Can I continue to take Prozac whilst pregnant? (fluoxetine)

[MumOfBaby]

I've been on fluoxetine for PND for a while- 20mg. DS is 10 months. I am 4 weeks pregnant.

Should I continue to take it? I don't want to go to the doctors yet. So I need to know the ins and outs.

Can anyone help?

I was changed from fluoxetine to a different one when I was pregnant

there are some that are better to be on when pregnant or breastfeeding
Paroxetine is the one I am on now and have been through a pregnancy

Congratulations

You need to talk to your GP. Mine told me that there were risks associated with fluoxetine and pregnancy. I would get it checked out properly. Congratulations on your pregnancy

I just realised that that could be worrying -I didn't meant to scare you, I really wouldn't worry too much at this stage, but I do think you need to get proper medical advice.

and mine said there were no conclusive reports carried out yet, and for me not to be on it would be worse for my mental health and well being.!!

this was 7 yrs ago tho, so the gp will be able to guide yuo.

congratulations!!

I'm also on the same med. I was told by my GP there are no more risks being on it than not being on it.

Just telephoned my gp and he said it's not recommended and to stop taking it. hmmm,... rocky road ahead me thinks.

Push him. There may well be a medication you can take, I was on ads in late pregnancy though I can't remember which they were.

I have been on antidepressants for year - mad family history of clinical depression . .. I was on fluoxetine then changed to venlafaxine just before I got pregnant (better suited for me - nothing to do with pregnancy). They do really low doses of venlafaxine and the doc said I could stay on it if i wanted - but obviously no trials done on it during pregnancy for ethical reasons. Anyway I can't remember the dosage - and as it was my 1st pregnancy, I decided to come off with slowly with doc advice (and I was throwing up my pill most mornings/evenings anyway!). I went back on it straight after delivery and just took the medication at a different time on advice of doc to play it super safe whilst breastfeeding. (At any rate, had to express to feed through bottles as baby could not feed directly - so this made it much easier to take the venlafaxine).
Don't know if this helps - but I just thought I'd share my experience - there are options out there. Good luck

PS If you do come off it like me - and boy, was I worried . . .I really tried to structure my life - made sure I was busy, sociable and active (yoga, swimming etc) and had my husband 'keep a check' on me as I am liable to get worse without seeing it myself until I'm really far too deep in a depression. I think it really helped.

I am on fluoxetine in my second pg, now 14 weeks and took it most of the way through my 1st pg until an idiot doctor panicked and changed me with disastrous effects (on me, not DS!).

DS is both happy and healthy and I frequently get comments on what a chilled out chap he is .

Do some reading, look through the mental health section on here and then make a decision. Also, see a couple of docs if you can before you change - changing meds can be tricky at the best of times, nevermind when you're hormones are all over the place.

I have a doctor who supports me being on the fluoxetine and was horrified that they meddled during my last pg. I'm sticking with him.

I'm also happier than I've been in a long, long time

I'd like to flag up that your GP suggested in a phone call that you JUST stop taking it! Obviously I don't think you would just go cold turkey, but really.......

Have a really good google around on prozac whilst pregnant, and I'm sure you'll find loads of women who've been fine; then go and see your GP (not sure why you don't want to, do you think he's OK generally?).. and find out whether there is something else you can try if nec. Personally, I'm in my 29th week, and I started slowing down my dose at 12 weeks ish... I found it impossible to start withdrawal in the first trimester but it worked a charm thereafter. I'm still on the tiniest dose ever (2.5mg/day from 15mg of escitalopram)... and hope to be finished in the next month; but expect to start right back up again, probably with venlafaxine, when I've delivered.

To go back to you - he sounds like one of two kinds of GP (in my long and bitter experience). Those who know enough to see past the two line edict that is currently in the drug books, and have read up on current small studies showing actual hard evidence and those who don't...

OK, I've just seen a new study(this is my area of interest!)... but the anecdotal stuff is very interesting too if you want to look for it..

"The antidepressants included in the analysis were: bupropion (113), citalopram (184), escitalopram (21), fluvoxamine (52), nefazodone (49), paroxetine (148), mirtazepine (68), fluoxetine (61), trazodone (17), venlafaxine (154), and sertraline (61). Conclusions: As a group, antidepressant use in the first trimester of pregnancy is not associated with an increased risk for major malformation above the baseline. In addition, no individual antidepressant was associated with an increased risk of a specific malformation"

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19321030?ordinalpos=2&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsP anel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

x-posts sparkly.. I spent so long looking stuff up - good to know you've got a great doctor to stick with! and thank you for adding further proof of my thoughts on the GP thing.

J

Any advise re taking during third trimester? I've read you should stop taking it then.

I realize this post is from nearly a year ago, but I just found it to be relevant and wonder if any of you ladies are also on fluoxetine and preggers?

I'm taking only 20 mg and have been advised to stay on it if I feel the need (which I do). But I'm worried about taking it in the 3rd trimester...any experiences??

I was on Citalopram before I conceived but came off at GP's advice when PG. Suffered on ,until 30 wks and was then prescribed Fluoxetine - Prozac -which I have taken since.Am now 34 weeks.I plan to reduce down and stop by 40wks as I really want to breastfeed and have been advised that there is no antidepressant I can safely take while breastfeeding.I will go back onto Citalopram after weaning if I need to -probably will.I wd be interested to hear of any experiences of breastfeeding and antidepressants. Incidentally,I suffer from anxiety and sleep disturbance due to flashbacks and ruminations rather than flat mood and poor motivation.I would be interested to hear how anyone else has coped with this in PG.

ask a GP, please

I was the one asking about third trimester last year. I was told by my GP that it is very rare for the baby to go through withdrawals when born whilst taking 20mg. I said I would be prepared to come off the meds as I had read on the internet about heart problems in the last trimester, she said this is so very very rare. Also I was only taking a low amount and this also is better. So she took me of it really slowly. I went to 20mg every other day then she put me on the liquid form so I could take 5mg everyday for two weeks then 2.5mg everydat for two weeks then 2.5mg everyother day for two weeks. It was hard and I was so ready for going back on the meds when baby was born. Good luck and I hope you find the right advice for you. Also you could try MIND. They may have some more helpful info.

I'm now 6 weeks pregnant and have been on Dolsulepin for about 10 years now, my Dr is trying to wean me off the Dolsulepin but I'm finding it really tough. I haven't got an appetite, I feel constantly nervous all the time, and I'm really worrying for my baby. Please can someone tell me if it's ok to take a low dose (25mg per day) whilst pregnant coz I don't think I can handle coming off them completly.

Hi

This is the first time I've posted on here. I joined MN as I was expecting a baby in January next year, but when we went for the 20 week scan a few weeks ago, it showed that baby had a very severe heart defect so we decided it would be better to terminate the pregnancy. I'd been on Fluoxetine for about 2 years and was on it when I found out I was pregnant (at about 6 weeks) and came off it straight away on my doctor's advice. I would really love to try for another baby soon (I am 40 so don't have much time left) but am really struggling to recover from the loss of my much-wanted baby and feel i would like to go back in the meds. Thing is, I'm scared that it was the meds that caused the heart defect in the first place. I'm struggling to cope with going back to work and just want to get back to who I was when I was taking medication. I really don't know what to do!

Firstly, so sorry to hear about what has happended to you. Below is a patient information leaflet that summarises all of the available scientific information on use of fluoxetine in pregnancy. As you probably know, fluoxetine has been linked to heart defects in a small number of babies, but as heart defects are relatively common anyway (affecting about one in every 100 babies regardless of whether any were medicines taken in pregnancy) it is probably not possible to say whether your baby's heart defect was linked to the fluoxetine. I would suggest that you go and have a chat to your GP who should talk all of this through with you, and may be able to advise on whether there may be other medicines that you could switch to before a future pregnancy. If the GP is not experienced in these matters, you should ask him/her to contact UKTIS for advice (0844 8920909) and/or you might want to ask for a referral to a perinatal psychiatrist who will deal with this type of thing all the time.

Best of luck with everything

www.medicinesinpregnancy.org/Medicine--pregnancy/Fluoxetine/