Worried about sertraline in pregnancy

[JanetTy]

I was diagnosed with severe anxiety, OCD and depression eight years ago, and was finally able to get it under control with the maximum daily dose of sertraline (200mg).

When I got pregnant with my first baby, I weaned off the medication as I was aware that it posed a risk to the foetus. I tried other remedies for my problems such as yoga, camomile tea, meditation, hypnosis, CBT... you name it, I tried it. Nothing seemed to work for me except medication.

My mental health rapidly deteriorated to the point where I ended up in A&E and was put under the care of a pre-natal psychiatrist. I was put back on sertraline at 150mg from about week 25. My baby was subsequently born at 38 weeks, healthy and beautiful. I returned to a daily dose of 200mg sertraline and have had no problems since.

I am now eight weeks pregnant with my second baby. Although I feel reassured that sertraline did not affect my first baby, I’m aware that the first trimester is the riskiest time and last time I managed to get through all of the first trimester without sertraline.

I’ve tried to wean off it again but already my mental heart is beginning to decline and I can feel it coming over me again like a black cloud. I feel like I have no choice but to keep up my 200mg dose as without it I am finding it difficult to do simple tasks and even to look after my daughter properly. I hate that I am clearly so dependent on medication but I have tried everything else I can think of.

I guess I am just looking for some advice or reassurance, as I will never forgive myself if my child is born with a heart defect or other problem because of my sertraline use. It feels like I am being very selfish and putting my own needs above those of my unborn child.

Check out the BUMPS website, best use of medicine in pregnancy, it allows you to read about the very small risk. I weaned off venlafaxine and utterly spiralled out of control by week 12. I battled on with no medication until 17 weeks when I listened to the Psychiatrist, mental health nurse, midwife and GP and I now take a mood stabiliser. The impact of stress on the pregnancy, yourself and your current child can be more dangerous than medicine itself. I'm only 3 weeks on to the new meds and I already see and feel a difference. Good luck ❤️

Hello,

I'm also on sertraline albeit the lowest dose
of 50mg, both my doctor & midwife were happy that there is no evidence that it will harm the baby & when being pregnant it's definitely not the right time to try & come off it.
I'm 26 weeks now & have had absolutely no problems.
Try not to worry about it, there's already enough to worry about :s
X

I am 8 weeks and my doc told me before I got pregnant Sertraline is actually one of the few he would recommend for pregnancy. I am on 100mg daily and not worried x

Oh darling I feel for you. Like pp I was on a lower dose through my pregnancy but I hope I would have taken as much as I needed to keep myself on an even keel - not just for me, but also for my baby.

Do you have a doctor (GP or mental health specialist) you can talk to? I spoke to a psychiatrist at my local hospital while pregnant on Sertraline and it really helped. He made it very clear that professionals will always recommend the drugs. Not taking them has major consequences for you and, by extension, your baby. As parents, especially parents with mental health conditions, we sometimes have to put ourselves first in order to stay as healthy as we can for our kids.

I am on 150mg Sertraline. I made an appointment to see a consultant psychiatrist (who usefully is also qualified as an obstetrician) for advice on this and he was very reassuring about taking it throughout pregnancy.

Don't quote me on this, but I think the study about heart issues has been discredited. It turned out that the women who were taking Sertaline and had a higher rate of problems had also had that higher rate of problems in other pregnancies during which they hadn't taken the drug....or something, I admit I can't remember the details.

Obviously in an ideal world we'd not take anything, but we aren't in that world. We are in a world where our illness needs medicating, and not doing that also carries risks to you and your children. On balance you are probably best to continue, but whatever you do don't try and change things yourself without medical advice. I believe consultant obstetric or psychiatric doctors are the best to advise, as they often have more experience of these decisions than most (not all) GPs.

Hello, I was on sertraline throughout my second and most of my third pregnancy ' both babies fine. Do what you need to do to stay healthy