If you are currently on antidepressants

andreas4dogs · November 2010

Do you plan to stay on them? Reduce the dosage? Go off them altogether?

I am on Zoloft 100mg but have been cutting it in half to 50mg. Once I have my first ob appointment in December, I will discuss it further.

Shelleybell · November 2010

met with my ob right after i found out and i am staying on them. Mine are for anxiety/panic attacks and i am taking lexapro 10mg.

andreas4dogs · November 2010

Thanks for sharing. I am interested to see what others are doing. I was originally put on them by an ob that I know longer see (from having PPD after the birth of my son) so I cannot consult the original ob to see what they suggest. I'll just discuss it with my new ob.

ElatedMom2B · November 2010

I weaned off. I was put on them [Zoloft] for PPD also and didn't stick with it - hated the idea. However, I was still having a very rough time and decided to go back on them through my primary care physician. Even though they say it is, for the most part, safe to stay on, I decided not to risk it.

During my pregnancy with DD I was so thrilled and couldn't have been happier, i.e. my moods were fine and I had never had any anxiety/depression issues prior to my previous pregnancy. Even though my primary care Dr. was very diligent in following up with me and checking in while I have been on the medication, I had a sense of mixed emotions about it when my OB asked me about taking the Zoloft now. (He is the doc that put me on it for PPD). He asked me if I was under the care of a psychologist or have been doing any kind of counseling. I haven't. He had bit of a disconcerting look on his face, like he didn't approve. It really made me think that if I have some sort of problem from now on that I will seek the correct type of professional for my symptoms.

I kinda feel as if he was disappointed to see, yet another individual, put on anti-depressants and just left to self-medicate that way without the correct f/u treatment. My OB has been practicing for 40 years - so I am sure he has seen some crazy stuff. Including the fact that three months before I gave birth to my DD a woman gave birth in the same hospital/same practice and during recovery said she was going out for a smoke. She got into a car that was left running, drove away in her hospital gown at full speed and crashed her car into a telephone pole and died instantly. PPD is not something to mess around with and my OB practice doesn't. But I think for me, at this point, I should be seeking help from a professional in the right area.

IckyThump · November 2010

I take Zoloft for anxiety and depression and my ob felt that staying on it through my pregnancy was best for me. I had PPD after having DS, in addition to having a history of depression throughout my life, so we both felt that me weaning off it at this point would probably be a bad idea. With the exception of Paxil, most antidepressants are generally considered safe to take during pregnancy.

robbie3982 · November 2010

IckyThump:
I take Zoloft for anxiety and depression and my ob felt that staying on it through my pregnancy was best for me. I had PPD after having DS, in addition to having a history of depression throughout my life, so we both felt that me weaning off it at this point would probably be a bad idea. With the exception of Paxil, most antidepressants are generally considered safe to take during pregnancy.

This is me too. I just started seeing a new psychiatrist who specializes in treating postpartum and pregnant women. She upped my dose of zoloft (up to 200mg now) and I will be staying on through the entire pregnancy as well as after the birth.

If you discontinue antidepressants before your symptoms have been in remission for at least 6 months, you increase your risk of a relapse.

andreas4dogs · November 2010

Thanks ladies. I think I will just keep the dose cut in half but I do not think, for me (and for the baby), it would be safe to completely go off Zoloft completely. I suppose it is a balancing act that I will have to further discuss with my doctor.

moleson99 · November 2010

When I called to make appointments, they had a nurse call me back to go over some quick things with me. One of which was current meds. I asked about it, and they said it's up to me. They said that right now, there isn't any research saying that it's bad for the baby and that it might actually do more harm to me if i were to take myself off. I've tried weaning myself off before and I go nuts. (ok, maybe that's a bad term to use in this case, but I get really cranky and on edge.)

I've started just taking half of my dose each morning. I figure that my hormones are making me go through enough and i don't want to know what would happen if i took myself off completely.

prettyfish13 · November 2010

I'm on 150mg of Zoloft, and plan to stay on it. I started it at around 15 weeks with my last pregnancy and it was the best thing I could have done. Before getting pregnant this time I discussed it with my psychiatrist and she assured me that it was safe to be on during pregnancy. My OB is also aware of if and has no problem with it.

gmc222 · November 2010

I am on 50mg Zoloft and will continue throughout the pregancy. My SIL was also on Zoloft and has a healthy little 2-mo old!

hscherme · November 2010

I am on Zoloft 50mg and my doctor says it is just fine to take-They said it's a pregnancy category B and it's the one they they let their pregnant pt's stay on. If you go off it dont quit cold turkey, you're suppose to half it for 2 weeks, then every other day, then quit I believe. Good luck!

klv · November 2010

I am also on zoloft 75mg. At this time I am not planning to alter my dosage. It is recommended that you try to wean off in the 3rd trimester so the baby does not go through withdrawl. However, if you are planning to breastfeed that is a moot point as some of the drug will end up in breastmilk.

For me, the benefits of medication far outweigh the risks.

walter7878 · November 2010

Whatever you do, learn from my mistake and don't try to quit cold turkey. You really have to step your dose down or you end up with some bad side effects. I think you're smart to discuss it with your OB but not quit taking it. Good luck!

CutieBean79 · November 2010

I'm on 10mg Lexapro. I was on 20mg when I got pregnant, tried to wean (unsuccessfully - withdrawals, return of symptoms) so my OB and I agreed on the lower dose of 10mg which is working well. I hear Zoloft is the safest antidepressant for pregnancy, but I can't tolerate it.

stampygarrett · November 2010

I worked with my psychiatrist and OB for over a year. I tried to go off of everything and got into a bad depression (last Christmas). So we decided it would be best if I stay on the Prozac. Well, then I got PG, hooray! But to my dismay, I went to see my psychiatrist and out of nowhere he suggested I cold turkey the Prozac! I was really upset he did that to me, it isn't like this was a surprise! My OB said he is completely fine with me being on the meds but I got off anyway because I felt guilty by the other doctor. It lasted a couple months but recently I have been feeling really down and don't want to go down that road so I got back on (at half the dose from before.) I am feeling better but I think I'm going to find a new psychiatrist.

ewochnick · November 2010

andreas4dogs:

Do you plan to stay on them? Reduce the dosage? Go off them altogether?

I am on Zoloft 100mg but have been cutting it in half to 50mg. Once I have my first ob appointment in December, I will discuss it further.

I am planning on staying on my antidepressants unless the Doc tell me different. But she has told me many times that everything will be fine and that I should stay on them. So I guess I will wait and see Smile

shellzoe2009 · November 2010

I'm also on 10mg Lexapro for anxiety and my reg doctor said I can wean off if I wanted to but don't "have to" and then my OB said she prefers I stay on them since its a low dose already. She said it helps relieve some stress from the pregnancy and as long as its low dose and controlled, everything is good.

Liz4444 · November 2010

I was taking 100mg of zoloft for the past 15 years. When I told my GYN and GP that we were TTC they both said that I should wean off before becoming pregnant. I had also discussed it with my BFF's father who is the head of OBGYN at a hospital, he said it was safe for me to stay on, the baby would just be a little slow moving for the first few days of it's life... I wanted to stay on, but my Dr's were insistent.

It was not easy, i'm still having a very tough time... but they said that as long as I wasn't hurting myself, they thought this was best. If you do go off, make sure you have very supportive people around you. I feel as though a lot of people in my life don't understand what I'm going through or why this is so tough so I can't talk with them about it... it makes things harder.

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