anti-depressants and Breast feeding?? Advice needed!

[janenevie]

Hi all

Could do with some advice or peoples experiences of anti-depressants and breast-feeding!
My DD is 11 weeks old and i;ve been really struggling for abour 3 weeks getting progressively worse, My HV has mentioned anti-depressants and is visiting me at home on Wed?

Not convinced to take them as I'm worried about passing it on in my milk?
Cheers

I wouldn't leap into anti depressants, it can be a long and slippery road. Did she mention it flippantly or seriously? Are you diagnosed with pnd?

Score on EDS was quite high at 6 weeks did another one yest ready for her arrival and its got quite a higher score,
She was quite serious, but I'm really not too keen esp as I work in mental health when not on mat leave!

I was on dosulepin/dothiepin for a year (it's compatible with b/feeding -- a couple of ADs are). As a consequence, I ended up having a lovely time with my second baby, having hated my first year with my first child (undiagnosed PND).
Someone on MN told me to view ADs as stabilisers on a bike. You won't need them forever. They just get you through a wobbly patch.
That was exactly how it worked for me. My POV is, if you need them, take them.

Agree with bakedpotato. I take painkillers for a headache, so don't have a problem with other meds for other problems when I needed them.

I had pnd with my first and took fluoxetine which was fine (just after finishing b/feeding). however, when pregnant with number 2 was put on fluoxetine again to attempt to stop pnd with second and was assured that it would be fine for bf as well. in the end i took myself off the fluox b4 baby came as felt fine. HOWEVER, would have had no issue whatsoever with taking it and bf at the same time - when my depression kicks in and i need medication i look on it as a bout of tonsilitis - i wouldn't put up with that without meds, so why should pnd be any different. janenevie - take every minute of every hour as it comes and don't expect too much of yourself - thinking of you - i know what hard work it can be x

I was prescribed Cipramil (Citalopram) 10mg while breastfeeding, for PND, but ended up talking myself out of taking them because I believed all the negative stuff about them.

One year on, I've ended up taking Citalopram 40mg and I feel back to being 'me' again and wish I'd done it sooner. I'm not saying it's the solution to everything - sleep deprivation will still make you feel weird in my experience (!), but AD's might be worth a try.

I suppose it depends how awful you really feel - although that's difficult to judge. I did the Edinburgh scale test and got a ridiculously high score but wasn't recommended AD's because my health visitor thought they were for wimps and I should pull myself together .

If your main worry is about passing the medication on in your milk though, don't be. The amounts that get through are minuscule and there really are some safe AD's out there. Various friends and relatives at the time suggested to me that I switch to bottles and take antidepressants, because I was in a real state and worried too about passing the drugs on through my milk, but I (a) really wanted to breastfeed and (b) at the time felt it was the ONLY thing I was doing right for DD, and didn't want that taken away from me and her. (Btw - I totally do not have a problem with people bottle feeding if that's what they choose, for whatever reason.)

Sorry to ramble on. Your message really struck a chord. I remember so clearly how it all felt (DD is 16 months old now). Big ((hugs)) to you, whatever you decide.

Bakedpotato - so glad to hear your experience with baby #2 was so positive. I sometimes feel I really lost something precious through depression with DD. Not sure (for lots of reasons) whether I'll ever have another baby, but it's good to know it doesn't have to be so awful...

Verso - I completely know what you mean about losing something with the child you had pnd with - mine is 7 now and i sometimes wonder how it has all affected her and am sure that it has and i have to still work really hard at the relationship. the up side to it all is that i took a long time to have number 2 (6.5 years) and it is a completely different experience - i never knew that it was possible to enjoy having a baby, but its wonderful and completely different. i've had big health problems in the last 12 months (spd when pregnant so on crutches for 16 weeks, nearly lost baby at christmas, i was diagnosed with gallstones in january so have been waiting for surgery all year - scheduled for october, then i collapsed in june to be diagnosed with guillian barre syndrome which is taking a long time to recover from, if ever) BUT despite all this i am tablet free, so happy that i could shout from the rooftops that i am the luckiest person in the world. this experience is so much different to the painful, unhappy experience of number 1. I hope that doesn't all sound mad, but pnd is so difficult and i just wanted to share that it is possible to get through it and number 2 doesn't necessarily have to be the same as first time round....good luck x

Thanks for all your positive msgs!
I've been really funny about even having a paracetamol while pg & bf so still not sure?!?!
Will see what HV says 2 moro!!
Cheers
Jane

janenevie - at the end of the day do what you feel most comfortable with as dealing with the worry of not being comfortable with it may make you feel worse. let us know how you get on tomorrow - lots of luck x

Hi just wanted to add that I had slight PND with no.2 - managed without drugs (though with hindsight I should not have struggled on so long without them) - just wanted to say I read "Down came the rain" by Brooke Shields - she talks about her exerpience of taking medication - I found it helpful.

My daughter took Citalopram throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding (was monitored closely) it did not do the baby any harm (he was 3 weeks early but that could be down to any number of things) and it certainly helped her. Almost three years on and the baby is a fine and thriving little boy.