins. My daughter was born prematurely at 35 weeks, her twin died in utero at the end of the first trimester ( officially a miscarriage) . My daughter, who is 9, had has tonic clonic seizure, tenative crohns , GERD, Esophogitis, crohnic migrianes and she is being followed by cardiology because they suspect she has inappropriate sinus a tachycardia and worried she may be getting an arthymia.


My sister has infertility issues, an autoimmune disease, endometriosis, inappropriate sinus tachycardia...

As you can see we have a lot of medical problems. Some is linked with crappy genetics but we do suspect this medication our mom took caused or at least seriously contributed to some of the conditions. I know our mom feels guilt over this and we have told her there is no reason for her to feel guilty. So to any moms out there feeling guilt for taking this drug please realize you took a mediation your doctor said was safe....heck severe nausea and vomiting causes dehydration which is a leading cause of early miscarriages....so who knows if you haven't taken this med and the nausea and vomiting persisted you may have had a miscarriage and we wouldn't even be here.

What we do need is a push for research to be put all together and examined, and to see if a group lawsuit can happen against the drug company in order to help those of us with these medical issues...I know I'm lucky because I have an amazing husband who works hard and has decent health insurance...but still only 3 months into the calendar year we had already reached our out of pocket maximum for the year ($10,000) in medical bills. And a lot of the meds and test my doctors and specialists want done are not covered by insurance and the the prescription copays are HUGE. So we need moms pregnant back then who took this to get records to show they were on this med while pregnant and such.

Is the anyone taking the lead right now on trying to see about a lawsuit??
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Avatar universal
OMG, my daughter has not been able to carry a pregnancy. She had invetro several times, and had a miscarriage at about 6 weeks. I never thought this was related to anything I did; but I did take bendectin when I was pregnant with her.  I could not keep anything down and started taking it when I was approximately 6 -8 weeks pregnant; I worked in the food industry and it allowed me to continue working.  What can we do about this is there a pending law suit?
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My son was born in 1979 and I was prescribed a medicine for morning sickness also. He was born with crossed eyes and a heart murmur. He was later diagnosed with ADHD and in his 20's was diagnosed schizophrenia affective, which is schizophrenia with bi polar. His life is a disaster.
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Avatar universal
I took Bendectin for nausea during my pregnancy in 1976. I have a son, now 38, and he has several issues that I never connected to this drug (didn't know there was a connection).....where was I and how could I have missed this....the first thing that happened was "placenta previa" at 7 months pregnant while carrying him. I was restricted to bed for the remaining term. He was diagnosed with ADHD at around 8 years of age. Then starting when he was a teen he had heart racing issues that we thought were caused from over exertion. In his early 30's after a hernia operation we were told he needed to see a cardiologist. He was diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia and had it since he was a teenager. He had heart ablation for this and now he is symptom free. He also has extra teeth that have caused him a host of problems for years.
I was reading online about this drug Bendectin today and saw the birth defects it has caused. On that list are most of the problems my son has, from the my placenta tearing away from my uterus (placenta previa), to the supraventricular tachycardia, to the ADHD, to the extra teeth and many other problems both physically and mentally. He is super skinny at 6' and weighing only 120lbs (eats all the time) and also he is immature (don't know if this could be related) he still lives home, isn't financially responsible, (my fault). He is very intelligent, graduated high school, culinary school and took college courses but can't keep a job.
I am shocked to see a DRUG I chose to take rather than be nauseous during my pregnancy can cause most if not all of his problems.
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Avatar universal
All to often people wish to find blame and vindication for whatever ailments they suffer. Also bad science and poor or misguided analysis only serve lawyers and their pursuit of money. The truth is about as plain as it  could be. This beneficial medication was maligned and blamed. Paid consultants misdirected and deceived courts and the public. This is a prime example.  This medication is used Routinely by patients world wide. There is no link between this medication birth defects. Sorry poeple... defects happen...it's sad but true. Blaming will not change the reality. Only will deceive yourself and others. There is no conspiracy to cause defects. .. that is just fantasy.
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Avatar universal
I also took Bendectin for a pregnancy in 1980/81 my son was born with several severe heart birth defects he's going to be 34. He's had many heart surgeries and over 100 admissions to Children's Hospital Boston. I can't believe I'm reading all these posts that appear related to this drug and nothing has ever been done. If it has I must have missed it. He's now on disability do to his heart and can't work. You would think there would have been a class action and monies set aside for these problems that this drug appears to have caused.
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I took this drug in 1977 for 2 months and 1980 for 2 weeks until I got sick and almost lost my 2nd child. My daughter is 37 and just got diagnosed with hole in the heart. I never thought much about it until her diagnosis.  
Avatar universal
I took the same drug Bendectin for severe morning sickness in 1973 and my son has been diagnosed with numerous labels for his problem from about age 2 - when what looked like autism cropped up.  In those days in Wisconsin where we were living - doctors attributed it to the mother as being disturbed and causing the child to have problems.  After several years we discovered he was also having mild seizures while sleeping.  Can't begin to tell the list of different labels given to him over the years.  Had same extreme morning sickness in 1976 with his brother - but didn't take anything with him - as stumbled onto simple  flavored lifesaver candy.  I discovered my 2nd son was above his age level in learning and obviously it was not my fault my first child had all these problems.  I look back through those years of hell with such sadness for us.
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Avatar universal
My mom took bendectin while pregnant with me in 1975.  I have polycystic ovarian syndrome and endometriosis.  I suffered at least 2 miscarriages and 1 ectopic pregnancy and had a hysterectomy in 2003 at 27.  I believe this is just too coincidental to not be linked to the drug.  

I also suffered from Grave's disease and have bipolar disorder and was wondering if there was a link to bendectin with illnesses not relating to fertility.  She did not take it during her pregnancy with my brother and he is perfectly healthy.
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11110771 tn?1415381742
is there nothing we can do about this??
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10665791 tn?1411843968
I took this drug in 78 and 79 with my first two children. Both have medical issues - the second one more severe - CHARGE syndrome. As an adult is experiencing mental problems. I, too, wonder if this pill did the damage. My third child does not have any of these problems....I guess buyer beware applies here - sorry I ever was so weak and took these pills.
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My mother took this drug also when pregnant with me in 1976. I started having what they called seizures at a very early age (6wks). These symptoms I have however do not fall under any seizure category I have looked up. They are usually caused by some sort of nerve pain, like for example I have bumped my elbow and had a "seizure". During these "seizures" I will always get this weird smell before I pass out and stop breathing completely. With every seizure as a child my dad had to give me cpr to get me breathing again. As an adult I do not have them as much and this might be in part that I don't hurt myself nearly as much, but I do still have them. I also as a child had a very weak immune system and was hospitalized several times for pneumonia. I ended up going to the doctors once a month for a year to receive a gamma globulin shot to help with my immune system. I have never had problems with getting pregnant. I have 4 healthy children, but was told recently by my doctor that I now have a tilted uterus. I will have headaches everyday for weeks at a time sometimes,
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I took Bendectin during my second pregnancy, because my doctor said I had to keep food down for the baby's sake. My son was born in 1975 with multiple  birth defects. The left side of his body was smaller than the right side,he was blind and had glaucoma. When he was 10 months old, we found out he had hydrocephalus , and they put a shunt in to drain the fluid from his head. He died at 18 months of pneumonia, because he was too weak to fight it. I am convinced that Bendectin caused his problems. Of course, the doctor later said it wasn't the cause. I'm sure his defects were never reported to anyone. I wonder how many  other thousands of babies were born with similar problems, and never included in any study about this drug.  I am a heartbroken mother who didn't have to have this happen.
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Avatar universal
I'm in disbelief. My mother took bendectin in 1981 as I was born in 1982. I have a deformed ear, severe back pain, arched roof of my mouth, joint pain, migraines, hypothyroidism, and PCOS.

My husband and I have been trying to get pregnant for 2 years with no success. I finally went to a Reproductive Specialist and was asked on a form about medications my mother took while pregnant. I couldn't believe it since I remembered my mom telling me something about a medication took for morning sickness. Needless to say it's bendectin. I am so heartbroken reading these posts but also feel like I'm not alone. My sisters are perfectly normal and have conceived twice without issue. My mom only took the medication with me. I appreciate the stories and the people who share them.
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Avatar universal
I too took Bendectin in 1980 with my first pregnancy and again in 1982 with the second. I didn't take it with my third daughter, born in 1987 because it was no longer available. My two daughters born after I took Bendectin had no birth defects, all their teeth, no emotional problems. My oldest daughter got pregnant right after getting married and delivered a healthy baby boy. In the 3 years since then, she has had 4 miscarriages; not being able to carry the baby past 6 weeks. My second daughter has had two healthy children with one miscarriage between them. My third daughter is not married. I took a lot of Bendectin with the first pregnancy because I was sick 24/7. I took it into the second trimester. I didn't need as much the second time and stopped taking it sooner.
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I took Bendectin in 1982 my first born was born with a severe to profound deafness, and asthma! She has had three miscarriages and  finally had our grandaughter! I widh I would never have taken this drug.
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I have not seen anyone write about it, but my son is 31, and  I took bendectin the entire pregnancy, and he has been trying for 9 years to have a baby with no luck. his wife has three boys, he would do anything for a baby, does anyone else have a son with this problem?
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