Those who take anti-depressants during pregnancy

I have been pondering these questions lately. If one took them for years and then was trying to get pregnant, did you slowly taper off under your doctors care or did you switch to a pill advised by your doctor that would not effect the baby? How did you deal with your emmotions either way? I am wondering if it's even safe to take any type of ant depressant while pregant.

Re: Those who take anti-depressants during pregnancy

I know there ARE antidepressants that are safe to take in pregnancy- I'm not sure which ones. Personally, I chose to be completely med-free before attempting to TTC- but I was prepared to go back on if I needed to.

I was on Lexipro before TTC. I worked with my doctor to wean myself off. Do not attempt to wean yourself off cold turkey- the side effects can be horrendous.

Re: Those who take anti-depressants during pregnancy

I made the mistake of stopping my Paxil cold turkey when DH and I started TTC.

Woo Boy. That was NOT fun.

Next time I would taper off (and hope it didn't take two years before I actually GOT pregnant!)

I decided my depression and anxiety were controllable enough to be off it, but in some cases it's worse to be off them then on.

I would base the decision on how you feel when you are off and your doctor's advice.

Feel free to FM me.

Re: Those who take anti-depressants during pregnancy

I was on Paxil pre pregnancy, I weaned to Zoloft as it is considered safe in PG ( although I have debtaed this with others, it was deemed safe by my 3 dr's)....and I stayed on the Zoloft now too.

Re: Those who take anti-depressants during pregnancy

I have been taking Paxil for years. I weaned myself off Paxil about 1-2 months before getting pregnant. I stayed off the Paxil until my 10th week when my anxiety was so bad I had to back on it. There are several dr's in my practice, some were supportive, others not. Ultimately, after doing ALOT of research I felt it was safer for me to go back on a very low dose of Paxil than to start playing trial and error with other anti-depressants. I also personally think that all anti-depressants carry the same risks, some have just been researched more than others. I was on Paxil for about 1-2 months while pregnat, went for extra testing to make sure there were no side effects to DS (prenatal echocardiogram) and it had NO effect what so ever on his heart. He was born perfectly healthy and still has no shown no signs of any side effects and he is 5 months old. Again, I took only 10 mg. for 1-2 months to help calm me down. I felt, as did some of my dr's, that the risk to DS was greater without me taking medication than if I did take it.

ETA: In addition to my OBGYN practice, I went for a consultation with a high risk dr from North Shore LIJ and she completely agreed and supported me in my decision to take Paxil. She said she personally has not found Paxil to cause severe cardiac problems in infants and the reserach and testing is limited and inconclusive at best.

Message edited 9/3/2007 9:33:44 PM.

Re: Those who take anti-depressants during pregnancy

I wasnt actually TTC, one I found out I was pregnant, I stopped taking them cold turkey. I was fine, but wouldnt necessarily recommend to everyone.