depression

[scruff]

I am a few weeks pregnant and have been taking anti-depressants for a number of years. I have been advised to cut down the dose and am finding it very hard. I am also worried about the harm i may be doing to my child. Anyone had similar experience?

hi scruff

I have taken ADs, but not when I was pregnant, so I'm sorry I can't offer any specific advice on this. If your doctor has advised you that it's OK to continue taking the ADs at a reduced dose, then presumably he/she considers it safe to do so. If you still feel that the ADs may be harming your baby, I would say go back to your doctor as soon as possible to talk about your concerns (or ring NHS Direct).

There have been lots of threads on mumsnet about depression so you will get lots of good advice and support here XXX

Hi Scruff,
SM's right, there have been plenty of threads about depression.
I am 12 weeks, and still on prozac, which I started again after dd2 was born last year.
I tried to go alternate days, but it sent me gaga. I have checked the web, and there are no sites which have anything bad about prozac and pg.
I don't klnow what you are taking, but prozac is fine. Congrats on your pg.

Hi Scruff. Congrats on your pregnancy! Have a look at this site, it has a load of information on how to deal with depression during pregnancy and the treatments available for it.
There are anti-depressants around that are prescribed to pregnant women, but the problem is that no-one knows what the effects on the baby might be as no-one has done any studies on pregnant women. All they can say is that there is no known risk to the unborn baby. However I do know of a few people who took ADs throughout their pregnancies and their babies were born perfectly healthy. You have to weigh up the risks, if you are liable to get very depressed and not sleep well, not eat well, etc you could do just as much harm to your baby and it may well effect the bonding between the pair of you. So if taking ADs means that you can get through the pregnancy relatively sanely, it is probably worth the risk. Although there are alternatives to ADs and these are worth investigating too.

Hope this helps!

Rhuby - It says that the page cannot be found.

The AD i am taking is called prothiaden and is a tricyclic.
Thanks for your replies so far

'Scuse me whilst I scream a minute - IT CANNOT BE FOUND!!! I'VE LOST MY SITE!! ARRRGGGHH! I shall get onto it and will not rest until my site is back online.
(mumble, bloody internet, mumble)

Hi scruff,
I took an antidepressant for part of my ds's pregnancy and all of my dd2's - I'm on sertraline and as far as I am aware there are no problems with it - though not many pregnant women have been studied.
If you are on a tricyclic then as it is older there should be more info available but not sure where - try googling Dr Hale's lactation website which has info, or call a breastfeeding helpline and ask to speak to someone who knows about medications - many counsellors have abook called 'Medications and Mother's Milk' by the same Dr Hale which tells you about pregnancy and lactation risks.
HTH, and congratulations

Scruff, the site I told you about will be up and running after the weekend. I really think it might be useful to you, so please do follow the link on Monday!