Just been prescribed Sertraline and advised to stop breastfeeding....?

[devonsmummy]

After feeling like someone had zapped my energy and being teary/grouchy for weeks/months i finally went to docs. Blood tests all came back fine and he asked me to do a depression test which showed I have severe depression:(
i have no qualms about going on AD's but told him I'm still breastfeeding Dd - just turned 2.
he looked a little shocked and said most mums struggle on to 6 months and almost all stop by a year and advised me to stop.

i told him i wasnt in the right frame of mind to stop & deal with the crying it would cause but he said it may help to get my hormone levels back to normal.

So I guess I'm asking is there any real need to stop?
Can hormone levels affect / cause depression?
if I take them and continue to feed is there a best time of day to takre them (DD feeds before bed, on waking, before lunchtime nap & occasionally once more)
TIA

As a fellow breastfeeder taking Sertraline for depression, I have never been told that bf and hormone levels are linked with depression, in fact I thought that the good hormones released while bf are meant to relax you and make you feel better? Depression is more often linked with stopping bf bottom of this page
I personally would find it very hard to deal with the upset that stopping would cause us (DD 14 months) if I was told that and unfortunately it seems that some GPs are not very clued up when it comes to bf duration (i.e. WHO guidelines of a minimum of 2 years).
I'm not sure about the best time of day to take them, some people find they make them drowsy and so take them before bed, I take them in the morning because that's what I was told when I started taking them and it works for me. They are deemed safe to be used while feeding so I wouldn't worry too much about timing wrt feeds.
They did make me feel very odd to start with, but they are effective. I really hope that you start to feel better soon.

I think you could ask a similar question in the breast and bottle feeding topic, as there are many quite knowledge people on their (tictok being one)

Hormone levels could possibly do all sorts of things but your GP doesn't sound desperately well informed about breast feeding. There are many many women like yourself (and me) who continue on well past 12 months (I'm at 2.4yrs atm). Not least because a proposed stop in bf would as you say create problems (at least in the short term with your dd being upset) and could be quite pain full for you if you suddenly stopped.

I would suggest that if you do not feel the time is right for you then is probably isnt the right time for you.

Did he say that the medication was safe for BF (there is a pharmacy advice guide for bf women but I can't remember the link) There are ad's that you can take when bf so if you feel up to it maybe try a different GP. PND (if that's what he suggested) can affect people months and years after the event.

Honestly try the other board there are some well informed ladies who can put your mind at rest there.

Sertaline is fine for a breastfeeding mother, I took it while breastfeeding and it did my son no harm. I found that sertaline increased my milk supply, but my son had no objections.

I suspect that you GP is telling you to stop breastfeeding because it he sees it as unnecessary to feed any two year old. It is his PREDUJICE rather than medically necessary.

Many mothers exclusively breastfeed a newborn while taking anti depressants. A two year old should have a wider diet than pure breastmilk.

My GP told that in his opinon breastfeeding a two year old was weird, but medically harmless. If I was you I would contact La Leche League for better advice.