Postpartum Depression
Not PPD, but nowhere else to post...
I am not suffering from PPD, yet. I am still pregnant, 29 weeks, and I am struggling with antepartum depression. I have battled depression my whole life and was taking welbutrin before I got pregnant. I decided to stop taking it when I got pregnant and was doing okay until recently and now I am a mess. I have discussed it with my OB and she was on board with me trying to go without meds but if I needed to start up again we would do that. At my last appointment, not with my regular OB, I spoke to the doctor about it and she prescribed me 200 mg of welbutrin/day.She seemed to feel that would be fine and had no reservations giving me the script. I am worried about taking this high of a dosage, especially to start with. That is what I had worked up to before pregnancy but my psychiatrist had started much lower and worked up to that. I am not sure what I should do. I really want to feel better and enjoy the remaining weeks of my pregnancy as much as possible, as of now I am not even able to be excited about it most of the time which makes me feel horrible. Has anyone else taken welbutrin during pregnancy? Did everything go okay for you? I am so worried that if anything goes wrong I know I will blame myself for not being able to get through this without medication. I know that more than likely I will suffer from PPD so I am definitely going to start up medication again after birth. Sorry about the length of this post. TIA for your help.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Not PPD, but nowhere else to post...
I ended up with severe antepartum depression at 16 weeks and had to go on Zoloft. My doctors thought that was the best for me. I started at 25 mg and worked up to 200 mg, which I am still on. My son was perfect at birth and is still fabulous, even while I breastfeed and take the med.
I don't know how close Welbutrin and Zoloft are but I would think going up slower would be better.
I besides my OB I also saw a Psychiatrist and a therapist. They all really helped.
If you have any questions I would be happy to chat, just PM me.
"There comes a time in life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh, forget the bad, and focus on the good. So love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living."
I understand. I'm also still pregnant and went on 50 mg Zoloft at 14 weeks or so. Now I'm 20 weeks and feel a ton better... my doctor will keep me on zoloft until at least 6 months after baby is here. I was also depressed after my first two kids.
I've also had depression struggles for a few years too. I thought I was doing well and then BOOM I just couldn't take it. I felt so weepy and unmotivated all the time.
A second opinion is always GREAT in my view! You can't go wrong with that.
You sound a lot like me. I came over to this board to talk about depression during pregnancy, which i too am suffering from. It feels so good to hear other women know how I feel, because sometimes I feel like such a failure, being so sad and unmotivated all the time, but your post helped me to remember it is not my fault i feel this way!
I am taking effexor xr for my depression. I've been on it for 4 years. I weened down to 75 mgs (from 225) before I became pregnant, because I too was hoping to be drug free while pregnant. My psychiatrist and midwives convinced me to stay on the 75 mgs, but it has not been enough of a dose for me throughout this whole pregnancy. I have been very depressed and have physical symptoms from the depression as well. But I just suffered through it, because I wasn't so bad that I wasn't able to take care of my 6 year old son, and myself and the baby, I just didn't feel as happy as I should. I finally agreed to go up 37.5 mgs when I was 29 weeks, actually. I am now 32 weeks today, and I am still waiting to see a difference. I will go up as high as I need to at this point, because I realize that post partum depression is way worse for my baby than taking medicine. I don't want to feel this way when she comes out! And breastfeeding, as I plan to do, with help to ween her off of the medication, since babies do not get as much of the medicine through breastmilk.
I was on prozac for my entire pregnancy and even had to double my dose when I was pregnant with my son. He is happy, healthy, and very smart, there were no problems what so ever from taking the medicine.
I understand your concerns, but as my doctors like to remind me, you have to weigh your options here, as it is worse for your baby to be born to a depressed momma than it is to take medicine, at least in my opinion and all of my midwives and psychiatrists. As for going on a high dose right away, I would ask another doctor, someone you trust more, because I was always put on lower doses and then increased slowly.
Good luck and I hope we both feel a lot better soon.