Sudafed prescribed in pregnancy

[evergoingincircles]

Have been blocked up for about a month and really struggling with sleep because of it. Tried the steam, olbas, vicks, saline nasal wash, methol sweets.... anything I can.

Doc looked up on system and said it was ok to take pseudoephedrine (sudafed) and it gives me 5 hours releif or so on a bad night like last night but I really worry about taking it

How pregnant are you? Do you have high blood pressure?

I am 26 weeks and have low blood pressure. I did get pre eclampsia last time and have been given 10-20% chance of getting it again

I work in pharmaceuticals and the prescribing info doctors get says:
Although pseudoephedrine has been in widespread use for many years without apparent ill consequence, there are no specific data on its use during pregnancy. Caution should therefore be exercised by balancing the potential benefit of treatment to the mother against any possible hazards to the developing foetus.

Systemic administration of pseudoephedrine, up to 50 times the human daily dosage in rats and up to 35 times the human daily dosage in rabbits, did not produce teratogenic effects.

There are also clinical papers on the usage which say no reported effects in pregnant women.

I believe there are concerns about taking Sudafed if your bp is high and I was always careful about what to take in the first trimester.
There's some American info here which may be of interest:
www.webmd.com/women/pregnancy-medicine