citalopram and early pregnancy

[iamamartian]

i am on 20mg of citalopram and 6 weeks pregnant, gp said it was fine to take it in pregnancy. in the last few days i have been feeling panicky and anxious again, hadn't felt like this for months and months, what a bummer. should i increase the dosage? have been on 20mg for about 10 months...

I think i might be pregnant but its still early stages.
When i spoke to my gp about citlopram and becoming preganant i was adviced to be off it before i tried (i really want a child though)

I am surrently on 40mg and had made a choice to go down to 20mg in April as that is when my perscription ends.

I am not sure wither to reduce the way i planned or come of gradually from all.

What do you think??

My doctor recommended i stop taking it while pregnant - largely because there is a lack of research into the effects of the drug on the baby. Its not been proven to be safe so i didn't risk it. That said i was was wanting to come off it anyway so it was easy to stop. xx

I have been on citalipram for many years. I have a little boy just turned 2, very healthly no side affects and I am now expecting again-23 weeks. My consultant is quite happy that I stay on them (although its only 10mg). I read something on here about not being safe to breast feed whilst on them. Well, I did it sucessfully for 7 months. Its such an individual choice, but I know that the side effects of anxiety can be SO debilitating. Hope this helps in some way.

Its such a hard thing to choose, i know i wont be able to cope without some help for anxiety whilst pregnant i struggle with my period which makes me extra anxious to think how i will be if i get pregnant.

Im on 20 mg which is a low dose and i know plenty of woman have stayed on it and even higher dose and been fine.

My last pregnancy i had TERRIBLE anxiety and panic attacks and didnt know i could actually get help for it, i couldnt do that again it was awful.

hi,

I am not pregnant but been on citalopram almost 10 yrs and last year as always wanted to stop but did not know how and started psychotherapy. ((I had been pregnant but lost it).

It was the most awful experience to get off of them but it worth to do it.

I have an amazing therapist who supported me with my GP and now I am off of them and after almost 6 months of physical (shaking hands, temporary blackouts) and emotional (suicidal thoughts, panic attacks) withdrawal symptoms I can say now that I feel happy and balanced.

The most amazing thing is that once you able to get to the real core of your emotional suffering it liberates you truly to find the solution in you to help yourself.

On UKPC you can find many experienced psychotherapists who can take you on board and support you as well as you can ask for psychiatrist to talk to if your depression clinical. It is not cheap as weekly it is more expensive than the pills but worth a try as it has I think long term a better understanding of yourself.

so anyways the pills are great but to learn how to be without them even better.

xxx
Helen

Hiya, I am on Citalopram 20mg and 5wks pregnant, my Dr said its fine to stay on it up until 28wks when I should try wean myself off it otherwise the baby may be born dependant on it. She also said the baby may be wingey and twitchy if I didn't do this by about 28wks. I am a little concerned about being on any meds in the first 12wks but if I'm not on Citalopram my stress levels go through the roof and I can't cope with every day stresses!
I may just wean myself to 10mg or nothing for the next 6wks then if by 12wks I feel I need it I will go back on it.
I have been on this drug before and weaning myself off. Last time wasn't as bad as some people said it would be. I felt dizzy and a bit tired but thats about it. If you feel you would like to wean yourself off, I was told take a tablet every other day for a week and do it slowly, not suddenly stop taking them.
Good luck ladies any questions please ask me!! x

just decided to google the effects of citalopram on pregnancy and found this site and forum. was a relief to read that you dont HAVE to come off it during pregnancy, im on 20mg at the moment and discussed having a 2nd child with partner, this was my main worry. Thanks for sharing your comments and experiences on this forum x

I'm 5 weeks pregnant and went to see my doctor this morning to get my usual prescription on 40mg of citalopram, I told him I was pregnant and he basically ripped the prescription out of my hand! I'm supposed to take 20mg for 2 weeks, then 10mg for a further 2 weeks and then stop!! I've been on anti-depressants for 10 years and every time I've tried to reduce them its been unsuccessful. I'm so angry and upset, I'd looked into taking anti-depressants in pregnancy and think for myself its worth the risk and actually the risk of me becoming ill again and affecting the baby is far greater. I think I'll be getting a second opinion!

I had been on 30mg of Citalopram for many years. I have come down to 20mg and the doctor and midwife are happy with that. My midwife checked with the hospital and I have been told I can breast feed too.

Hi,

i am 13 week's pregnant and on 20mg, both doctor and midwife are happy for em to be on them.

I tried reducing them as i would perfer not taking anything but no luck, i felt awful so i am back on 20mg and staying put.

i take 30mg of citalapram ,i also took it when pg with my ds whos now 3.8 i was ok ,but i dont think you can bf

Glad to find this thread...was on 40mg of Citalopram and doing pretty well..been trying two years for a baby and thought well, no point coming off of them as getting pg is just not happening and will deal with it when it does happen

Am now coming up for 7 weeks pg and as soon as I found out I was pg, I stopped taking the Citalopram..was ok for the first week or so but I am really feeling it now. Obviously, all the pg hormones are kicking in big time so that plays a big part, but am feeling very anxious and extremely tearful

However, I am so reluctant to start taking them again....I'm profoundly deaf myself (causes unknown and mum didn't take anything when pg with me) but still, I worry more about things going wrong, purely because I am deaf myself - iyswim

Oh pussin sorry to hear you are having a hard tie, i struggled in my last pregnancy as i wasnt on anything and found it terrible so much i said i didnt want anymore.

My tablets to me are a god send , my midwife was so good she told me not to even think about reducing them there is no need, she said most woman are on them just no one talks about it.

Hiya all

Saw Dr today re the anxiety etc...was a locum and pretty shit tbh....she did some googling for NICE guidlines on AD meds in preg (FFS, can do that myself!) and then just parroted what was in the med book that they all seem to refer to and came up with 'the benefits must out weigh the risks' which I already knew

She said I could take Citalopram or Flucoextine (sp) in pg and it would be ok but not for breastfeeding, which I'm keen to do...

I just said well maybe I'm feeling so bad due to the constant sickness so perhaps I should see how I feel when that's passed and take it from there...have to see Dr again next week and have decided will make sure I see one of the regular doctors...

Am no wiser or better off really am I!!

My doctor told me to stop taking my citalopram (am 6 weeks gone) and its driving me mad - cant believe that all this anxiety I have been going through (plus trying to give up smoking) and other people have been able to keep taking theirs! Am going to talk to my DR!

Yes i would ask another doctor, all the doctors i have seen and midwifes have been great.

I am 8 weeks pregnant and i was advised to come off citalopram when i found out i was pregnant 4 weeks ago. I was on 40 mg and i weaned myself off them and i wasn't able to cope so i talked to my GP and i'm now on a 10mg dose and i still feel a little depressed but nowhere near as bad as i did when i wasn't on them at all. I couldn't even function properly off the citalopram so i made the choice that i needed to be on a low dose as there was more risk to me and the baby if i wasnt on them at all.

most studies have only shown a 3percent increase in miscarriage and no real evidence has been shown to prove that citalopram cause malformations.

do what you feel is right for you

hope this helps

hi - im 11 weeks pregnant not planned, i have a son who is 13 months, since his birth ive had post natal depression & anxiety - we emigrated from the uk to the middle east, being away from family and in such a different culture is a major factor for my dp & anx.

i didnt find out about the preg until 6 weeks, for that time i was on 20mg of citalopram when i found out i cut the dose to 10mg for 2 weeks then came off for 10 days with horrendous results, have been back on 10mg again since.

saw midwife 2 days ago who put the fear of god into me about mental disability and the risks with anti d's, so much so that i almost booked a flight home for a termination, ive read the blogs here and see a totally different point of view and feel a bit better.

has anyone else been told to discontinue but carried on anyway?

thanks :)

Hi everyone,

Im currently 9 weeks pregnant, after having a 5 week miscarriage shortly before, ive been on citalopram 20mg for about 3 years now and find i functioned perfectly with it, when i found out i was pregnant i toddled off to the docs to talk about meds etc, unfortuanelty the first doctor told me to go cold turkey and after doing as i was told i was thrown back into the darkest time with severe anxiety and panic attacks, not eating or sleeping etc, well 3 trips later and i managed to find a much better doctor who has listened to me and put me on fluoxetine 20mg im seeing him once a week atm as i have only been on it for 2 weeks although if im not better with my anxiety by the time i go back to him this week he says im being put back on citalopram, he did have the decency to sit down and dicuss the very minimal side effects to the baby with me which helped to put my mind at rest. Heres hoping i can get rid of my anxiety attacks soon!!!

Hi, I'm a psychiatric nurse and have worked with mums who are suffering PND. If you want to breastfeed, then Sertraline is a safe AD during pregnancy and breastfeeding. It's the one we prescribe most to pregnant or breastfeeding Mum's seen by our team. It's very similar to Citalopram (a great AD)- both SSRI's.

The reason Sertraline is considered safer seems to be mostly to do with the fact that it's been around longer so there has been more research on it. I fully expect there'll be similar results with Citalopram!

As others have said in this thread, the benefits of having a healthy, happy Mum outweight the risks. Dealing with a relapse of a depressive illness with a small baby is hard. Be good to yourselves! Remember, if it ever gets too much to cope with, there is plenty of professional psychiatric help out there. Ask your GP or get along to A&E if in crisis.

AHHHHH mrsmogwai, i think that is a brilliant post.

im on citalopram (18 weeks pregnant) and really want to breastfeed, i have been so lucky my midwife and gp are great, but alot of woman dont get that support,so thank you for a positive post.

xkatyx, if you have any worries still, you can switch from Citalopram to Sertraline later in the pregnancy. If your GP or midwife ever seem unsure, do ask for them to seek specialist advice for you. Perinatal psych teams (wouldn't mind working in one eventually) are very used to getting queries from other professionals.

I'd been on citalopram for 3years and when
i found out i was pregnant my doctor told
me to stop cold turkey. I felt ill, depressed and anxious for a week and then i had a misscarriage. Doctor told
me to stay off the tablets if i'm trying again but
i'm struggling so much and giving my husband
a really hard time that i think i should go back
on them and stay on them. Does anyone know
if they can cause miscarriage?

So very sorry to hear about your miscarriage!

I've not heard anything about AD's causing miscarriage. A lot of women don't realise the're pregnant for quite a few weeks and are on AD's. Some women choose to stop them quite quickly when they do find out as they worry about taking anything. AFAIK, they wouldn't be able to prescribe AD's in pregnancy if there was any evidence linking them to an increased rate of MC.

If you're still struggling with low mood, please go back and speak to your GP. It is definitely worth weighing up the benefits of staying on medication while trying to concieve again and during pregnancy. If your GP is unsure, ask to be referred to out to a psychiatrist or community mental health team for more specialist advice and support.

Sertraline is often prescribed in both pregnancy and breastfeeding. Please be aware that if you do go back on Citalopram or on Sertraline, stopping suddenly can make you feel physically and mentally unwell for a week or two. I wish GP's would stop advising people to go cold turkey. It's not a nice experience!

Best of luck with TTC. Hope you feel better soon.

Heya all,
what a good website

i just found out im preggy (AGAIN!!) I was on citalopram with my last pregnency but was advised to stop straight away when the doc found out i was preg.

it ended when i misscarried at 12.5wks, And i went baCK ON Citalopram a while after, im just not sure.

Is it safe for bubby!!!???

id like to stop taking citalopram. do you think its best to cut down slowly 2 pills , one pill to half etc

i reckon the doc will tell me to go turkey again if i go see him, and like he said last time the preggy hormones should just kick in and take over, a replacement for the Anti.Ds meds??

whats that all about???

the cold turkey thing was really hard on me, the doc told me to just stop and it was horrid!!
i had head spins , head aches and couldnt see properly for about 4 weeks.

CAN ANYONE HELP WITH SOME GOOD ADVICE!!!???

this Sertraline one soundz quite good??

do u know about it?