Antidepressants and IVF - thoughts / experiences?

[BabyChristie]

I have a history of depression and anxiety linked to LTTTC as I have been playing this game for over 10 years now on and off. Depression also runs in my family. I had my second unsuccessful IVF in July and am really struggling to cope - depression is starting to take hold again. I'm due to go ahead with another IVF cycle with down regging starting in just over 3 weeks' time and I'm not sure I'm going to be able to cope with the meds which also cause me to have low moods and then a possible negative result, which will just tip me right over the edge. I know depression can affect IVF negatively and to be honest I feel like I just don't have the strength to do this next one without some anti-depressant medication to keep me stable. I can't delay because I have low fertility and am at risk of an early menopause so every month counts.

Does anyone have any thoughts or experiences about using anti-depressants during IVF? Have your doctors mentioned this? Have you been through this and what was the outcome? Are any drugs considered safer than others?

I'd appreciate any comments you have.

 

[Bena]

Hi there, I also suffer with anxiety and depression and been trying for years also. I went to see my gp today for xenical because i need to loose weight before i try iui for the first time. Then out of the blue i burst into tears and told her i think i need to be back on my anti-depressants. She has prescribed them to me but said that i would have to stop taking them when i start my iui. I have also read the leaflet with the medication and it does say you shouldnt take them when trying and when pregnant. My tablets are called Citalopram. I hope this helps a little and really hope you start feeling better soon. Lots of hugs and babydustx

 

[Chesca]

Hiya hun!

Just thought i'd give you the run down on my situation.

I have been taking amitriptyline for migraine preventative/ muscle relaxant for the last few years but this medication is also an anti-depressant. I came off the drug before our first EC as I wanted to be drug free. After ET was cancelled I went back on it. I have a rather lenghly discussed with my GP about it's safety during pg. He basically advised me that this drug was one of the safest to use in pg. Ideally I would be drug free but he said if the pregnant mother was to require medication the doctors would put her health first as if she isn't the well this could transfer to the baby so they would administer the safest drug at the lowest dose and that they would just monitior me more. I weened down off the tablets and completely stopped taking them afew weeks ago but I think i'm gonna have to go back on them as my back is flaring up again. He advised me that 10mg - 20mg is such a low dose of this drug that I would be ok. I'm not totally comfortable with taking meds in pg but i'll just have to see how I go on.

I think the best thing you can do is speak to your GP hun. Are you on Meds at the moment??

xxxxxxxx

 

[fluffystar]

Hi babychristie,
I took 6 months to ween myself off a combination of citalopram and reboxetine prior to being able to start TTC. My gp had said that I needed to be off the reboxetine but could stay on the citalopram during pregnancy if I lowered my dose. I was on 60mg but she said if I could get to 10 or 20mg that should be fine.

I managed to come off both completely, albeit very slowly. However, when TTC didnt go to plan I also found the stress of it to be a cause for symptoms to come back. My gp then recomended that as I wasnt currently on any meds, sertraline was considered the safest during pregnancy and that my health was the most important. If I wasnt well then I had less chance of conceiving. As it happened, I had crystal therapy and found that to be quite powerful and worked for me rather than go on medication. Alternative therapies may not be enough though so consider medication if that is right for you. I had a good relationship with my therapist as I had done a 2 year course with him and knew that his work really pulled me out of those dark places. It meant I had the confidence to turn down medication when my doctor was strongly advising it due how low I had got and my history of severe depression.

I dont know about medication during IVF though im afraid but hope that the above helps regarding anti-ds during pregnancy.

love and hugs
fluffy xx

 

[BabyChristie]

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate it. I have been on both prozac and citalopram in the past but I managed to come off them about 2 years ago before TTC, weaning myself off using St Johns Wort for a while. I found coming off the citalopram really hard - headaches, mood swings etc but I managed it. I'm going to book an appointment with my GP asap to discuss it and will also speak to my clinic. I have a counselling session today with another counsellor so will see how it goes. I'm worried that I only have 3 weeks before the IVF starts so won't have time to be off them by EC but if I'm on a low dose perhaps that will be ok? It's never going to work when I'm in this state and I guess my health should come first at the moment - I'm a poor responder so the likliehood of this all working is slim anyway.

I'll let you know how I get on. Thanks again

 

[Chesca]

xxx

 

[fluffystar]

Hope it goes well with the gp xx

 

[Chris77]

Hi hun

I haven't gone through IVF but I too suffer from depression (unrelated to LTTTC) I have been on Prozac for years and I find that it really helps me. No pill is a miracle and you'll still have to work at your depression but I find that it is MUCH easier to handle the downs in life because of Prozac. Prozac is also safe to take during pregnancy which is a huge plus for me since I can't come off of it.

 

[mpepe32]

I'm not going thru IVF but also have a long history of depression ans anxiety and worked at getting off of my clomipramine trazodone and lorazepam (after my first mc). Not easy and now that I just had my second mc this year, I don't know how long I will last. My gp thinks it's best to be drug free but from what I've read, it's a balancing act between the baby and the mother's health. If the mom is depressed and not coping, that obviously isn't good for a baby. I do know some drugs are safer than others, unfortunately mine were not safe and otehr drugs do nothing for me. You may want to look into other drugs if you don't feel like you can go drug free. I think only you know what you can handle and no doctor can make that decision for you. I made the decision to try to go without for now and it's really difficult. I have been very stressed and both times I was very upset the day I started to bleed and an wondering if the stress and upset is what led to my mc's. A coworker of mine was on przac for both of her pregnancies and didn't have any problems so it's very possible. I wish you the much baby dust and take care

 

[MrsF]

Hiya hun

i went to see our IVF clinic's counsellor a while back after a failed IVF attempt, and she said that lots of ladies going through IVF are on anti-depressants. I'm not sure if there is a specific one, but it is definitely a possibility.

I hope all goes well at your consultation,

x x x x x x

 

[jappygirl76]

Hello Ladies,

I am currently on Wellbutrin and Zoloft, and have been TTC for 16 cycles. I tried to come off all my meds, but it was not a pretty picture. Pretty much everyone has agreed (Psychiatrist, GP, and OB/GYN), that it would be much better for the pregnancy if I stay on the meds. I am going for my first IUI consultation tomorrow, so I guess we will see what the RE says regarding the meds. My only question is, do you think that the meds could be causing my infertility? No one has been able to answer that question for me yet.

Good luck to everyone!!

 

[fluffystar]

Hi Jappygirl, How did it go today? Did you ask the question about meds and cause of TTC?

fluffy xx

 

[mercyme]

My RE said she thinks prozac should be mixed in with the fertility meds. LOL! Seriously, she encouraged me to take prozac if I needed it -- my GP said that it had the most data since so many women have taken it, & no problems. My RE also had no problem with my taking xanax (alaprozalam) throughout treatment, just stop if/when I get a BFP. Since we'd know if I was pg so very early on (9-10 days past ET), there wouldn't be anything to worry about if I waited for a BFP to stop.

 

[jappygirl76]

Hi All,

My RE said that he trully believed that the benefits of me taking the meds outweighed me not taking them, and they are considerded to be in the "C" class of meds because they just dont have enough data to prove that they are harmful. He said that there would be less than a 3% chance of the meds affecting a pregnancy and they definitley would not prevent me from getting preggers.

That was very good news. I am going to have the CD 3 or 4 ultrasound done this Friday to make sure that I dont have any tubal blockages, and DH had another SA done when we saw the doc this past Friday. So, we will just have to wait and see.

Good Luck to everyone who is having their IUI this week. Let us know how you are doing.