General quest - please dont judge....

Hi Girls,
so i am just going to come out and ask - i just want to know how many of you, if you are comf with saying, are taking an antidepressant/antianx meds while pregnant? or know anyone who has?

This is not for anyone to judge anyone else, but I am going through a rough patch right now. if you dont know my story you can read it in the ttc after m/c - i just dont want to freak anyone out by reposting it in case they dont want to read what happened. I have always been anti meds especially while preg - which is just my personal opinion, however, things may change due to what happend.

I just wanted to know and get some insight from you girls about this.

Thanks....

Re: General quest - please dont judge....

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I don't think anyone will judge you, and in fact, I can remember reading other women on the boards (not myself personally) who were on anti-anxiety/depression medication while pregnant. You surely would not be the first.

I hope one of those women sees this thread and can help you.

Re: General quest - please dont judge....

I dont really have much experience but first I wanted to say no Judgment here You need to do what is best for YOU and the baby. My sister has anxiety issues and I dont remember whether she kept taking her meds while pregnant but I do know that she had a very rough time emotionally while pregnant and after. Everyone always says the baby shouldnt have this and shouldnt have that but YOU need to stay clear headed and if med is what you need that by all mean go for it!.

and Good Luck!

Re: General quest - please dont judge....

I think that the best thing you can do while pregnant is to put yourself in a situation where you can most take care of yourself and your LO - and being mentally healthy w or w/o the help of drugs lets you do that. . your stress levels will be lower, you will most likely make better choices w food, exercise, and everything - and there is NO shame in letting meds help you get there. . docs can DEF let you know what is safe and not safe for you baby. .



edited to add I am so sorry for your loss and imagine that most people would need help to get through this esp in the beginning. .

Message edited 1/10/2011 1:22:37 PM.

Re: General quest - please dont judge....

hi - no judgement here, but i also don't have first hand experience. however, my friend's sister weaned herself off of anti-depressants when she was TTC and i heard it was tough for her. she just had her baby almost 2 months ago and is having a hardtime with breastfeeding because she's taking it so personally when the baby doesnt latch on or doesnt want to eat.

Re: General quest - please dont judge....

I have a 6 mo old and I remember when I was pregnant there was someone on the pregnancy boards posting a lot about this - she was on antidepressent meds while pregnant I believe.
Maybe do a search on the word and you can find the old threads.
Sorry for your loss....good luck to you!

Re: General quest - please dont judge....

thanks girls...i will try to do a search...its just such a hard decision to make.

Re: General quest - please dont judge....

I am so sorry for your loss .

This is my experience: I have pretty bad anxiety (mostly severe panic attacks) and have been on medication most of my life. However, I wasn't taking an SSRI, but rather a very low dose of Klonopin (which is like Xanax) when I had a a panic attack which before pregnancy was about once a month once every other month. The month we started trying I decided not to take it when I had a panic attack and I just haven't taken it since then. I spoke to my psychiatrist about it was just what worked for me. However, I've also been in therapy for years and worked on alot of other coping techniques which had really helped. My cousin has more generalized anxiety and she stayed on her meds the entire time. Her anxiety was so high that there is no way she could not be on it and be that anxious for 9 months. I want to say she was taking Zoloft during pregnancy. I know she switched prescriptions around a bunch before she got pregnant so I'm not 100% sure that this is what she was on during pregnancy. She has a very healthy baby boy. It comes down to weighing your symptoms if at the time you are anxious almost all the time medicine may be necessary during pregnancy because that much anxiety may be detrimental to the baby, however, if you have moments of anxiety here and there medication may not be the best solution. The best piece of advice I can give you is find a therapist and a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist can really help with med management and will be able to really get you right on track with meds that will be safe for pregnancy. A therapist will help you get through the emotional aspect of your loss. You may find with time that medication might not be the route you want to take and having a therapist teach you other techniques to cope with depression and or anxiety may be perfect. I should say that I'm in training to be a psychologist so basically I recommend therapy to everyone, but I know it may not be something you are comfortable with. Again, I am so so sorry for your loss. I hope that you are able to find peace and time helps heal some of your pain.

Re: General quest - please dont judge....

thank you so much...i do have to talk to my therapist. i really want to try to stay away from that route. i know i also have to wait a little for my harmones to go back to normal too...thanks for the support.

Re: General quest - please dont judge....

I am on zoloft- i had ppd when i finished breast feeding and my doc recomends i stay on it so i will

Re: General quest - please dont judge....

Def talk to your therapist. They will most likely tell you "if the benefits outweight the risks"... they say the amount of anxiety and depression could also be bad for pregnancy so for some it's best to actually be on some type of meds.

I told you a little bit about my ordeal and why I chose not to take the meds. But I wouldn't judge someone for taking them when pregnant. I have a friend who was on meds the whole pregnancy and after and she had a baby boy who is perfectly healthy.

Also, the therapist should be able to tell you which meds are more researched in terms of pregnancy so they have the most data available to find the "safest" of them all for you. I think because prozac has been out so long, it's possibly the one that they most often recommend in this situation just because they have more complied data on it. That's at least what they told me at the time.

Bottom line is, you need to do what's right for you. I think you need to take the time to heal. And if meds will help you get to the point you need to be in then go for it. Also, sometimes they only recommend being on them for 6 months or so... this could be another option as well... take them for the short term and not the long term.

My heart goes out to you. I wish you the best.

Re: General quest - please dont judge....

thank you so much...i am actually going to talk to my doc today .... i appreciate all your support.

Re: General quest - please dont judge....

i agree that you need to do whatever is best for you and will help you get through this...i'm so sorry for your loss and i hope that you start to feel better soon

Re: General quest - please dont judge....

No, but I absolutely would if I felt the need to . I don't see anything wrong with it at all. It's a very high anxiety time, with lots of questions, doubts, fear, etc.

Re: General quest - please dont judge....

I had a m/c last year and after that started to seek out help after I found out my insurance covers it. Took meds for a while couldn't deal with it otherwise, but stopped taking once I started the process again.
Lots of

Re: General quest - please dont judge....

I wason Zoloft and Welburtin while TTC since last august when DD was born. My OB told me the Welbrutin was ok to take suring pregnancy but the Zoloft would have to go. I decided to stop taking them all and di successfully.