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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by loni on December 2, 2003, at 16:27:39
Early next year, my husband and I would like to try and become pregnant. I am working with my pDoc and OBGYN...I know I will be stopping my "drug cocktail" to try (currently Parnate, Ativan, Neurontin and Cytomel). I have been given an option to be on Prozac DURING pregnancy.
I would just like to dialogue with anyone who has had to do this. I'm nervous about withdrawal (my last W/D from Effexor was so bad that they thought I had MS symptoms at first and then they gave me a CAT scan...what a nightmare.) I don't know how long it will take to get pregnant or if I will get pregnant at all. (I'll be 38 yo). I will feel so sorry for my husband (hving to deal with my emotional state) and wonder if I'll even want to have sex! I don't know what fertility drugs can do to mood. And finally, I wonder about post-partum depression.
All good eh?
Any other women out there who have gone through this? Thanks much.
Posted by shadows721 on December 3, 2003, at 11:36:18
In reply to Want to get pregnant, have to drop parnate..ugh, posted by loni on December 2, 2003, at 16:27:39
I have a friend that took prozac during pregnancy and she took effexor right after the baby was born. She is nursing while taking effexor. She said this baby is the happiest baby of the three children. She is the healthiest baby too. My friend says it's, because she is not as stressed out as she was with the 1st two children.
If I were you, I would try getting the meds right before pregnancy. See if you can switch from effexor to prozac smoothly. Let your body and emotions be your guide.
Posted by loni on December 3, 2003, at 13:44:30
In reply to Re: Want to get pregnant, have to drop parnate..ugh, posted by shadows721 on December 3, 2003, at 11:36:18
Thank goodness I went through Effexor withdrawal 1.5 years ago. I'm still slowly recovering from the beating my body took from that...it was the worst W/D in all my years of med treatment and the scariest because of the lack of information available to my pdoc on it. Most of the information I received about how to deal with it came from other people either on this board or on Table Talk at Salon.com.
That is wonderful news about your friend's baby! I'm actually looking forward to "retaking" Parnate after a pregnancy...it is such a terrific drug and it does force you to eat in a very healthy way. Which is good for depressives, anyway. I don't know what Parnate withdrawal will be like...or what stopping and starting again will do for its effectiveness. I pray that it doesn't create problems.
Thank you for your information and optimism.
Posted by nmk on December 3, 2003, at 15:05:29
In reply to Want to get pregnant, have to drop parnate..ugh, posted by loni on December 2, 2003, at 16:27:39
> Early next year, my husband and I would like to try and become pregnant. I am working with my pDoc and OBGYN...I know I will be stopping my "drug cocktail" to try (currently Parnate, Ativan, Neurontin and Cytomel). I have been given an option to be on Prozac DURING pregnancy.
>
> I would just like to dialogue with anyone who has had to do this. I'm nervous about withdrawal (my last W/D from Effexor was so bad that they thought I had MS symptoms at first and then they gave me a CAT scan...what a nightmare.) I don't know how long it will take to get pregnant or if I will get pregnant at all. (I'll be 38 yo). I will feel so sorry for my husband (hving to deal with my emotional state) and wonder if I'll even want to have sex! I don't know what fertility drugs can do to mood. And finally, I wonder about post-partum depression.
>
> All good eh?
>
> Any other women out there who have gone through this? Thanks much.
>
Hi Loni,I had to jump in on this one since I have been through the whole pregnancy/med thing AND a crippling post-partum depression, which I am slowly recovering from after almost two years.
Anyway, here is my long but hopefully helpful story. Eight years ago I gave birth to twins. After weaning them at 4 months of age, I experienced the most horrible depression of my life; complete with mixed states, severe agitation, insomnia, and panic. I was prescribed zoloft and klonopin and after a few months I felt better. I muddled through the next 6 years on this combo, and although I had some ups and downs, they were minor bumps and I bounced back quickly.
When I decided to get pregnant again, I was fearful of going off my meds and consulted with my OB, pdoc, and a genetic counselor. They all agreed that it was safe for me to stay on the zoloft (50 mg) and they switched me to 1 mg of ativan for sleep. As I did the first time around, I went through infertility treatments the second time, including injectible gonal F, and artificial insemination. After the fourth try, I became pregnant. The fertility drugs did not seem to effect my mood but during the first trimester, I was extremely anxious and had trouble sleeping.
After the first trimester, I felt absolutely wonderful....no depression, anxiety, etc.. (if only I could stay pregnant forever). Also, I was well after the birth of my boy up until 4 months postpartum when I weaned him. This time around, I wasn't so lucky. I can't even begin to describe how horrible I felt....severe depression, agitation, etc... We tried increasing the zoloft, trying other ssri's, stimulants but nothing seemed to help. We then added Trileptal to the mix which seemed to help, but eventually it pooped out.
It is now almost two years after the birth of my baby and I am slowly starting to heal. I have finally been diagnosed BP II and that has changed the course of my treatment and made such a difference. My doctor switched me to Lamictal and although I still have my up's and down's (the downs ALWAYS occurring one to two weeks before my period) I am far from where I was.
My advice to you is to work closely with both your pdoc and ob/gyn. Depending on the "category" of the meds, you may be able stay on some of your meds or they may switch you to something else. It was a tough decision for me to continue to take the meds during my pregnancy, but it was an informed decision based on a lot of soul-searching and education. I know that some women do not take their meds during the first trimester since this time is critical for fetal development but eventually, restart in the second trimester. You need to do what is best for your emotional health. As my pdoc once said, there is far greater risk to the unborn baby to have a stressed out, depressed, anxious mom.
One other thing.....during my first ultrasound, my pdoc wrote an order to have a very detailed scan, above and beyond the usual. Here, they checked for cleft lip and palette. This will most certainly put you at ease.
I apologize for the long-winded reply but I felt a need to share with you my experiences and hopefully help you. Please feel free to write again, I would be happy to help.
Good luck to you.
Nicole
Posted by loni on December 5, 2003, at 23:11:25
In reply to Re: Want to get pregnant, have to drop parnate..ugh » loni, posted by nmk on December 3, 2003, at 15:05:29
Nicole--
Thank you SO much for your inspirational story. I was extremely interested in the period post-drugs and pre-pregnancy...as well as post-partum. Most of the reason why we moved into the neighborhood we did was to be close to family, church and friends.
I think that insurance should reimburse post-partum moms for doulas. Doula insurance is what this community needs.
I was also fascinated by the infertility information. I don't know yet at age 38 if I will need it but I'm guessing I will. And baby's health is so important to me. My parents both had depression and I was marked from birth. Luckily, my husband and his family are untouched that we know of. Besides being a kind and gentle people.
Your advice about working closely with your doctors made me laugh only because my doctors (who work together with me on email for tough questions because they have different offices) have already told me that I will "only be able to become pregnant by consensus." Which makes my husband (a private person and 8 yrs younger than I) picture something a little less romantic than he'd hope...too crowded :)
Take care and kiss the tops of all of those sweet heads tonight...
L
Posted by gardenergirl on December 6, 2003, at 11:20:43
In reply to Want to get pregnant, have to drop parnate..ugh, posted by loni on December 2, 2003, at 16:27:39
I too am on an MAOI, although I am on Nardil. I am 37 years old and would like to get pregnant when I finish grad school next year. I too am anticipating needing conception by consensus and am worried about what to do with meds. Since this is less pressing for me at the moment (dissertation and other school-related stuff are taking precendence), I'm at least glad to know that I am not unique in my situation. Good luck to you, and let us know how you are doing!
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