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Effexor XR

gemmathgemmath member
in 2nd Trimester

Hi all,

 I'm currently 15 weeks and 6 days pregnant. I found out I was pregnant at about week 6. I have also been taking Effexor XR (depression/anxiety) for 10+ years at a 150 mg per day. I immediately started to lower the doses but with this drug it is not something you can do quickly. It is lowering the dose in increments that the drug comes in and then doing an every other day thing...either way I have been feeling pretty good (thinking that the prenatals/omega 3's are helping) but per my psychatrist if anything the 'damage has already been done' if there was going to be damage. Has anyone else been told something similar? I still would like to not be dependent on prescriptions either way but that really hurt to hear.

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Re: Effexor XR

  • boo-bitzboo-bitz member

    I am sorry you had to be told that by your psychiatrist. Sometimes medical professionals can be really clinical and forget they are talking to a real person.

    My advice would be to try and wean yourself down 100% before entering the third trimester as that is when the fetal after-effects are most prominent (for up to a week after birth they experience withdrawl, gastro upset, repiratory upset, etc.).

    Hope this is of reassurance and in the end if you being a better you means you have to stay on a 37.5 mg dose through the 3rd tri,your baby will thank you for it in the end. Also remember not all newborns have these effects either.

     

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  • DenaRenee78DenaRenee78 member

    I am pregnant with twins and my anxiety doubled since being pregnant. I know a lot is hormones .. and parts my anxiety disorder and the fact that my last two pregnancies ended in second trimester losses. Well .. this being said we tried to wean me off Effexor XR too and I was on 75 mg. The withdrawls were HORRIBLE! My anxiety flared to out of control and I was having panic attacks daily and awful withdrawls. The doctors came back and told me its not safe for me to discontinue these med's during this pregnancy. They actually ended up upping my dose to 150mg because of the severe anxiety. The Effexor XR is not actually harmful to the babies ... its addictive. It's not going to deform them or anything. The only concern with Effexor XR is that when the babies are born for the first few days they will most likely have withdrawls from the Effexor XR. The withdrawls is not supposed to be as severe as it would be in you or I though. The high risk OB I see and the other doctors he consulted with all decided its much safer for me to remain on the med's then to not. I guess anxiety can cause other horrible effects on the babies and cause the placenta to detach ... and blood pressure to go too high .. and contribute to pre e. My babies have been checked in ultrasounds every two weeks and all their organs and tests have come back totally normal.. so I have faith that the Effexor XR is not going to harm them. 

    I have talked to others whom have taken it through their whole pregnancy and the babies have been just fine!

    So don't let one doc scare you!  

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  • gemmathgemmath member

    Thank you both for your responses. Yes Doc's can be very clinical. So far so good, I'm going extremely slow on the reduction. Every two weeks I go down a dose and then I spend 2 weeks doing the higher dose every other day. If all goes well I should be off in a little less than 3 weeks.

    But as you mentioned DenaRenee, should those symptoms start up I know I will need to go back on as anxiety and depression are far worse for the baby.

     Thank you both again and Congratulatios to both of you! Big Smile

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