Antidepressants During Pregnancy

I went on Zoloft while I was pregnant with my second child. I had had horrible PPD after my first baby was born, and the pattern was starting to happen again. I spoke with my OB at some length about it, and he assured me that the use of anti-depressants has been well studied and is generally quite safe for the mother and baby during pregnancy and nursing. I felt SO much better on the anti-depressants, I can't even tell you. Without them, I cried several times a day and in general felt awful. With them, I felt like my usual self - cheerful, happy, and able to deal with life.

My younger daughter turned out great, and we were able to bond so much faster than I had with my first daughter. I think depression suppresses your ability to make oxytocin, which is what allows you to bond with and love your baby. So my vote - if the anti-depressants are working for you, don't stop taking them.

Best of luck!

F.,
I'm going through the same thing right now. I too weaned myself off 20mg Paxil with the help of a primary care doctor and took my last pill a few months ago. A few weeks later I relapsed and my anxiety came back big time. I waited a while to go back on meds by going to counseling...then tried a couple of other meds, like Buspar and Wellbutrin, but they didn't work for me and gave me horrible side effects. I've tried Zoloft and Celexa in the past and they made me sick.
Unfortunately, I went back on 10mg of Paxil and am going to start counseling/therapy and see a specialist (psychiatrist) to see what other drugs out there may work for me IF I cannot come off of Paxil again w/out relapse.
I too, would like to have a baby someday, bud do know that Paxil is class D and should not be used during pregnancy. I have been super scared/concerned that I may not be able to have a baby if I can't get off of it.
So, what finally happened with your process of weaning off Paxil? I wish you lots of luck...I know how you feel in trying to quit!

Paxil is one that you must come off of slowly and you should not take while you are pregnant. There are safer alternatives. Stay in touch with your doctor and do what you need to do to be functional until the baby is born. I went off for my second pregnancy, for the first two trimesters, and then went back on.

M.

i was on antideppressants for 10 years when I got pregnant. I was on cymbalta when I found out. The doctor had me wean off right away. I was very nervous and thought he was crazy for taking me off. But honestly emotionally it was the best I ever felt! Physically not so much, I had pretty bad morning sickness. My daughter is 7 months old now and I never went back on them. I almost did when she was about a month old, but it was total exhaustion that was working on my anxiety, got better as soon as I was able to get regular amounts of rest! Good luck!

I was on Effexor for the beginning of my pregnancy. I went off it because it's a C class drug. I felt fine emotionally throughout my pregnancy. I think with pregnancy you are less likely to feel depressed. That was my experience anyway. After giving birth and going back to work, I had horrible PPD, but I didn't get on an antidepressant for any length of time. I can only be on generic through my insurance now without paying A LOT. I went on fluoxetine for a while but I felt it make me have urinary retention. (I have IC -a painful bladder syndrome.)
I have slowly gotten through my depression but it still comes back to me at times! I wish you luck! The actual going off antidepressants wasn't bad (I thought it was going to be).

My girlfriend was on Paxil thru her entire pregnancy. It was an unplanned pregnancy and her dr.'s felt that she would not have a healthy one without it. Long story short, her baby came at 40 weeks, healthy 6.8 lbs, and was in the hospital for 4 weeks going thru withdraw from Paxil. I have had a few other friends who have had a hard time getting off Paxil and those who were on it during pregnancy had babies that ended up with heart conditions and other conditions that were extreme enough for them to sue and win. My dr. told me that Paxil is on of the hardest antidepressants to get off of, so give you self time. Pregnant may just be what your body needs to get everything internal back on track! Hormones are a CRAZY thing and can really mess a chick up!