Community› The Bump Month Clubs› April 2018 Moms
April 2018 Moms
New Discussion

Mental Health Check In 12/30

codingchildhoodcodingchildhood member
in April 2018 Moms
It's been a long while since we've had one of these, and I thought it might be needed with the chaos of the holidays, and just the general changes we're all going through mentally and physically. How is everyone doing? Any questions, concerns, or rants? 
Report Reply to Post

Re: Mental Health Check In 12/30

  • codingchildhoodcodingchildhood member
    I've been meaning to start this thread for weeks, and meant to do it weekly from the get go anyway, which I completely failed at, so sorry about that! I'll try to post a check-in at least once week, but if anyone finds the need to do so, please start it up if you haven't seen it posted recently! :) 

    I haven't been feeling very well. The drop from 80mg of Prozac to 20mg has not been easy. My ptsd symptoms have worsened quite a bit, which has increased my anxiety, irritability, etc. I have an appointment with my midwife next week and plan on asking her to up my dosage to 40mg. Hopefully that will help. :-/ My hormones are also so much more out of control with this pregnancy, and I'm sure that's contributing a ton. 
    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • pghrenpghren member
    @codingchildhood why did they drop you down?

    I am currently scaling back up my dose of effexor. I'm not in therapy right now which I'm sure they'll call me out on at my next appointment, but I'm just not up to leaving the house let alone start therapy with someone new. 
    Report Reply
  • codingchildhoodcodingchildhood member
    @allowachick my psychiatrist was erring on the side of supreme caution I think when she made the decision to lower my dosage. She had also told me I would need to wean completely if I planned on nursing, but my midwife told me I could stay on Prozac while nirsing, which matches up with the research I've done. I may just talk to my midwife about getting me back up to 80mg, and find a psychiatrist who is comfortable with treating pregnant/nursing clients, since my psychiatrist made it abundantly clear that she was not comfortable handling my treatment while I'm pregnant. 
    Report Reply
  • btm013btm013 member
    @codingchildhood I stayed on a low dose (10mg) of Prozac during my pregnancy and after while nursing. My DS pediatrician was completely fine with it but he said no more than 20mg. Maybe that’s their standard guildleline?  

    However, I just wanted to let you know (and anyone on antidepressents during pregnancy) so as to not alarm you, after DS was born, he would have these two second shakes. Almost like a quick shiver. I kept asking the doctors if he was ok (or cold!). They repeatedly checked his levels and they were fine. They stopped after a few days. It wasn’t until a follow up pediatrician appointment that the doctor said it was most likely due to withdrawal from my Prozac. I was shocked that even on such a low dose he would experience withdrawal! Then fellow moms on my bump board started asking if others experienced it as well. With the post partum hormones it made me feel incredibly guilty. Not to mention, the multiple lactation consultants I saw blamed my low milk supply on it as well. (Is it any wonder so many moms experiences PPD?!)  was that low dose of Prozac the cause for the shakes and low milk supply? I have no idea! I will say it haunted me for quite some time after.

    But I made the conscious decision to stay on the same dose throughout this pregnancy as well because I firmly believe a mother needs to be mentally (and of course physically) healthy in order to care for their newborns. Im not telling this story in order to scare anyone or cause guilt. Lord knows we put that on ourselves without the help of anyone else!  But it’s something I never really thought about until LO was born. 

    Report Reply
  • codingchildhoodcodingchildhood member
    @btm013 Thank you for that information! I have read up on the withdrawal symptoms that could occur, so I'm prepared to deal with that if it comes up. Luckily, it looks like research shows it doesn't cause any damage to the baby. I did start back up on prozac about two years into breastfeeding w/ my daughter, and I didn't experience any supply issues, so *hopefully* it'll be that way this time around again. 

    After my experience with my first pregnancy/birth, and how much I suffered because of my guilt over the idea of taking prozac while pregnant and my choice to ultimately stop my medication while pregnant (bad idea, for me anyway), I'm definitely going into this pregnancy with a completely different mindset. 
    Report Reply
  • fancybelmontfancybelmont member
    I'm doing okay.  I started back on Wellburtrin SR at 150mg.  I've been on it for about a month.  Prior to being pregnant 300mg daily was working for me but I went off of it when we started TTC.  Work related issues and the holidays finally forced me to face that I needed some help, so I went back on.  I'll admit I have some guilt about it. 

    I'm not sure if it's really doing much, but I'm going to give it another month before I change anything.  This is such a stressful time of year so I'm hoping it's just the extra stress of the holiday that's keeping me down.

    On a brighter note, I'm finally really feeling excited about the baby.  I have so much going on with 2 other kids, work craziness, house renovations that I really haven't even had time to do anything baby related.  I finally bought some clothes and things we'll need in the beginning.  It feels good to be excited about the baby finally.  :)
    Pregnancy Ticker
    Report Reply
  • pghrenpghren member
    @codingchildhood yeah, I'd find a more pregnancy/nursing friendly psychiatrist

    @fancybelmont are they open to increasing your dose? 
    Report Reply
  • fancybelmontfancybelmont member
    @allowachick I haven't asked.  I'm not sure they would.  300mg is usually the max for someone so I'm not sure they'd put me on the max dosage.  I'll probably ask to have it upped after the baby is born.  Or I can always switch to Zoloft for awhile.  I've had success with that, I just don't like some of the side effects.
    Pregnancy Ticker
    Report Reply
Sign In or Register to comment.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"