Pregnancy & Antidepressants

Re: Pregnancy & Antidepressants

• nanalovesjason

  December 2011

  Hi There,

  I am sorry to hear that you are suffering or have suffered with PTSD. I also feel for anyone in the position of TTC while on antidepressants. I am 8 weeks postpartum and on 20 mg of Celexa for general anxiety and OCD. For the first couple months of my pregnancy I was on 30 mg but wanted to cut back. I found that 20 mg was the lowest effective dose for me.

  Prior to conceiving I was assured by my Psychiatrist that benefits of the use of this drug in pregnancy outweighed the risks in my situation. I have a long history with her and she has a ton of experience medicating pregnant women. My OB said he prefers Zoloft because its the SSRI that he has the most experience with, but did give his blessing for Celexa. I was however on a low dose of the drug. The typical dosage is 40-60 mg and I was at 20 mg. I have struggled with anxiety since the age of 9 and have also tried Paxil (not ok for pregnancy) but Celexa has worked wonders for me. Yes I've tried counseling but nothing makes me normal except medication. I literally cannot sleep (my mind will not shut off), I cannot drive nor can I work because I am so paralyzed with fear. Fortunately not everyone needs drugs and hopefully you are able to do it without for peace of mind.

  I will also say that I was made to feel very guilty by some family members about using the medication. I listened to my doctors, scoured online forums for personal experiences and went with my gut. My son came 6 weeks early and is perfect. I dreaded the thought of him experiencing withdrawals from the drug as I tend to feel hungover if I've missed a dose. Thank God, he never showed any signs of this.

   I mainly wanted to chime and say, do NOT let anyone who doesn't have an M.D. at the end of their name make you feel like you are putting crack into your baby's system. I know I dealt with a lot of that. My OB says he worries more about the well-being of babies whose mothers go untreated than those who are reasonably medicated while pregnant. He also remarked that if there was a clear and unquestionable link between birth defects and SSRI's (excluding Paxil) doctors would not prescribe then to pregnant women.

  I hope you find what works best for you both and best of luck! 

  Missed M/C 2/2005- 7 weeks- D&C Missed M/C 4/2008- 6 weeks- D&C Missed M/C 09/2009- 6 weeks- D&C Blighted Ovum 01/2010 DX: 13:14 Balanced Translocation Carrier BFP: 03/15/2011 results in Baby Boy born 10/12/11 @ 34w1d!

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• Cara03 member

  December 2011

  nanalovesjason:

  Hi There,

  I am sorry to hear that you are suffering or have suffered with PTSD. I also feel for anyone in the position of TTC while on antidepressants. I am 8 weeks postpartum and on 20 mg of Celexa for general anxiety and OCD. For the first couple months of my pregnancy I was on 30 mg but wanted to cut back. I found that 20 mg was the lowest effective dose for me.

  Prior to conceiving I was assured by my Psychiatrist that benefits of the use of this drug in pregnancy outweighed the risks in my situation. I have a long history with her and she has a ton of experience medicating pregnant women. My OB said he prefers Zoloft because its the SSRI that he has the most experience with, but did give his blessing for Celexa. I was however on a low dose of the drug. The typical dosage is 40-60 mg and I was at 20 mg. I have struggled with anxiety since the age of 9 and have also tried Paxil (not ok for pregnancy) but Celexa has worked wonders for me. Yes I've tried counseling but nothing makes me normal except medication. I literally cannot sleep (my mind will not shut off), I cannot drive nor can I work because I am so paralyzed with fear. Fortunately not everyone needs drugs and hopefully you are able to do it without for peace of mind.

  I will also say that I was made to feel very guilty by some family members about using the medication. I listened to my doctors, scoured online forums for personal experiences and went with my gut. My son came 6 weeks early and is perfect. I dreaded the thought of him experiencing withdrawals from the drug as I tend to feel hungover if I've missed a dose. Thank God, he never showed any signs of this.

   I mainly wanted to chime and say, do NOT let anyone who doesn't have an M.D. at the end of their name make you feel like you are putting crack into your baby's system. I know I dealt with a lot of that. My OB says he worries more about the well-being of babies whose mothers go untreated than those who are reasonably medicated while pregnant. He also remarked that if there was a clear and unquestionable link between birth defects and SSRI's (excluding Paxil) doctors would not prescribe then to pregnant women.

  I hope you find what works best for you both and best of luck! 

  Thank you for your kind words. I've already felt some of the family guilt and we aren't even ttc yet. I worry about the baby experiencing withdrawal as well. So far I just have my general practitioner prescribing the zoloft. I'm trying to get in to a psychiatrist but there is such a long wait. So frustrating, but it is great to hear from someone who's been there. Thanks again.

  

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• Belleza907

  December 2011

  I've dealt with anxiety issues since I was a teenager and have been on effexor for many years. My psychiatrist wasnt comfortable leaving me on that while I was pregnant, so she transitioned me to zoloft when we started ttc. My ob and my re (we had to do ivf) were more than okay with me being on zoloft for the whole pregnancy. They told me multiple times it would be worse for the babies if we let my anxiety go untreated. Neither of my girls experienced withdrawal symptoms from the zoloft and the neonatologists never seem concerned that I was on it. You really need to do what is right for you. I know that I never would have made it through my pregnancy without the zoloft, especially with the added stress of a 29 week delivery. I felt like everyone I knew had an opinion about it, but In the end I decided it wa only my dr's opinion that counted. Good luck!

  

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