Ever since the birth of my first daughter I have suffered depression and anxiety. I got off meds in April b/c we want to try again. Well, now all my symptoms are back. I feel absolutely hopeless, anxiety ridden, and sad. My dr put me back on Zoloft. The problem is: we still want to get pregnant. I know people who have taken Zoloft during pregnancy and everything worked out fine, but I understand there may be risks. My dr said in extreme cases they have no choice but to put pregnant women on it. Being pregnant and not medicated scares me to death. When medicated, I feel great and things are normal. I truly want another baby, but I'm sorta stuck. Trying to grow a person in a stressed out body is unhealty, but I know drugs come with possible problems. What to do, my friends?
I don't know about Zoloft specifically, but I have been on antidepressants since 2006 when I got pregnant with my first. I now have 3 healthy, intelligent beautiful daughters. While it is always best to be free of meds while pregnant; that isn't an option for all of us. My doctor told me that a lot of women need to be on these types of meds during pregnancy and the likelihood of complications is slim to none.
i took it with no side affects.
listen to your doctor though. if you feel depressed you need to be on something, being depressed and pregnant is not good.
I went off my antidepressants to get pregnant and I seriously regret it. I ended up with severe PPD and was hospitalized (pysch ward) twice after the birth of my son. Several of my family members have had successful pregnancies while on medication for depression/anxiety.
find yourself a psychiatrist who is known for being really good w/ pharmacology, ie knowing his medications!
then get a consult.
then, take the meds & go to counseling...
personally I feel if you're on meds you should also get counseling bcse meds don't solve everything, nor does counseling alone solve it all- the two go hand in hand.
good luck!
I totally understand not wanting to take meds during pregnancy. I didn't even like it if I had to take a tylenol. I have a couple of non-med thoughts that you might try. Look into counseling. Look for a counselor that has experience specifically with anxiety and depression. Sometimes if you understand what triggers your anxiety that can help you control it. Also, try yoga. It is amazing for calming the mind and empowering the body. I didn't totally believe it until I started taking 1 or 2 classes a week. I was amazed at how much quicker I could go to sleep at night, felt more calm, more "centered" if that makes any sense. And don't worry if you've never done yoga before. That's the beauty of it. It can be modified for every person of every age and ability! I also found that I really enjoyed running. Of course running isn't for everyone but just doing something that I had to concentrate on and couldn't concentrate on the stressors in my life made a huge difference. I come from a long line of anxiety in my family and I have to try very hard at times to stay on top of it and I'm not crazy about taking meds. While I know this route won't work for everyone I just wanted to offer some alternative things that helped me when I was going thru some difficult times. You can also do some of your own research on-line about the medication and pregnancy and studies that have been done if you do need to take the medication while you are pregnant. I wish you all the best!
