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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by duchess on July 25, 2004, at 7:16:52
Ive been on Lexapro for nine months now. I want to get pregnant but I am wary of doing this on the meds. Has anybody out there gone through a pregnancy on Lexapro and given birth without and problems? I cant seem to get any clear information on the possible side effects to the baby.
Thanks
Duchess
Posted by SLS on July 25, 2004, at 8:44:18
In reply to Lexapro and Pregnancy, posted by duchess on July 25, 2004, at 7:16:52
> Ive been on Lexapro for nine months now. I want to get pregnant but I am wary of doing this on the meds. Has anybody out there gone through a pregnancy on Lexapro and given birth without and problems? I cant seem to get any clear information on the possible side effects to the baby.
> Thanks
> Duchess
Hi Duchess.What have you come up with so far?
What a difficult decision to make. There is so much conflicting information. That so many people who post material on the Internet have agendas to peddle makes things even more difficult.
When I looked into this a number of years ago, this is what I came up with:
1. Tricyclics have been proven safe with over 40 years of experience
2. SSRIs have no greater risk of producing birth defects
3. SSRIs might have an increased risk of premature births and miscarriages#1 still applies
#2 At one time, it was suggested to discontinue an SSRI during the first trimester to be sure of preventing birth defects. This is no longer true from what I can see. On the contrary, some are recommending discontinuing the drug during the last trimester to help prevent a withdrawal syndrome from being experienced by the fetus.
#3 The original concerns regarding miscarriage and premature births have dissipated as more data has been collected.
I think it is a given that infants will experience a withdrawal syndrome from an SSRI (or Effexor) immediately after birth. In the past, this has been mistakenly ascribed to common colic, but can be much more serious. I don't know what are the statistical chances of this happening. I wouldn't necessarily be afraid of it so much as I would just be aware of it. If it makes any difference, I think Lexapro would be much less likely to cause this than Effexor or Paxil.
You know, it's an interesting thing about pregnancy. Many woman find that pregnancy makes for a good antidepressant. You might be able to taper off of Lexapro once you become pregnant and restart it afterwards.
What do you think would happen if you were to stop taking Lexapro? How would it affect your day to day functioning?
Make sure you take plenty of folic acid.
Good luck and God bless.
- Scott
Posted by CindyLou on July 25, 2004, at 10:01:41
In reply to Re: Lexapro and Pregnancy, posted by SLS on July 25, 2004, at 8:44:18
Hi Duchess,
I agree with everything SLS posted -- I did a lot of research on pregnancy and meds when deciding what to do myself.Here is my experience:
1. First pregnancy -- I had a miscarriage after 11 weeks. I was taking Zoloft and Wellbutrin, but stopped shortly after I found out I was pregnant. My pdoc felt that the meds may have contributed to the miscarriage, but other doctors disagreed.2. Next time we tried getting pregnant I stopped all meds and tried the holistic approach. Chiroptractic care, lots of natural vitamins. Got pregnant, did not miscarry, had a healthy baby. HOWEVER, suffered SEVERE postpartum depression, possibly bordering on psychosis. I could not tolerate medication after giving birth -- my whole body chemistry changed. It took about 3 years to get somewhat back on track.
3. I was advised by two pdocs not to get pregnant again due to the high incidence of recurrence in postpartum depression. SO -- we adopted a baby from Korea. She came home three months ago! The best thing we could have done!
I know my experience with pregnancy + meds is not a positive one, but I thought you should have an idea of all the things that could happen.
Best of luck to you.
By the way, adopting is wonderful, and does not pale in comparison to having a baby naturally.
cindy
Posted by CindyLou on July 25, 2004, at 10:23:41
In reply to Re: Lexapro and Pregnancy, posted by SLS on July 25, 2004, at 8:44:18
Hi again,
I forgot to mention that, in my research, I found the safest SSRI to take during pregnancy is Prozac. There have been a lot of studies where women have had healthy babies while taking Prozac. Since Lexapro is close to Prozac in its properties, perhaps you could switch to Prozac?Just a thought.
cindy
Posted by Racer on July 25, 2004, at 12:52:05
In reply to Re: Lexapro and Pregnancy (P.S.), posted by CindyLou on July 25, 2004, at 10:23:41
(Yep, another would-be Momma)
Do you mind me asking how old you were when you had your baby? My age worries me as much as the meds do, since I figure I've suffered along unmedicated (not exactly by choice) for so long anyway. And I've got fertility problems -- thus the barrenness to date -- so it's probably just academic anyway.
Thanks!
Posted by duchess on July 25, 2004, at 13:13:49
In reply to Re: Lexapro and Pregnancy (P.S.), posted by CindyLou on July 25, 2004, at 10:23:41
Thank you guys for all the info, but, im taking Lexapro for panic attacks and Agrophobia. It got so severe that I hardly left the house. Im 25 years of age for those that were wondering. I really would like to come off the meds for the pregnancy but I dont want to relapse. I never suffered from depression but I dont want to end up depressed because im back where I started! So switching meds isnt really an option. I tried coming off the meds about three months ago and the panic attacks started to return, so I went back on. so, if anybody could give me their thoughts concerning this new information.
Thanks you guys,
Duchess
Posted by SLS on July 25, 2004, at 14:30:30
In reply to Re: Lexapro and Pregnancy (P.S.), posted by duchess on July 25, 2004, at 13:13:49
> Thank you guys for all the info, but, im taking Lexapro for panic attacks and Agrophobia. It got so severe that I hardly left the house.
> So switching meds isnt really an option.
> I tried coming off the meds about three months ago and the panic attacks started to return, so I went back on.
It sounds as if you have cornered yourself into a decision.
Well, I would say that you have reached a point where you must weigh the risks involved with relapsing and how that would impact on your ability to carry successfully to term and care for the newborn versus any increased risk of congenital defect, miscarriage, or premature birth that might go along with the use of Lexapro during the pregnancy.
I found one abstract on Medline with a large number of subjects; the results of which mirror the studies using smaller sample sizes that I found as well. The drug most often used was citalopram, the parent drug of Lexapro. The abstract indicates that the subjects studied were those who used antidepressants early in pregnancy. Without reading the full text of the study, one can't know what percentage continued to use the medication during the entire pregnancy. This is a limitation to one's ability to interpret the results, but again, they are similar to most of the other stuff you will find. The results showed that versus the general population:
1. No increased risk of birth defects
2. Shorter gestational period (I'm guessing this represents a small risk of premature birth).
3. No difference in survival rate
4. Higher birth weight (mostly for non-SSRI drugs)This looks like a well-done study. I thought it notable that there findings included that women who used antidepressants were older, had more previous children (parity), and smoked more. That makes sense to me, and, for me anyway, helps give the study credibility.
I hope this helps.
- Scott
Posted by beatrix34 on July 25, 2004, at 20:50:41
In reply to Re: Lexapro and Pregnancy (P.S.), posted by SLS on July 25, 2004, at 14:30:30
I too am on Lexapro and am thinking about getting pregnant soon. I have GAD and depression when I went on the meds, and it hasn't been that long that I have been on them. I want to taper off and get pregnant so there is no increase of anything happening...I am 34 though and feel I need to be very cautious with this because I am starting to try a little older. Fingers crossed. I just decreased my dose from a full 10mg pill to 3/4 of a pill. I plan to do this for a week and then go down to 1/2 a pill for and week, etc. So far so good...we'll see how it goes.
Good luck to you.
Bea
Posted by CindyLou on July 25, 2004, at 20:54:35
In reply to Re: Lexapro and Pregnancy (P.S.) » CindyLou, posted by Racer on July 25, 2004, at 12:52:05
I was 35 when I had my daughter 4 years ago. That is another reason we decided to adopt this time around -- not only did I have the fear of being on meds while pregnant (or going off of them), and of the postpartum depression recurring, but I was also deathly afraid of having a baby with Down's Syndrome. (Part of my anxiety disorder, I guess!)
Since we wouldn't terminate a pregancy, I needed to think long and hard about the possiblity of having a Down's baby. With my mood disorder, I just didn't think I would be able to cope well with the unique pressures that come with a developmentally disabled child.
Take care,
cindy
> Do you mind me asking how old you were when you had your baby? My age worries me as much as the meds do, since I figure I've suffered along unmedicated (not exactly by choice) for so long anyway. And I've got fertility problems -- thus the barrenness to date -- so it's probably just academic anyway.
>
> Thanks!
Posted by duchess on July 26, 2004, at 6:21:38
In reply to Re: Lexapro and Pregnancy (P.S.), posted by SLS on July 25, 2004, at 14:30:30
Thanks for the update guys. I have made my decision. I am going to come of the meds. I read that the newborn infant suffers withdrawal from the meds and I couldn't in all good consience do that. I'll keep anyone whos intersted updated daily. i'm currently on 10mg and am going to cut that down to 5mg for six days, then down to 2.5mg for another six days. Then after two weeks I can begin trying to get pregnant! Im off now to buy my folic acid!!
Posted by SLS on July 26, 2004, at 6:57:35
In reply to Re: Lexapro and Pregnancy (P.S.), posted by duchess on July 26, 2004, at 6:21:38
You might want to hop over to the Alternative board and ask if there are any nutritional supplements that might help with anxiety or agoraphobia.
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/
Good luck.
If you do relapse and find it intolerable, please post here again, and maybe we can figure something out.
- Scott
Posted by CindyLou on July 26, 2004, at 6:59:57
In reply to Re: Lexapro and Pregnancy (P.S.), posted by duchess on July 26, 2004, at 6:21:38
Hi Duchess,
Congratulations on making your decision! That is usually the hardest part! You may find that you do just fine off the meds during pregnancy -- those pregnancy hormones can sustain us through a lot. And if you have never had too much of a problem with PMS over the years, you will most likely be free and clear from postpartum depression. If, however, you have had problems with PMS, you may want to have a good doctor in mind to see after your delivery, just to be safe.Good luck! I think you made the right decision going off meds. It will take a burden of worry off of your shoulders.
cindy
> Thanks for the update guys. I have made my decision. I am going to come of the meds. I read that the newborn infant suffers withdrawal from the meds and I couldn't in all good consience do that. I'll keep anyone whos intersted updated daily. i'm currently on 10mg and am going to cut that down to 5mg for six days, then down to 2.5mg for another six days. Then after two weeks I can begin trying to get pregnant! Im off now to buy my folic acid!!
>
This is the end of the thread.
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