Pregnant and taking Citalopram.

[Ridders84]

I've recently found out I'm pregnant. I've been taking citalopram 40mg for almost a year for PTSD and GAD. I visited my doctors surgery today and was seen by a different doctor to my usual. He has told me to stop taking my medication. No weaning just completely stop because of the risks to the baby. I'm feeling very anxious about this. When I researched my medication for myself the NHS website suggested that the risks to the baby are very minimal compared the risks to my health. However the doctor saying the opposite has left me confused. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks. X

I probably should have also mentioned that I'm only 5+3. This is my 4th pregnancy. X

This is bollocks on 2 levels.

1. You should never, ever go cold turkey.
2. When I was going through ivf/icsi/successful pregnancy and breastfeeding I was on 20mg.

Please, please go back to another doc. Speak to your midwife too.

To add, my docs all said it was a balance between risk to baby, which I agree is minimal, and the risk tonne, which wasn't.

They had all got an idea in their heads that I was on 60mg and it was still fine.

Again! Said baby is now 3.4 and is perfect in every way apart from being a cheeky bugger

Congratulations on your pregnancy & completely agree that your GP has given awful advice.
I was on 60mg right up until birth (hospital pharmacist agreed the risks associated were minimal) & then swapped off for breastfeeding (which was worst mistake ever as it's taken me 2 years to get over the side effects & get put back on to citalopram again)
If you want to come off it needs to be done in stages not cold turkey - talk to another GP & your midwife. As there's not enough research on different AD use in pregnancy they tend to blanket ban against it rather than suiting it to the patient

I had it all through my pregnancy with DD1 (risk to me outweighed risk to the baby) she was completely fine.

This was 10 years ago so the guidelines may have changed.

Thank you so much for replying so quickly. You've pretty much confirmed what I thought. I will call the surgery again tomorrow and hopefully get an appointment with someone else. Unfortunately my doctor is booked up until after Christmas.

I was on 40mg throughout my last pregnancy. My maternity consultant stated it was safer than me coming off. However when my baby was born I had to stay in for 4 days because he reacted badly to the withdrawal; he was trembling and crying constantly. He is fine now, a happy healthy 20 month old.