Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

Looking for any info or any mothers that have taken something while they we prego....

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

hey,

i am a psychiatrist. the bottom line is, we don't know exactly what the long-term effects are of using antidepressants during pregnancy. the good news is, there is no overwhelming evidence at this point that antidepressants (SSRIs) are dangerous during pregnancy. the one medication that may be more dangerous than the others is paxil.

right now the decision to use antidepressants or not during pregnancy should be made on an individual basis with your psychiatrist. it's important to weigh the risks and benefits of staying on the meds. for example, if your condition is severe, then relapsing off the meds would likely cause you and your fetus more harm than staying on the meds and being depression/anxiety-free.

hope this helps. FM me if you'd like to talk more about this.

Message edited 1/15/2007 12:03:37 PM.

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

I take Zoloft. 100mg. I was on Paxil for years but the new recommendations are that it is very dangerous during PG so I had to switch......

MY OB, my High Risk Dr. and my PCP feel its OK....

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

Thank you ... :) I have tried them all and the only one that works for me is Paxil. I feel better, I was thinking that I was the only one.

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

I went off Paxil when I started TTC.

The risk was just too high for me.

But my doctor did say that in more extreme cases of depression and anxiety it can be more helpful to be on the pills and keep yourself calm for the baby than it can be to be off them and have such high levels of anxiety.

Many moms-to-be I know do switch to Zoloft or something else when they get pregnant, but nothing but Paxil has worked for me.

I plan to go back on them when it's safe again.

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

Thank you .. I'm going to try zolft again. I have really bad anxiety.. I'm just scared.

thanks

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

Like lauren, I plan to go back to Paxil once the baby is born. Im not breast feeding, so I will go right back quickly.

The Zoloft is "OK" for me in controlling some anxiety . Unfortunatly Pregnancy is too emotional and axiety causing for me to be without any meds at all. The hormones exacerbate my anxiety tenfold.

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

Best of luck with your decision. I think that many of us have struggled with the same issue. I was on Lexapro, but I decided to stop taking it when I learned that I was pregnant. I spoke to my doctor about my decision and she said that if I started to struggle from serious or debilitating anxiety without the Lexapro, we would figure out a new plan. (I'm a really risk-averse person, so I decided that I'd rather go without the drug for now.)

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

Can you not breast feed while taking medication?

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

does anyone know of anyone who took zoloft during pregnancy and went on to have a healthy baby? I worry about this too...

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

Thanks, that is good to hear. It sucks having to take it. I feel like a bad person sometimes

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

for what it's worth - i have kept more pregnant women on SSRIs than taken them off. and of all the SSRIs, i have used zoloft the most frequently in pregnant women. it's been around a relatively long time, so we know a little more about it than about some of the newer meds (celexa/lexapro). and in general, it is tolerated pretty well.

if you can, i would suggest giving zoloft a try rather than staying on the paxil. but again, i think this is an individual decision that you need to make with your doctor, with all the evidence for/against paxil in front of you, and using yours and your doctor's knowledge of the severity of your anxiety. it's definitely true that the hormonal changes associated with pg can make anxiety worse, so that will definitely need to be factored into your decision. also, fyi, the risk of paxil to developing fetuses seems to be dependent on the dose you're taking - greater than 25mg/day is associated with more complications. so if you're on less, staying on paxil MAY be an option depending on your situation.

with regard to the breast milk issue - all of the SSRIs are found in breast milk - but most studies show that the actual level of the drug in the infant is in the undetectable range, and the infants are unaffected. there are some reports that taking paxil while breastfeeding affects weight gain in infants and makes them irritable. but there are just as many reports refuting that. so from my standpoint i usually say it's okay to have a trial of breastfeeding, as long as the patient's ob/gyn is also ok with it, and the infant's development is getting monitored closely.

Message edited 1/15/2007 1:52:19 PM.

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

For whatever it's worth, I took Paxil before I got pregnant and then switched to Zoloft at the advice of my OB during the early weeks. I haven't found Zoloft to be as effective as Paxil, but, then again, I have never been on it without the pregnancy hormones, maybe they are what is making me more anxious. I will try staying on Zoloft after I give birth and if I find it's still not as effective, will go back to Paxil. If anyone wants to FM me about this, please feel free.

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

thank you

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

alexlynn -
Do you ever suggest increasing or restarting therapy sessions as well? I have a freind who did this while TTC b/c of multiple m/c's and she did great.

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

I have tried everything... nothing works for me but this paxil... I hate it

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

I have been on Paxil for years. I came off Paxil about a month before TTC and than stayed off of them (which was extremely hard for me -- I have panic attacks since I was a child) until about 10 wks. I than went back on a low dose of Paxil at 10 mg. This is a very controversial issue on this board, but I think it is a decision only you can make. I did tons of research on it and to be honest there is no conclusive evidence Paxil causes any birth defects. My dr. was on the precautious side and sent me for extra tests such as a fetal echocardiogram and the babies heart is developing perfectly fine. Dr's recomment other meds such as Zoloft, but no conclusive studies have been done on them either. There was more of a risk of me hurting my baby by not being on medication than by being on it. I also went to a high risk dr. at North Shore LIJ regarding the risk of Paxil and she felt the same way. Her only advice was to wean off of the Paxil around 35 wks if I decide I want to breast feed.

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...

I was recommended to see this women Dr. Shari I. Lusskin of NYU her specially is Reproducthive Psychiatry. She told me that their is no conclusive evidence Paxil causes any birth defects. She also told me it will be safer to stay on the Paxil Vs taking the chance of major panic attacks.

Re: Taking antidepressants while pregnant...