Zoloft and PPD

I am totally scared of what all the side effects are to these drugs. My dr wants me on celexa and they all say the same side effects on web md but I really don't want to take them at all as I am scared of it being worse then it is now.

Hi J. - I too suffer from clinical depression but went off of Zoloft during my first pregnancy but DID take throughout my second. I did a TON of research on my own and my OB/Gyn went to MANY seminars, educational meetings etc all over the world and she claims Zoloft is THE SAFEST anti-depressant to taken during pregnancy. I had no side effects, nor did my daughter (15mos now). I feel confident that Zoloft is safe, from what I understand it is taken often during pregnancy. Hope this helps! Congrats on #2, I hope you have a quick and painless delivery! : )

HI!
I was put on Zoloft during my second trimester with my first child and took it until my son was 8 weeks old. I also nursed him and did not see any signs of withdrawal from him or myself. I was on Paxil for a couple of years on and off and the withdrawal was horrible with Paxil so I was pleasantly surprised that I had no withdrawal from Zoloft. I was put on the lowest dose because I was still pretty functionable, and it helped me out immensely! I was worried about my baby also but he was born very healthy and has stayed very healthy! He is 14 months now and on track developmentally, physically and emotionally:) I am 4 months pregnant with our second child and I will be doing this pregnancy drug-free. I also had side effects from Zoloft...mainly diarrhea for the first week. The dizziness and exhaustion you are feeling could just be the pregnancy. Also the higher the dose of Zoloft, the intensity of side effects increase.
Because you have been diagnosed with clinical depression for the last 10 years, I think it's a great decision that you are on some kind of medication throughout the pregnancy and there-afterwards...this may decrease the chances of PPD greatly! Best of luck to you and congratulations on baby number 3!!!!!!

J.,

I have been on Celexa and Lexapro since Summer 2001, although I went off of it during my first pregnancy. This may have been a bad move; my mood was great during my first pregnancy, but I rebounded into postpartum depression with panic attacks. I couldn't sleep, eat, drive, and I didn't want to be left alone with my daughter because I was too afraid to even lift her. Going back on Celexa was horrible; I had anxiety so bad I could barely even move. My doctor put me on Paxil, then the psychiatrist he refered me to put me on Lexapro, then back on Celexa, which I took 20 mgs of during my second pregnancy. My mood was less than great the whole pregnancy, but I did not want to go off the drug and then face the nightmare of going back on it after the delivery. She often encouraged me to raise my dose during the pregnancy but I decided not to, although I did after the delivery. I don't know what your history has been with postpartum depression, but you are at greater risk for really troublesome PPD if you already suffer from depression. I did not breastfed either child for other reasons, but I cannot see how breastfeeding while taking the lowest therapeutic dosage could be that much different for the child than exposure in the womb. Each time I worried about not breastfeeding OR taking the medication while pregnant, I would remind myself that the best thing I could give my daughters was a healthy and sane mother. Good luck and God bless,
K.

Hello,

I'm afraid I don't have any experience with Zoloft, but I did need to take medication during my pregnancy with my daughter, and my doctor gave me a great resource to help reassure me about the medicine's safety:

http://www.otispregnancy.org/

This group studies the effects of drugs and other chemicals, etc. on pregnancy, and they likely have information available about Zoloft. If it is not available on their website, or the information isn't sufficient to answer your question, give them a call. If you leave a message about your question, they will call you back and give you the information they have available. If you are the scientific type, they may also be able to send you journal articles regarding the studies that have been done.

Always make sure your OB/midwife approves of medicine before taking it at any time during pregnancy or nursing! (for nursing, the book Medication and Mother's Milk by Dr. Thomas Hale is a great resource, and any lactation consultant should have a copy of it) Good luck and congratulations!

It's your body. If you don't like what it is doing to you or what it could do to your baby, and you think that you can go without it then stop taking it. You should really see your Dr. or your Psychiatrist and they can probably find you something that will work. There are a lot more choices out there than you may be aware.

Remember, this is only an opinion about my experience with Zoloft. I was on it for years before I was pregnant. I was off it about 6 months then started having my panic attacks again when pregnant. So, I went on a very small dose again. I was very tired, but I'm not sure that was the Zoloft. Everything went well with my pregnancy until I had my daughter 5 1/2 weeks early. She was in the ICU for 4 days only for monitoring, but was completely healthy. They tested why I may have had her so early and never found out. She is now 2 1/2 and I do see some early signs of panic disorder, which is the reason I was on Zoloft in the first place. I am currently on the smallest dose of Zoloft and going to go off it since we are trying to have our second child. I do not want to go on it again when I get pregnant again and will TRY my hardest to not. My husband and I did alot of checking and it does seem to be the best med. to be on during pregnancy, but you do have to be careful when you go off it, not only for you, but for the baby too. Again, this is only an opinion and it did make me wonder if things would've been different with my daughter if I wasn't on it. Good luck to you.

Though I have not dealt with meds and depression personally, I do with my Doula and Breastfeeding clients. Here are a couple of great resources.
The Perinatal Consultation Service 1-800-573-6121
www.womensmentalhealth.org
www.beyondtheblues.com
Hoping you are enjoying your last weeks of pregnancy!
~~W.

i've been on zoloft through the second half of pregnancy with my first daughter, nursed her for 18 months, through the entire pregnancy with my youngest and am nursing her (she's 4 months). no problem. it really changed my life. i had horrible anxiety that became even worse early in my 1st pregnancy. zoloft helped me immensely.

as for the side effects, did you just start it? i found that the side effects were really bad for me in the beginning and whenever i would increase my dose. couple that with pregnancy and yeah, you're going to be exhausted.

good luck! i'm happy to answer any questions.

- J.

I took Lexapro after baby 1 and through the whole pregnancy of baby 2 and after, he is 1.5 now, my doctor and OB thins it is the safest with the fewest possible side effects for me and the baby. I nursed both kids while on it. The only side effect i notice is lack of the big O but really, who has time to dwell on that anyway :)
S.