very worried- please tell me about terbutaline

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Google terbutaline and autism. Wouldn't take the chance again.

Google mud pies and autism. Wouldn't make mud pies again.

Really? A drug to stop premature labor is now the cause of autism? Good to know - it's all been made clear. There will be no more autism once you spread this news.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Google terbutaline and autism. Wouldn't take the chance again.

You probably didn't go into labor at 23 weeks where you were told "take the drugs or you will deliver and your babies will DIE!" I took terbutaline, tourdol, magnesium sulfate and several other drugs TO SAVE MY CHILDREN. And it worked! My twins are now almost 6 and healthy, incredibly bright, funny, energetic, social kids. At 35 weeks, the OP probably didn't have to worry about a dead baby, but can you honestly say you would risk your child dying all to save them from being autistic? There are no guarantees in life, and I stand by my decision to use EVERY EXPERIMENTAL DRUG AVAILABLE to save my children.

If you are in PTL, do yourself a favor and stay away from Google. All it will do is stress you out and give you a list of POTENTIAL complications.

[Anonymous]

I was given terbutaline when I went into premature labor at 30 weeks. Stopped the labor but it kept on starting. It bought me 2 days to get the steroid drugs in. did increase my heart rate some but no side affects on my son. He is extremely smart, definitely no developmental delay and no signs of autism.

[Anonymous]

I was on terbutaline for both my pregnancies - from 26 weeks for DC1 and from 32 weeks from DC2. Both are healthy, smart, social teenagers! Of course, DC1's IQ tests in the 150's and DC2 only in the 130's - from which I could (but don't) conclude that terbutaline causes giftedness, and the more the better!

[Anonymous]

"I was given magnesium sulfate, the other major tocolytic agent, at 32 weeks, and gave birth anyway 28 hours later. I did not know at the time magnesium sulfate had been found to have no effect on premature birth, that its use had been discontinued in Europe, and that it has serious side-effects for the mother, which I experienced! So if anyone tries to give you magnesium sulfate, just say NO!"

I just wanted to comment that as a nurse at fairfax, we place patients on magnesium when they are at risk for preterm delivery. This is not for the tocolytic effects but because there has been a study that shows that the risk for cerebral palsy can be reduced if magnesium sulfate is used during delivery of preterm infants. And as a personal experience, I also was placed on magnesium during my delivery and experienced some of the unpleasant side effects of it, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.

[Anonymous]

I think I would trust my doctors with whatever decision they made, given the circumstances at that time. Otherwise, arm yourself with a laptop and every time you go to the doctor and they want to do something, google it or go on a message board and get non-specialist guidance, then refuse whatever treatment they offer.

They gave you the drug for a reason. Perhaps before so, you could have asked what the risks were, but also ask yourself what the risk was if you refused.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Google terbutaline and autism. Wouldn't take the chance again.

I think it was the cause of our child's autism, or at least the severity of it. I would try to avoid it as much as possible.

[Anonymous]

I googled it and could only find one study on twins that purportedly made a correlation (not causation), though I couldn't tell what factors were accounted for (age of parents, use of fertility drugs, etc.). I also found a lot of references to attorneys willing to sue for terbutaline use, and the usual autism website references about the evils of terbutaline. Do you make your decision on one study that could not definitively point to terbutaline as a cause for autism (which has been used in many pregnancies, with no ill effects) or do you refuse the drug and risk losing your baby to pre-term labor?

[Anonymous]

op here-
Thank you for sharing your experiences with me. 40 hours after having the shots my contractions resumed. The contractions are painful but I have not dialated any further since my posting.

Thank you again!

[Anonymous]

i agree it's ideal to trust your care provider and not feel the need to question their recommendations or actions, but i think it's also smart and fine to be a critical consumer of health care and not just blindly do whatever any doctor or midwife recommends. i guess my point is that i think OP is being very smart to ask for others' experiences and formulate her own opinion about the situation so she can be more informed and involved in her body's and her baby's care. i think there is value in the experiences of other mothers, just as there is value in the experience of doctors and midwives. good luck OP!

Anonymous wrote:I think I would trust my doctors with whatever decision they made, given the circumstances at that time. Otherwise, arm yourself with a laptop and every time you go to the doctor and they want to do something, google it or go on a message board and get non-specialist guidance, then refuse whatever treatment they offer.

They gave you the drug for a reason. Perhaps before so, you could have asked what the risks were, but also ask yourself what the risk was if you refused.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I googled it and could only find one study on twins that purportedly made a correlation (not causation), though I couldn't tell what factors were accounted for (age of parents, use of fertility drugs, etc.). I also found a lot of references to attorneys willing to sue for terbutaline use, and the usual autism website references about the evils of terbutaline. Do you make your decision on one study that could not definitively point to terbutaline as a cause for autism (which has been used in many pregnancies, with no ill effects) or do you refuse the drug and risk losing your baby to pre-term labor?

How on earth could you do a twin study on the use of terbutaline?? If one got it, the other got it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:op here-
Thank you for sharing your experiences with me. 40 hours after having the shots my contractions resumed. The contractions are painful but I have not dialated any further since my posting.

Thank you again!

Good luck, OP! It's great you are this far along already and I wish you more and more days of pregnancy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i agree it's ideal to trust your care provider and not feel the need to question their recommendations or actions, but i think it's also smart and fine to be a critical consumer of health care and not just blindly do whatever any doctor or midwife recommends. i guess my point is that i think OP is being very smart to ask for others' experiences and formulate her own opinion about the situation so she can be more informed and involved in her body's and her baby's care. i think there is value in the experiences of other mothers, just as there is value in the experience of doctors and midwives. good luck OP!

Anonymous wrote:I think I would trust my doctors with whatever decision they made, given the circumstances at that time. Otherwise, arm yourself with a laptop and every time you go to the doctor and they want to do something, google it or go on a message board and get non-specialist guidance, then refuse whatever treatment they offer.

They gave you the drug for a reason. Perhaps before so, you could have asked what the risks were, but also ask yourself what the risk was if you refused.

But she should ASK her doctors questions instead of coming onto a message board and having people scare the crap out of her about some unconfirmed link to autism.