antidepressants during pregnancy...??

hi-i have just found out i am pregnant and so over the moon but so concerned as i am antidepressants.lovan-same as prozac. i have been on them for 12 years for severe depression,ptst and anorexia and so scared to ween as i have done it before and was so bad and had to go straight back on them.
i am fine on them and have been so great for 3 years.
has anyone else taken them during pregnancy? i have found alot of mixed thoughts and articles.???
i know the baby can have withdrawl symps at after birth but is lessened if breast feeding.i would love to try and ween before birth so this doesn't happen but will be so scared of post nat depression.
drop a line-love to hear from u.:)

Hi Nicnax, Congratulations on your pregnancy!!

There is lots of debate about this issue. I think you should go back to your prescriber as soon as possible and discuss the issue and your concerns with them. I don't know a great deal about Lovan but there are some anti-depressants that are less harmful in pregnancy (Lovan could be one of them?). You prescriber could tell you about those brands that have been found to be less harmful and you can make an informed decision.

Don't stress - I am sure you and your doctors will sort out a good plan. Absolutely everything seems to be risky when utd :rolleyes: and I think you sound like you know yourself and your depression quite well. Given your history you are at much higher risk of developing ante- or post natal depression with all the hormone changes etc etc (which you prob'ly already know). If you feel you need to remain medicated then do just that. It is really important to weigh up the pros and cons and you are no good to bubba (before or after birth) if you are severely depressed and not looking after yourself. That situation could be more dangerous for bubba than staying on a stable dose.

Good luck!!

thanx kaz so much for that reply u have no idea how better it has made me feel already...:) u really made me feel a bit more relaxed about it until i see my doctor which is always so hard to get into these days...
have u had depression or know a bit about it and medication etc? u sound like u know alot about how it all works.
yes i heard i am more prone to post n.depress because of my history, pretty scarey but i suppose if i keep positive and try and do my best that is all i can really do isn't it? u can always worry too much about what lays ahead rather than live in the moment as best u can...:)
thanx again u made my day kaz!!!
stay in touch and take care:D

ohhh and all the best with conceiving number one.
how long have u been ttc?
blowing lotsa baby dust your way!!!
chat soon,
:) :) :)

Hi Nicnax

I have been on Lovan for the last four years. My psychiatrist purposely changed me to Lovan when we discussed that I was considering trying to conceive. He advised that this is a good antidepressant to be on during pregnancy if it is necessary. He also advised that there was a slight risk to the baby having withdrawals after the birth - but we reduced this even more by reverting to a tablet every second day. I found that this worked really well. No withdrawal systems were evident with Mackenzie after her birth. I am still on a tablet every second day during this - my second pregnancy.

To be sure, my obstetrician also encouraged me to contact the Royal Women's hospital to confirm the impact of Lovan on the unborn baby. They have a special department that provides advice on all forms of medication. They too said that Lovan was a low risk antidepressant and were not concerned with me taking it throughout or post the pregnancy.

Congratulations on your pregnancy - the hormones raging through your system during pregnancy are crazy enough without you having to deal with all the other symptoms of depression as well!

hello and thanx so much for that information.:) it was so very helpful and i will print it off and take it next when i see my doctor as he is ummming and ahhhhhhhhing...:(
how much were u on before u went to a table 1 every 2nd day?
over what time did u go down to that dose?
did it all go ok and u feel ok emotionally when u did that?
how old is mackenzie now and how far r u into your pregnancy?
all the very best and thanx so much again.it really was a big help.:)
take care and keep in touch,
:hug:

I was on ciprimil throughout my entire pg and b/f and DS is fine.

ohhh thanx so much for that...:) how much were u on? and are u still on it?
:hug:

I was on 30mg a day and I am still on them. Its started with PND after DD2 was born and just kept going, a lot of other things happened too which didn't help.
My obs said it was better for me to be on them than not during pg.

Hi,

Congratulations :)

Do you know where you are going to have your baby?

I see you are in WA. If you can, i suggest trying to get into KEMH. They have an EXCELLENT psychiatric team and care there.

I am going there now and they are taking the best care of me. They give the best medical advice they can give in regards to medications and have a good team of psychologists available.

They also have the Mother and Baby unit there to go and stay at for after you have the baby, if they think you need to go there.

I have OCD and have been quite severe with it. They have been extremely respectful of me and supportive and helpful.

hello kristi-thanx for that...yay another from wa.
i was going to have my baby at sjog murdoch as that is where my ob delivers.
do u have to have yor baby at kemh to go to the mother and baby group?
sounds like a great idea.
did u have your babies there?
were u on medication with your pregnancies? have u had 5 kids??? :clap:
is it hard to get into kemh for the programs they run?
thanx again and look forward to hearing from u again...:)
take care..
:) :) :)

Hi Nicnax :)

The mother and baby unit is where they admit you to stay if they need to monitor you or get you settled or sorted out again on medication after your baby is born. Basically a pyschiatric ward but for mothers and you are not seperated from your baby. Nor is it like a normal psychiatric ward, they get you engaging in crafts and exercise etc. Anyone in WA can go there if you are considered in need of the service by any medical professional.

The actual team during your pregnancy though, for outpatient care and for being seen by their team of pyschologists and psychiatrists, i think you have to be a KEMH patient.

You could ask your OB about the antenatal psychiatric team at KEMH and its availabilty to patients delivering at different hospitals though.

Do you have a psychiatrist manage your medication or just your GP?

Im not sure how hard it would be to get into KEMH. I have to go there as i am a high risk patient and i can not deliver at a public hospital or go to a private OB. I suggest going to your GP, psychiatrist or OB to discuss your medication and KEMH's psych team and see what their suggestion would be for you. Everyone is different with different circumstances, so one of these people are the best people (along with you) to say what they think is best for you.

I have had all my babies at KEMH.

I am expecting #6 yes :D

I try to stay off medication when i am pregnant, which is very hard and they want me to take meds and i know i should but i try to battle through. I have been on medication with some of my pregnancies before and i try to stay off them. My OB and psychiatrist both say my not wanting to take meds is my OCD talking though.

Sometimes you are not able to though and it sounds to me like you should take meds and that you also think you should take meds, its just what to take.

I hope this has helped and makes sense :)

Hi again Nicnax

In answer to your questions:

how much were u on before u went to a table 1 every 2nd day?
I was on one tablet a day.

over what time did u go down to that dose?
Apparently, unlike some antidepressants - Lovan stays in your system for more than 12 hours - which is why I was able to go down to 1 tablet every second day immediately once we made the decision.

did it all go ok and u feel ok emotionally when u did that?
I didn't notice a change at all - it was an extremely smooth transition.

how old is mackenzie now and how far r u into your pregnancy?
Mackenzie is now 16 months old and I only have 6 weeks to go before Tadpole arrives. I didn't experience any signs of postnatal depression at all with Mackenzie. I did get the baby blues about 4 days after her birth where I just wanted to cry for about 24 hours - but that was it. Mackenzie had absolutely no signs of withdrawals at all. Unfortunately, she wouldn't take to the breast and I had to express for four weeks after her birth - but still no problems. She has developed perfectly within all the regular milestones. I also had her examined by a pedeatrician after the birth who was aware of my medication and he was very happy with her.

With this pregnancy - I have been a bit more emotional - but I suspect that is mainly due to the fact that we are building a house! I don't feel that it is necessary to increase my medication - as it is quite manageable and I also think - very normal - considering the stresses of building your own home! I also still see my psychiatrist on a more regular basis during my pregnancies and for a time after the birth so we can make sure that PND isn't evident.

Being on medication isn't the ideal situation - but without it - my doctor and I agree that things would be a lot worse - as does my husband!!

Take care.

MAT

Hey nicnax it's Steffi we have chatted before. I am trying to concieve as you know and have been on anti depressants for 12 years also. I am on Cipramil and my doctor as told me it's better for me to stay on it than risk going off it and depression returning full force and also possibly suffering PND when i do have a baby. I also worked in pharmacy for 8 years and while i am definately no expert i do know that cipramil and lovan have always been classified as safe in pregnancy. How's things going for you anyway? Have you had any m/s? I am starting to get really worried about getting that when i do concieve and also about getting heamoroids which i was just reading about in another part of the forum, they sound terrible and scary :(

hey steffi so great to hear from u again...:lol:
we have a bit in common.:) i am definately gonna stay on my pills now as yeah so not worth the risk.i have been feeling a bit down this week too as i have been so ill throwing up all the time with MS...like so bad...24/7 and lost 2 kgs...ahhhhhhh man i feel so ill and it is getting me down coz nothing makes me feel any better.i am trying to keep busy so it distracts but because my work is so physical it makes it hard.i clean houses...certain smells just make me throw...:( my diet has gone haywire.i eat nothing i used to,everything tasted so different or so bad....nothing seems to taste good at all.not even vegemite on crackers which normally helps when i feel yuk...waaaaaaaaaa wat a winger i am.but god i have it bad.the doc prescribed me maxalon but i haven't taken it yet as i am a bit hesitant coz of my other pills and stuff...i will wait and ask my ob on fri when i have my first scan i will be nearly 10 weeks...a bit scared about that.i hope all is ok and no problems at all...find out if there are 2 in there...??? MS is meant to mean a healthy baby so i have to keep thinking that.i so hope it goes soon the MS they say 12-14 weeks it starts to get better.oh so that is like 5 weeks away and i have been so ill for 2 and a half and god i have had it and like nearly crying....funny really....nooooo its so not...don't let me put u off.apparently u forget the bad 3 months at the start and it gets better.i so hope that hurries up then steffi. i think i just have a bad case of it.my mum had it bad too and it can run in the family.my sister had it til 16 weeks but never actually threw up.
i try to keep my big walks up as the fresh air seems to help.laying in bed doesn't help much unless i sleep and then i don't know about it.i am such an active one normally so it is tuff....god i just hope it goes rooooooolly soon :(
anyway enufffff of me and my woes.how r u going and everything?
hows bding going? where r u in your cycle? 2 week wait yet? have u had a month trying yet? let me know as i so love hearing about it all.only if u wanna that is. i think it kinda helps when peeps can relate to stuff.
did u check out fert friend?
anyway u take care steffi and chat to u soon.ta again for your great posts i love getting them.
keep in touch. :)
:hug:

Hi Nicnax,

I was on 200mgs sertraline daily (zoloft) I found that while i was pregnant, I REALLY had to take the tablets on time or I would start to get withdrawl symptoms - usually i could forget 2 whole days in a row before I noticed (a feeling like waking out of a dream with the sensation of falling, during the day - like for a split second your eyes roll back into your head, although I'm sure they actually dont!)

DS had withdrawls symptoms very similar to mine when he was born, although only me and the midwives and doctors noticed, it wasn't yukky, it felt a bit wierd about it, but i RECOGNIZED the symptoms so I knew what he was feeling was a physical sensation, not an emotional or psycic one and I tell you what - squeezing the little fella through my vagina was a hell of a lot more traumatic for him.

Basically his 'startle reflex' was heightened. If a baby senses they are falling, they do an instinctual starfish action meant to spead the impact of a fall. As a withdrawl symptom, he would startle without and visable stimulus, or startle worse if there was a loud noise or other suprise.

It lasted for about 4 days, all I had to do was learn how to wrap him really well, he barely noticed his own reactions (in amongst all the other new sensations of being on the outside) unless he had an arm or leg not snuggly wrapped, an arm jerking would hit his head or mattress or cot, his legs would kick the cot and give him a double fright!!!

So learn how to wrap, and don't be afraid of of withdrawl symptoms, your health is more important to your babys health IYKWIM. I didn't get one lick of post natal - I've been on anti-Ds for almost 10 years, and somehow i think the experience of living with depression actually prevented me from getting it post natally - I just kept thinking and there is nothing, NOTHING as bad as suferring physically AS WELL as EMOTIONALLY, being caught in the trails and tribulations of life - baby hood seems very easy - I had a sense that not matter how hard things got for him as a baby, nowhere near as hard as if you feel the pain and frustration intellectually, emotionally as well as physically

Everything has been o.k! I have gone up to 300mgs just recently for a number of reasons, the main one being to PREVENT a crash, which is the most important thing. DS is now almost 9 months old, i started on extra a few weeks after I moved out of my folks house and into a place on my own with him. When we both get back into a new routine, i'll go back down to my regular dose.

I wish you the best, don't be afraid, you're doing an amazing thing which will entertain that way too active brain you may have!!!! I have never smiled and laughed so much IN MY LIFE since my son was born. People pay good money to laugh this much, and I get it free every day!

Hey there hunni, I'm going great thanks. No i haven't had a whole month yet. I am on about day 4 of my cycle i think, so have had my (p) for 4 days. Th maybe baby tester is awesome, i just spit on it every morning :lol: and then it shows me whether i am ovulating or not. Funnily i have been feeling so depressed for the past week, it's crazy. I think i am really hormonal. I got a really heavy bleed this month too. My body is doing strange things. Maybe it's getting prepared, hopefully :pray: Let me know how your scan goes. Hope all is great, im sure it will be :hug:

Hi Steffi,

I was wondering if you could give me some more information on Cipramil and pregnancy?

Nomes