Paxil Withdrawal and Addiction Lawyer

Paxil, also known as Aropax, Brisdelle, Pexeva, Sereupin and Seroxat, comes from the British manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). It is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor meant to balance serotonin levels in the brain. Doctors typically prescribe Paxil for depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Paxil should alleviate behavior and mood-related symptoms of these conditions within the first few months of use. Yet hundreds of patients claim to have experienced the opposite effects while taking the drug.

GSK has spent millions of dollars in lawsuit settlements and billions more in fines for fraudulent marketing. Several courts have found the manufacturer guilty of fraudulently promoting Paxil as nonhabit forming, when evidently GSK knew of serious withdrawal symptoms as far back as 1993. Still, the company did not warn consumers of the known risks of addiction or withdrawal. Symptoms of Paxil withdrawal include nausea, headache, fatigue, anxiety and insomnia. Patients with Paxil withdrawal may end up taking more of the drug to alleviate symptoms.

Other Paxil lawsuits deal with suicidal thoughts and birth defects. Paxil evidently poses an unreasonable risk of increased suicidal thoughts and behaviors in young users. In 2007, the Food and Drug Administration warned GSK to include “increased risk of suicide” on Paxil’s black box warning, especially in ages 18 to 24. Plaintiffs have since sued GSK for suicides and related harms and deaths from taking Paxil. Finally, several lawsuits have linked Paxil with birth defects, especially heart defects, in pregnant women who take the drug in the first trimester — despite GSK marketing the product as having no known link to birth defects.