zoloft question.. need all the mommy advice i can get!

[wheelz23]

Hello everyone,
Before pregnancy, i was on anxiety meds. I weaned myself off to start TTC, and I had been doing good until about 24 weeks. Yesterday my doctor was genuinely concerned and insisted I start going to talk to someone and then put me on 50mg of zoloft. I didn't take it last night, I've been trying to research it and it doesn't seem like the worst thing. However I am sooo worried about it harming the baby, I've read it makes them sleepier or increases their chances of autism. There's also a chance once they're born, it can create issues of them breathing? Idk. I of course see everything negative, I'm just so freaked out to start taking it. Does anyone else take this? Heard anything about it?

Thanks

 

[Bastille17]

I take another antidepressant called celexa and from what I understand that and Zoloft are very safe during pregnancy.
If you're worried about the baby having trouble when it's born talk to your doctor about weaning off toward the end of the third trimester. That's the plan for me and then starting right back up again after birth.

And remember, autism is genetic so it's highly unlikely any meds you take will cause it.

 

[xdxxtx]

My sister works for the court system. There have been several lawsuits regarding hundreds of babies born with birth defects to a birthing parent (usually "mother") who was taking Zoloft at some point during the pregnancy. Zoloft won the last (huge!) lawsuit, and the verdict was that Zoloft doesn't cause side effects, but there are several more lawsuits that haven't ended yet. I personally do not medicate during pregnancy no matter how depressed/anxious I am, and it takes a LOT for me to take medications even when I'm not pregnant, so I'm not like "most people" in that sense. If I had the resources, I would speak with a counselor/therapist first, seeing if this can be handled without medication first. Since I don't have the time/resources, I handle my depression and anxiety naturally. Healthy eating, exercise, lots of time outside, journaling, maintaining a tidy house (no clutter!), etc. Like I said, a HUGE lawsuit just ruled in Zoloft's favor, so there could have been another reason why those babies had birth defects, but even if Zoloft caused it, you're unlikely to cause a birth defect with Zoloft at this stage of the pregnancy when almost almost everything is already developed.

According to the birth injury guide, the birth defects include: Craniosynostosis, heart defects (including hypoplastic left heart syndrome and coarctation of the aorta), Tetralogy of fallot (TOF), Autism, Respiratory problems, Club feet, Cleft lip and/or pallate, Spina Bifida. That being said, it wasn't a large number of babies who had these defects, and most of these body parts are already formed properly in our babies by 24 weeks, and it isn't a huge number of babies who have these defects.

 

[LittleLala]

I had to stop taking Lexapro when I fell pregnant last time, and my dr suggested Zoloft if I felt like I couldn't cope. I really trust my doctor, however I chose not to take it as I was overall feeling much better than I had in a long time.
I guess all medication comes with some form of risk when you take it while pregnant. You have to ask yourself, is your (depression or) anxiety more harmful than the risk of potential side effects? It is a personal decision

 

[dreadOHdreads]

I have bipolar and ADD. When I was pregnant the first time I stopped all meds, but I had to get back on something to handle my anxiety and moods sometime late first trimester. I took Latuda- an antipsychotic that category 2 for pregnancy. I stopped taking it around 7 months pregnant. He was born healthy and is doing well.

With a lot of psych meds they tend to want you to avoid it at certain times during the pregnancy. Some you can take early but not late into the pregnancy and vice versa.

Do you have a psychiatrist who is familiar with pregnancy and meds?

 

[purelygemini]

I'm currently on my third pregnancy while taking zoloft so I have a lot of personal experience. It's the most studied antidepressant during pregnancy and the only one deemed "safe" in the cases where the benefit outweighs the risk, which is mostly everyone that's prescribed the medication. So far, my children haven't had one single "symptom" of taking zoloft, they're completely normal. Your mental and emotional health is extremely important while pregnant and you have to take care of yourself.

Side note: I'm not really big on any other kind of meds during pregnancy, this one is just in a class of its own.

 

[lilmisscaviar]

My DS was born with a birth defect called "malrotation of the intestines" and had to have surgery at 4 months to repair it. This was NOT caused by me taking meds, however, but because I DID NOT take any meds while pregnant with him. I had HG (severe morning sickness) during my pregnancy with him and didn't take any anti-nausea meds for it because I was afraid of it affecting the baby, then suffered from depression from being so sick all the time. He was born 3 weeks premature. When I became pregnant with his sister, I decided to give into the meds. She was born only a week early and was my healthiest, smartest child yet. Now I highly recommend to anyone not to let yourself suffer during pregnancy. Doctors know what is best, or else they wouldn't prescribe it because it is their reputations on the line and they don't want to be sued.

A lot of the stories you read on the internet are by people who have a baby that is born with a birth defect and they automatically assume it was something they took during pregnancy, completely disregarding that it could have just been something that happened in nature. Not all birth defects can be found on ultrasound. My DS's wasn't. If their baby was born with a breathing problem, the first thing doctors ask is if you took anything during your pregnancy. When you say Zoloft, they probably have to put that down as a possibility to your baby's birth defect and the mother would probably jump to the conclusion that Zoloft caused it. It only is true confirmation, however, when several babies whose mothers took Zoloft while pregnant are born with the same exact birth defect, if that makes sense.

 

[DobbyForever]

Zoloft is a do the benefits outweigh the risks. If your anxiety is really bad, that can affect the baby. I have high anxiety disorder and was born via c-section at 32 weeks because my mom was super stressed (living in a battered women's shelter with her 3 year old).

For me, I also never took it because of ttc. Pregnancy elevated my mood and my anxiety/depression are all but gone. So on my case, I wouldn't take it. My psychologist/psychiatrist said she has seen complications as a result of Zoloft with her clients, so she is always hesitant to prescribe it during ttc or pregnancy. She only uses it as a last resort. But of the antidepressants, it is the most researched and deemed safest.

 

[spunky84]

Like Dobby said, do the benefits outweigh the risk?

I don't think it's unreasonable to try counseling first and see if that helps first. Though i agree about not letting yourself suffer if you truly need it.

I was on Prozac, Vyvanse and adderall before pregnancy. I slowly stopped while ttc and was completely off shortly before conception.

I struggled so much. I never disclosed all of my history to my midwife because i was too embarrassed. Things started getting too bad, so i agreed to have my counselor send a letter to my midwife explaining my history. Once my midwife got the letter and was up to date on my history and knew how much i was struggling, she agreed that the benefits outweighed the risk for both baby and me to be back on Prozac and Vyvanse. My psych agreed. Both are class C for pregnancy.

I worry every day about taking these meds, but i also know that it truly is better for the both of us if i do. I'm able to take better care of us.

It's scary when you think about the possibility of the adverse effects it could have on baby, but sometimes the benefits do outweigh the risk.

 

[Stellae]

I had terrible PPD with my daughter, and went off Zoloft only two weeks before I found out I was pregnant again. Also at 24 weeks i started getting really bad symptoms again, and so I'm back on 50mg Zoloft.

As always, no meds can be called totally and absolutely safe during pregnancy. But 50mg is the lowest dose there is, research has trouble showing the Zoloft is to blame for later mental health concerns (vs the parents' genetic tendency towards mental health disorders), and for me, the unproven risk is not worth the time spent being a bad mom and wife. Trust your healthcare provider over anything you hear on the forum, he/she's a doctor for a reason .

 

[Stellae]

Here's a TED Talk by a researcher who found babies in utero were negatively impacted by stress experienced by their pregnant mothers. I'm sure there's other research refuting it somewhere, but it may give you piece of mind:

https://www.ted.com/talks/moshe_szy...ce_is_written_into_dna/transcript?language=en

 

[nicem815]

Hello everyone,
Before pregnancy, i was on anxiety meds. I weaned myself off to start TTC, and I had been doing good until about 24 weeks. Yesterday my doctor was genuinely concerned and insisted I start going to talk to someone and then put me on 50mg of zoloft. I didn't take it last night, I've been trying to research it and it doesn't seem like the worst thing. However I am sooo worried about it harming the baby, I've read it makes them sleepier or increases their chances of autism. There's also a chance once they're born, it can create issues of them breathing? Idk. I of course see everything negative, I'm just so freaked out to start taking it. Does anyone else take this? Heard anything about it?

Thanks

My OB office is pretty conservative regarding meds during pregnancy. I had a doctor tell me once that while it isn't likely for Zoloft to cause any issues, that slight chance in which it does would be pretty upsetting. I went off Zoloft several months before conception. That being said, they found slight calcification on the baby's heart without being on any meds. Apparently, it's a common thing. My firstborn didn't have any issues and I wasn't on meds with her, either.

I think it all really comes down to each individual and what they can tolerate. I definitely struggle with depression and anxiety, but I know what it is. I've had it for years so I know when I need a break or when I just have to breathe through it. When I was struggling with PPD after my first was born, however--I needed medical intervention because the thoughts were almost unbearable. I truly believe mental health is very important.

I wish you luck. I know how hard anxiety and depression are during pregnancy. I hope you are well on the way to talking to a counselor to sort through your feelings.