Fluoxetine whilst pregnant?

[george32]

I was wondering if anyone could offer any advice to me.
I am currently 23 weeks pregnant and going through a rough spell of depression. I have been to see my GP and also a counsellor & they have recommended that I take Fluoxetine.
Although they have advised that there are no proven fetal abnormalities that can be linked there is obviously still a risk taking anything during pregnancy.
I am torn between the risk of taking them & causing the baby harm or the risk of not taking them and causing myself & the baby harm.
I am also terrified that if I feel like this now, how on earth am I going to feel once I have the baby. This should be the happiest time of my life and it is all coming crashing down.
Following on from a miscarriage earlier in the year, I have been really careful so far not to do anything that might put the baby at risk as I am so afraid that it anything did happen I would blame myself.
I'm so confused. I don't know if it is the fog of the depression but my solution is to cry at the moment which isn't helping me to decide at all.

hi hun
sorry to hear you are feeling low. Fluoxetine [or prozac as its better known] is probably one of the milder anti depressants which means it is not as toxic as some. There are many women who continue to take it while pregnant with no adverse effects. The other things is that being 23wks means the baby has fully formed limbs etc and it is a case of putting on weight and getting bigger from this point on. I can understand your resistance to ADS while pregnant because as you know I havent taken anyt of mine, however the ADs they want me to be on are not recommended in pregnancy...lol

If you want to talk you know where I am

Nemo's answer can't be improved upon, but just to reassure you about one other thing: antenatal depression is separate from postnatal depresssion. You can have antenatal depression (as I did during my 2nd pregnancy) and be fine after the birth of the baby (as I was).

And this is purely anectdotal & obviously not scientific, but I met a woman recently with severe depression. She has 2 children: 8 yrs old & 1 yr old. Back when she was pregnant with her first, the advice given to pregnant women was that they should NOT take antidepressants. . so she went off her meds, was v. depressed, and had a low birthweight, not terribly robust baby. By the time she fell pregnant with her 1 yr-old, the thinking on antidepressants in pregnancy had changed & she was advised to stay on her SSRI (it wasn't fluoxetine, but it was related). . .and she says she gave birth to a much healthier baby who is completely fine at 1 yr of age.

HTH, & feel better.

Just bear in mind that Fluoxetine can take some weeks before you start to feel better. Also, has your doctor done blood tests to find out if there is any other reason you feel so bad. (Just asking because my doctor was going to put me on them, then decided to do tests - found out my iron was extremely low, and now on 3 iron tablets a day)

Thanks Nemo.
I noticed you had been feeling down too, how are you this week? I think the pair of us must spend our days sobbing at the moment, god knows how many tissues we are getting through.
I just don't know what to do. I hadn't even realised I was depressed until last week when I couldn't seem to shift my grim mood for the first half of my holiday. It took a bit of a breakdown for me to come anywhere close to what I'm usually like.
I had just put all my odd days off work & staying in bed down to the p/g rather than me being depressed.
I'm so good at putting on my brave, happy face that I'm fooling myself now.
How are you getting through then? What do you do when you have a bad spell? I'm so scared of doing something terrible when I am in the worst parts of it.
I just want to enjoy being pregnant. I feel so ashamed when I think of Wendy & Bella and how much pain they are going through to get to where I am.

george hun it is a hard trek and yes it does seem extremely bleak, but it can also get better. how have i been coping...mm not very well..lol However I also know I am not as bad as I have been as this time last year I was selfharming and suicidal literally had it planned out. I am lucky in the fact that I had ds who manages to distract a lot of my attention and thoughts so I cant ruminate on the bad feelings as much. When he was a smaller baby it was easier to get caught up in the depression if that makes sense. I wont lie as I have had suicidal thoughts lately although not to same extent and I have sh but realise that it was actually making me feel worse due to being pregnant. I am lucky in the fact that I have a great mental health support around me and will be very closely monitored once baby is here. Just to say that I know it seems scarey and also shameful in a way [that was the hardest thing for me to get over as a mental health worker] but is does affect anyone at any time. I can completely understand the putting a face on things as I do that a lot and a large number of people have no idea how depressed or difficult things are for me. I also spend wayyyyyyyyyy too much time online...lol

george32 - I think you should take the advice of the professionals looking after you. I see more and more women continuing on antidepressants during pregnancy, prozac included. Breastfeeding women are also able to continue taking it. It would seem to me that your GP and counsellor have considered the options and in your case feel that the benefit outweighs any small risk. Hope you feel better soon.

Thanks everyone.
Expat, it is good to hear that ante-natal & post natal depression aren't linked. It does start sending you round in circles worrying about everything. I think I have myself doomed as a mother before I even start.

I've not had any blood tests done. I've suffered in the past from depression and TBH, I don't think they are too surprised that I've gone downhill as I had a pretty terrible first couple of months to the year (I lost my Dad as well as the m/c). I may mention it when I see her next week thought to check.

Thanks Mears, it really helps to know that other women do resort to ads too.

Thanks Nemo, I guess it is a case of getting through anyway possible. I am glad in a way that my GP is aware so they can keep tabs on me too when I've had the baby. I agree that being on-line helps out!

I took fluxotine whilst preggers and breast-feeding (for 18 months) and everything was fine.
It is a VERY well-tested medication, has been around for at least 20 years and no correlation between use of this anti-D amd foetal abnormality has ever been demonstrated.
The neo-natal baby, I was told, will sometimes have 'withdrawals' and be cranky and sleepless, but I have to say that my baby did not seem any less sleepy, or more cranky, than the other babies in the ward!
I guess this mediciation is best if you are planning to breast feed, as then the baby will get small amounts of the drug from your milk that will ameliorate post-natal withdrawals.
Don't take it if you are going to worry to the extent that you will still feel awful anyway, though - what's the point of that? Do keep in mind, though, that a baby with a depressed mum is probably more at risk for developmental and psychological problems than a baby whose mother is taking medication. You really don't want to risk post-natal depression. It is hell, by all acounts.

Thanks Catherese, I think you are so right about a depressed mother being more of a risk than one taking medication.
I've had a good day today so I'm still a bit undecided as to whether to take them but everyones comments have made me feel so much better about going ahead & taking them if need be.
I have them here so I think I will wait for a week to see how my mood fluctuates and if I have a bad day then just start taking them straight away.
Thanks for the help

Hi George,

I've just got back from the Doc's having been prescribed Fluoxetine, as we're TTC I am very nervous about taking them .

Something else that was a bit strange but the Doc suggested was barley. 100gms barley boiled in 5 times the water, until reduced by a 1/3 and then drink the liquid - once a day. Barley is supposed to have natural AD properties. I am going to try this as at the moment I need to try everything.

I hope today is a good day for you.

H x