bf'ing and Anti depressants

[parafused]

Today I got diagnosed with Pnd no big shock really i think me and the family have known for a while but i actually went to docs today. I was reluctant to have Anti depressants as I stlll bf twice a day, dd2 is 6 months (nearly). GP said as i am suffering from anxiety I should take Setraline and she also referred me for counselling.

I can't help feeling carrying on bf'ing is being selfish as she gets most of her intake from formula and solids the bf'ing is just special cuddles really, so doing this whilst taking setraline doesn't sit right with me, however the thought of stopping bf'ing breaks my heart.

I felt ok at docs about doing both (as doc said it was safe etc) but after reading the leaflet and Googling (i know i shouldnt have) there is so much conflicting advice. I am worried about it now, not really sure what to do............any ideas, opinons, advice muchly appreciated

I was in a similar situation to you; DC1 6 months, BF twice a day, not sure whether to take citalopram or not for PND.
In the end I took it as the amount passing to baby from just 2 feeds must be tiny and I think it would be far worse to give up BF when you don't want to.

By DC3 I was given citalopram during the pregnancy as I was considered so high risk to get PND for third time. I am still taking it (baby is 7 months and was BF up til a couple of weeks ago). So far I can see no ill effects at all, he is a lovely smiley baby developing well. And I only occaisionally have mild PND signs! Yay!

Ultimately as my GP said to me, there will never be a definitive answer as no-one is willing to test drugs on pregnant/ BF women. So you just have to go with the best solution as you see it.

HTH

Sertraline is the best SSRI drug for breastfeeding - it has the lowest transfer rate into breastmilk. I have taken it while breastfeeding and there were no apparent ill effects, my DD is now 3 and totally fine.

Yes would agree with narmada. I started on AD's a year after the birth of DS and the GP wanted me to take prozac. After doing my own research (!) I decided to try sertraline as it has the lowest transfere to breast milk. It did help but really had a bad effect on my sleep. Maybe just bear that in mind when you are BF as the baby could develop similar side effects and could affect his/her sleep.
I did put off starting AD as I didn't want to stop BF. With hind sight I should have started them earlier but like you I felt strongly that I wanted to carry on BF. I felt it was the only thing that I was doing as a mother that I could feel good about.
In the end I did mixed feeding. I think I was taking my AD in the mornings and would do one BF first thing before I took my tablet. Try researching when concentration in the breast milk peaks as it maybe up to 8 hours after taking the tablet then you can time feeding when the levels would be at their lowest.
Good luck, I hope u start to feel better soon.

I also experienced side-effects at first - primarily increased anxiety - but this resolved in a few weeks. insomnia is also common when you first start taking them, but they may actually improve your sleep in the longer term, especially if sleep problems are one of the symptoms of your depression. I never noticed my baby sleeping any worse when I was taking the ADs.

Have been on AD for a year now, looking back I think I had PND with both of my DSs, but not recognised at the time as I and they were so ill. I just get fed-up with the D peaking during holidays, presume its because the rest of the time I'm in hyperdrive (f-t job, p-t study, f-t mum etc). Have a date to come off - 1st Sept.... On-line councilloring didn't do it for me and the 15 mins with the 121 real person every 2 weeks was just to have her talk through the online stuff.... I do talk to DP about how I am really feeling instead of covering it all up with a cracked smile.

I took Sertraline for a year while breastfeeding and it had no adverse effects on DS1 at all.
I actually slept better once I was taking it, the only side-effect I noticed was slight nausea for 3-4 days but then I had no other side-effects at all.

I took sertraline while pregnant and breastfeeding. They way I looked at it was that the risk to ds2 was much higher if I didn't get treatment than the risk of the small amount of sertraline he was exposed to. HTH

Another one here who took sertraline while breastfeeding from when son was 3 weeks until he stopped at just over a year, my son is now 12 and absolutely no ill effects whatsoever.