Newbie to forum...pre conception help required!!

Hi everyone, I'm not sure where i should be posting this but i have just signed up and already after reading a range of threads am completely overwhelmed!!! Everyone is so well educated!!!
I have recently got married and now we are starting to plan for when we would like babies....ideally between April and June birth time next year. Which means conception will be within the next 6 months...OMG!
I've started taking Elevit and am still on the pill, I also am on an antidepressant (Paxtine 20mg) which is a class D drug and not reccommended during pregnancy (1% risk of heart defects)...I am undecided as to whether I am going to come off this drug beforehand as I have tried before and the side effects are unbearably horrible (to the point of constant suicidal thoughts...I have tried twice before).
I'm also considering Private vs Public (Public would be Royal Womans Hospital, melbourne. Private...not sure? Mercy private probably, but not even sure if we can afford private...!?!?)
Any advice or suggestions or moral support from anyone would be greatly appreciated! Also if anyone knows any good GP's in Melbourne (fitzroy/carlton/northcote etc area) i'd appreciate a reccommendation.
Lastly, anyone been through a pregnancy whilst on Paxtine???
Thanks for listening everyone!!!
Nikkers

Hi :)
Welcome to BB!

Hi and Welcome to BB,

Not sure what advice to offer for the antidepressant but I would recommend going off the pill and allowing a good 3 cycles (or more if you want) so your body has time to get those hormones out and your body time to start production again.

Great idea about getting onto the preconception/pregnancy supps early.

Perhaps speak to your GP about the other things and see what they recommend there may be something that you can change to instead of the current meds?

As for the public v's private thats really just a personal choice. I have gone public and will remain to do so for all my furture pregnancies.

Best of luck with your journey

Nae x

my advise would be get off the pill now and get your meds sorted

we also had planned out our dates stayed on contraception until ready etc
well we are still waiting for the BFP almost a year later, so I would say if you want a baby go for it don't wait as you could end up waiting longer than you expect

Welcome Nikkers37-

First and Foremost - go and buy yourself the fabulously informative book - 'The Natural Way to Better Babies- Preconceptual Healthcare for Prospective Parents'- by Francesca Naish. It is absolutely loaded with info regarding pre-conceptual care that is relevant for both partners, and it will also contain advice that may assist with your depression.

As a side point - there is a staggering amount of research mounting now in the field of natural healthcare, environmental and toxicology in relation to depression and the presence of heavy metal accumulation in the body and brain-tissue. We ingest heavy metals via our air, water and food supply, and there are very effective chelating methods available which can assist with removal of these heavy metals, as well as many techniques for decreasing your exposure to heavy metals (getting a quality water filter on your tap, avoiding food additives and chemicals in personal care products are a good start). Buy yourself a copy of 'Additive Alert' by Julie Eady - you will be astonished at the number of additives linked to depression and many other conditions that are used routinely in our everyday foods, yet are banned in many overseas countries.
Check out the Miessence range online to get an idea of what is in everyday personal care products and what impact they may be having on your health.

You also need to look into balancing the Ph levels in your body via diet. The western diet is very high in acidic foods, and depression thrives in an acidic environment. Chemical imbalances in the brain develop easily when the body's Ph levels are out of balance. The contraceptive pill makes the female body highly acidic - it actually changes the ph levels of the cervical mucous to be so acidic that it literally kills sperm upon entering - hence why it is so effective! Sperm need an alkaline environment to thrive - so in order to conceive you will need to come off the pill asap and get working on reducing the acidity in your body with an alkaline diet. Google acid-alkaline diet to find out more.

Get onto a high quality probiotic supplement!!! Probiotics are the friendly bacteria that live in our digestive tract and responsible for the absorption of nutrients, optimum immune function, as well as defending us from viruses, fungi, cancer-causing agents and many more great things. The contraceptive pill, antibiotics and other pharmacuetical medications kill off probiotic bacteria so you need to replace them if you are or have taken any of these. Go to your nearest health store and buy one from the fridge (Metagenics is a recommended brand)- needs to be kept in the fridge. Otherwise, check out the fabulous probiotic and organic superfood supplement 'In-Liven' here on Bellybelly - there is an article on it here under the article section on the home page, and it has received rave reviews from many of the women here on bellybelly.

I overcame severe depression (amoung other conditions) years ago with extensive detoxification under the supervision of a qualified Naturopath. I cannot speak on behalf of other people, but having crossed over from the allopathic to the natural medical field I can say from experience that Natural Medicine is the answer!!!!! This is because natural medicine addresses the root cause of the depression and associated health issues - rather than just using a synthetic drug as a band-aid to mask the symptoms (the depression is a symptom of a deeper underlying physiological imbalance which needs to be addressed). The fact that your depression returned after coming off the drugs proves that they do not actually 'treat' anything - they only act as a band-aid which leaves you feeling poorly once removed.
Please explore the things I have mentioned here - I promise there is an answer out there for you and it does not involve taking drugs for the rest of your life!!

XXX

Just wanted to say hi and good on you for thinking about your health and meds before starting trying to conceive. If you need any more info on drugs and pregnancy, Rodney Whyte from Monash Drug Info Line is great to talk to (03)9594 2361.

Hi everyone! Woowwww...thanks for all the messages, support and information! I wouldn't know who to talk to normally about all this stuff!

Kate- I called Rodney today and you are right- he is fantastic and knows his stuff! He really gave me reassurance about my decision to stay on my meds when i get pregnant, and also put in to perspective the chance of a heart defect occuring (apparently 2% when on antidepressants, 1% in non medicated people) And interestinlgly he touched on why the TGA increased paxtines class of drug to D from C....a bit of a controversial issue but he implied it was a tough crackdown due to the whole Vioxx fiasco.
Anyway he was fantastic, and I'm really happy I called him...thanks!

Jelly Bean- wow! thanks so much for all the advice. I will definately look for that book this weekend. We already have a really good water filter connected to our kitchen sink, however I'm sure i could improve heaps with the additives in foods etc.
I also found the information about acidity-alkalinity VERY interesting...my husband is quite in to natural health and he drinks alkaline water...should i be doing this also?
I am interested to see what I can do to make my body less acidic.
I know you have suggested going the natural way and getting of my anti-D's, and i am completely aware that they don't address the 'root' cause of my problem, however I have tried various routes of natural therapy, including kiniesiology, naturopathy, homeopathy, spiritial healing, hypnotherapy...the list goes on! Nothing has helped. For now my medication is the best treatment to keeping me sane! Its not the depression returning that i worry about, but the coming off the meds that i fear...the three months i tried tapering off previously was the most horrific time in my life, and i dont want to experience that again.

Thanks again everyone for the info! I'm going to stop the pill after this week, and i have already started taking Elevit. apparently i have to go buy 'iodine' supplements also as its not present in elevit.

Hey Nikkers37 - pleasure to provide you with the info. Francesca Naish's book is avail from the internet if you cannot find it - as is Julie Eady's Additive Alert- a must have for every household.
Interesting that your husband drinks alkaline water - yes definitely get onto that!!!
Having freshly squeezed lemon with 1/2 a teaspoon of bi-carb soda in alkaline water every morning is incredibly good for helping to restore alkalinity and reduce acidity in the body. Most people consider lemon to be acidic, but in the body it is incredibly alkalising!! Taking the probiotics will also help restore any beneficial bacteria that the pill has killed off, in turn alkalising your system further.

Good to hear you have explored different avenues for your depression. One more thing you may wish to look at - Purified Liquid Zeolite. Preliminary studies have found remarkable results in those suffering from depression. It actually binds to and removes decades of accumulated toxins such as heavy metals and pesticides etc. It is also looking very promising for those trying to conceive, and unlike more traditional chelating methods like EDTA, it does not have an impact on nutritional status (in other words, it does not draw out any of the good stuff with the bad stuff!). Purified Liquid Zeolite is now being used as a routine detoxification method for pre-conceptual couples. Definitely something for you and your hubby to consider!!
For more info - contact the Tree of Life centre in America - they are the organisation that facilitated a large scale study using Zeolite as a detoxification method (combined with organic food) for pre-conceptual couples in the US. The results are staggering!!

All the best,

XX

Thanks JellyBean! I'm going to see if i can get that book and Zeolite from the net now! Also, just told hubby bout the bicarb with lemon and bicarb water thing, and he said yes lets definately give it a try every morning from now...so we'll be starting tomorrow! you don't by any chance know what alkalinity i should set the meter to on the filter? 12?

Hi Again,

No, I'm afraid I don't know what ph level you should set your water filter at. Perhaps you can contact the distributor? I am sure there will be various website that can provide this info....
I just know that Ph exists on a scale of 0-14. Anything below 7 is considered acidic, and anything above is alkaline. For optimum wellbeing the Ph level in your body should be slightly alkaline, between 7.35-7.45. Symptoms and disease will ensue if this balance is not met, and all degenerative diseases (cancer, arthritis, endometriosis, candida etc) require an acidic environment to thrive.
There are also tests you can buy off the net to test your ph levels via the saliva in your mouth. This is a good way to check for improvement.
With the Zeolite - just make sure you go for the Original Liquid Zeolite known as Natural Cellular Defense, by Waiora. It is the original and has been tested for safety and efficacy, and is registered with the TGA and is recognised as safe by the FDA.

Hope this helps!!

XX

I think the other posts have some really great advice for you. I just wanted to add one thing in relation to the AD's.

I struggled with stopping an AD a few years ago. It wasn't the same one, but I too had a lot of trouble with discontinuation effects. The first GP I saw about it said some people had trouble stopping and set a program of gradually decreasing the dose over 6 weeks and then stopping. At the end of the 6 weeks I stopped and after 2 days of suffering the s/e I had to go back on them (at the lower dose).

At that point I did a lot of research online and spoke to a lot of other people taking the same thing (in forums) and came up with my own program of weaning. In the end I stopped from a much lower dose and didn't have the same problem with s/e. It took a lot longer (6 months) and I decreased the dose much more slowly, but I was able to stop taking them.

Oh, and during that 6 months I actually had another GP tell me that if I had any s/e there must have been something wrong with me because the AD wouldn't have done it. :wall:

So, if (note the "if" - I have no opinion as to whether you should/shouldn't) you decide to stop the meds it's worth getting another opinion (or ten) on the best way to manage it.

Good luck and I hope you are successful when you're ready to TTC! :goodluck: