Citalopram and pregnancy

[SwanseaMum]

umm where to start.

Hi is as good a place as any :) I guess I am just looking for a bit of support and reassurance seen as I am struggling to find anyone who understands what I am going through.

I am 8 weeks pregnant and already have 2 children one 6 and the other one nearly 2.
After the birth of my second son I coped and managed for a long time before I realised I was depressed and got the help I needed. I started on AD's in oct 2010. With the depression and the contant pain from my endometriosis it took a long time on a 40mg of citalopram, councilling and family support before I finally began to feel balanced if not entirly cured.
I desperatly wanted to come off the tablets I dropped to 30mg and still felt fine but the doc told me I should stay on them and that I wasn't ready. I found out I was pregnant in october a year after I got diagnosed.
I went back to the doc and she told me I needed to come off them and quickly. She wanted me to drop to 20mg for 2 weeks then 10mgs for 2 weeks then off. It was an extremely daunting task. I did drop to the 20s just like she told me, however 4 days after I dropped I started sufferring serious withdrawal, headaches, nightmares and my anxiety reach a whole new level. I struggled on but when the 2 weeks were up I couldn't drop them I felt so ill. The midwife told me to go back onto the 30mgs. As time went on I still stayed on the 20s but I was extremely sad, teary, paranoid, anxious and quite frankly a bit manic going from happiness to histeria in a blink of an eye.
When the tabs were due to finish I went back to the GP it wasnt the one I usually see cause she was on holiday but she was nice enough so i thought I would be ok. Her attitude towards me was shocking, I told her I wanted to go back onto the 30mg tabs and as I started to try and tell her what was going on she looked in her book and said "You know it can cause heart defects, but as long as you know the risks its your baby"
What was I suppose to do with that? I already felt guilty but I left feeling horrific and sat in the car sobbing for 15mins before drove home. I am on the 30mg tablets now but it has only been a couple days, so I still feel crap.
I really hope I am not the only one going through this sort of thing.

Somebody please tell me if I am doing the right thing staying on these tabs :(

Firstly, change your GP.
Secondly, do a little search on here. This topic has been covered loads before. I used to be on Fluoxetine before becoming pregnant and as far as I'm aware Floxetine is safer in pregnancy than Citalopram. Generally, some AD's are less harmfull than others. So if you really can't come off them, find a sympathetic GP who knows which AD would be best in your case.

Your baby will be fine!

Thanks i will, she wasn't my usual Gp. I just couldn't believe how she treated me felt like a peice of dirt.

Hi, I agree change your gp!!!

I am pregnant and on citalopram and with my last pregnancy I took it all the way through and taken it all the way through this one too (34 weeks)

My little one was early ( not due to tablets) and I spoke to the top pediatricians and they they said that they are completely fine and that they recommend breast feeding where everyone else (gp's) say not too!!

Honestly I have spoken about this so much and because this time Im pregnant with twins I have seen doctors, consultants and midwives and they are all fine and say that they are fine to take!

I was on citalapram I came off it and did feel bad with withdrawel but personally didnt want them sort of chemical in my body. I have felt low but thinking it can be sorted once baby here rather than always wondering if there was a problem with the baby that it was my fault. Have had manic depression for 15 years. Prepared to spend time in a mother and baby unit with baby if depression is bad but I think I will be fine. Its up to you this is just what I decided and yes have read research to say tablets fine etc its just what I wanted to do.

I was on 10mg for the whole pg with my 3rd. I was told it was perfectly fine and all was well.

I genuinely believe if i wasn't pregnant i could have come off them or at least manage the withdrawal.
what upsets me more is the narrow minded view of the Gp i haven't made this decision lightly. I persevered in taking the lower dose for a month, and I don't want to put my baby at risk even if it is only a small risk. She made out that I didn't care, if I was on heroin or some other heavy drug I have no doubt i would have support I wanted.
I suppose my guilt is just something I will have to come to terms with because i obviously won't get any Dr support.

Def change your doctor, what an insensitive thing to say.

I spent 4 years on Citalopram then decided I wanted to start TTC. I made a decision to come off them before TTC and went to speak to my doctor who said and I quote...

"Although we prefer you to not be on any medications when pregnant, that is an ideal world situation. Citalopram is safe to use when pregnant and is even sometimes recommended when it is deemed that the risk of a depessed mum is greater than the risks taking tablets involves."

I have come off mine,the withdrawal was horrific and not something I'd wish on anyone. My doctor was happy for me to stay on them if that was what I wanted. He also said that if at any time I felt I wasn't c

oping then to come straight back and he would start prescribing them again.

What your doctor said could have been very damaging if your state of mind was already weakened, I would have gone nuts if someone had said that to me.

I reacted by sobbing to my mum and talking to my midwife. she really wasn't impressed at all and told me that gp's don't have a clue. I have got 2 very active little boys and i couldn't function the way i was. its still early days back on the higher dose but i already feel s little better or at least for longer periods during the day. i am more optimistic that i will be able to start enjoying my pregnancy, which is all i want