Zoloft

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Zoloft

Postby Joci6 » Jul 23, 2004 4:51 pm

Hi all-

I am currently taking 50 mg zoloft for depression and prevacid for GERD. Has anyone been on either of these medications while pregnant? I am ttc but I'm worried of the effects of these meds along with others I will probably be put on if HG hits. Any advice will be appreciated.

Sandra
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Postby jjbeck » Jul 24, 2004 10:47 pm

HI. I took zoloft throughout the pg as well as ATIVAN. I took the ativan for my daily anxiety attacks and zoloft to try and prevent ppd. Ava is perfectly fine ( even said to be a month or two ahead dev). I suffered no ppd and have been trying to get off zoloft for almost 2 months now. My only issue is withdrawal effects...brain zaps mostly. Also, Ava had some tremors may or may not have been from the zoloft.

I took nexium for my stomach. GIs do not like to perscribe it to pg woman...but it worked great and highly recommend it.

* please know that it is very imp to treat depression in pg and may actually be less of a risk to baby than if you do not treat it.
Jen 34
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Postby mammaclare » Jul 25, 2004 10:05 am

I only started Zoloft after Rory was born, I kept refusing it while PG although I was very depressed and anxious.

My peri kept trying hard to get me to take it, and kept assuring me of its safety so in her opinion at least, it would have been fine.
Clare
Mommy to Rory Benjamin 8-28-03
And Kieran Alexander 12-15-06
HG Babies-Week 5 to The Bitter End!
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Postby Joci6 » Jul 25, 2004 11:34 am

Jen and Clare-

Thanks for your input - I really don't think I could go through a pregnancy right now without zoloft, especially if HG hits hard!!
Jen - I thought Ativan was a category D drug. Is this true?? And what are tremors? Thanks fro any info!!

Sandra
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Postby jjbeck » Jul 26, 2004 7:12 pm

Yes Ativan is a class D though I have seen it as c too. I think they said to try and avoid it durning 1st tri. It has a VERY SLIGHT risk of cleft. But risks of untreated anxiety especially if severe can be worse. I ended up have high BP with my pg and anxiety attacks would send my BP soaring ( possible the other way around)...the only way I could bring it down was ativan. The high BP caused more severe pg problems such as an abruption...this at 28 weeks was very scary.
My OB suffered anxiety with both of her pgs and she highly recommends treating anxiety with ativan and said she has never seen a problem.
My 1st HG PG, I did not treat the anxiety for a long time and I spiraled way out of control. As someone who has worked in the mental health field for several years, I always felt meds should be a very last resort...I still feel that way, only now I know first hand what untreated aniety can do to a person AND a fetus.
Jen 34
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Postby jjbeck » Jul 26, 2004 7:14 pm

Tremors are shakes. Ava had them though I am not sure if they were from zoloft withdrawals or the hypoglycemia. I had them durning PG in my legs...felt like an electrical zap. Post PG, I had/have brain tremors...from zoloft withdrawls...finally going away though.
Jen 34
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Postby Joci6 » Jul 26, 2004 7:26 pm

Jen -

Thanks for all the info!! I had UNBELIEVABLE anxiety with my pregnancies - especially my last one. What problems have you seen anxiety cause the fetus?? (Sorry for all the questions - I just like to be educated on this subject). Thanks again.

Sandra
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Postby jjbeck » Jul 27, 2004 2:51 pm

Risks to fetus include: miscarriage, small head in baby, low apgar scores, IUGR,
hypertension in preg related to anxiety can increase risk of preeclampsia which can cause all of the above problems AND worsen anxiety as well and in worse cases cause death of fetus and possibly mother. If you have hypertension OR have had an increase in BP during your pg...you need to be especially careful with the anxiety.
There are a number of other risks to babies if pg mothers leave depression / anxiety untreated. There are several links online.
Here is a couple:


http://www.cfpc.ca/cfp/2004/Jan/vol50-j ... ical-1.asp

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/ ... i_69386697

Now I had pg hypertension, placental abruption, IUGR, Low amniotic fluid, small, placenta and cord, Ava has a small head, not even on the chart measurment....she is less than the 5th percentile. How much of it was related to anxiety, I dont know but I am sure it is all related and I sometimes think if my anxiety and bp was better treated, I could have a possible prevented some of the problems I had. I also think had I not had ativa to take during my attacks, my BP would have stayed VERY elevated possibly causing problems much worse than I had.
Also, you often see anxiety as a symptom of depression, I think in many cases it is the other way around...I think depression too often is a result of untreated anxiety. Now that does not mean I think everyone experiencing anxiety should start popping benzoz, I dont think that at all. But during pg, especially with HG it is hard to pinpoint anxiety and the hormonal changes does not help matters so if needed I think pg woman should treat their anxiety...for me and many SSRIs just do not do it, prevent anxiety I mean.
Feel free to email or IM me at anytime.
Jen
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Postby Joci6 » Jul 28, 2004 4:03 pm

Thanks for all the info Jen-

Zoloft actually does the trick for me in respect to depression and anxiety so I guess I should stay on it!!

Sandra
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Postby jjbeck » Jul 30, 2004 11:00 pm

HI Sandra. I am glad Zoloft works for you. As much as the Ativan helped me, I think it should be only used when the risks of not taking are more of a danger than taking it.
Good luck to you. Feel free to email me at any time.
Jen 34
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Postby danimomof2girls » Aug 02, 2004 1:09 pm

Hi you guys! I've never taken Zoloft however I did take Paxil. I didn't start taking it until after my first pregnancies and weaned off it during my second one. I had severe depression and many anxiety attacks during my pregnancy. I wish I would have stayed on it, but I couldn't hold anything down orally and I wanted to wean off it before the HG hit harder so that I could have a gradual let down without severe down regulation. My opinion would be that if you can handle it orally, take it because anxiety only makes the pregnancy that much harder. I think that Zoloft and Paxil are the safest antidepressents during pregnancy according to my OBGYN. My doctor has always been very forthcoming with me and I would ask him anything. I hope you guys feel the same about yours! Best of luck to you!
PS - I'm went back on the Paxil after pregnancy #2 --the postpartum was the worse I had ever had!!! I feel great now though!
Danielle
SURVIVED HG TWICE!
Kaitlyn Elise (11/22/99) - Hospitalized 13 times
Julia Leigh (02/03/02) - Given Zofran SubQ pump
Rec'd TPN's via Hickman Catheter from 7 weeks gestation till birth after failed enteral treatment.
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Postby Joci6 » Aug 02, 2004 4:18 pm

Jen and Danielle-
Thanks for your posts - I just worry so much about taking anything that would cause problems but I really don't think I have a choice.

Sandra
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Postby jjbeck » Aug 02, 2004 9:55 pm

HI Sandra, I was the same way. I never wanted to take anything while I was pg, the first HG pg that is. I waited way to long to take any meds....in part because I was seeing midwives and they would not give me anything even if I wanted it. Anyway, things spiraled out of control and I ended up with some severe health problems other than the HG and my only choice was to terminate the pg. It took a long time for my cardiac problems that were related to the pg to resolve and I ended up with such severe anxiety and depression I almost had to do ECT treatments.
This time around I knew better and began treatment at the sign of illness as I knew the HG would just exacerbate any other health issues...cardiac, mental health etc. I aggressively treated the Hg....and aggressivly treated the anxiety if only I had aggressivly treated my cardio issues I may not have ran into the other pg complications. I really am not a pill person.....but I learned my lesson a few years ago. In my case, the benefits of taking meds during this pg far outweighed the risks of not taking them.
Email me anytime if you want to chat.
Take care,
Jen 34
HG X2

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DD Ava 4/04
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Prevacid

Postby Mar2 » Aug 03, 2004 3:21 pm

Sandra - I took Prevacid during my pregnancy. It was not as effective as it is when not pg, but I know it helped some because my insurance company took it away from me at 34 weeks and I was miserable. Anyway, my doctor said it is safer than Prilosec during pregnancy, so even though Prilosec worked better for me in the past, Prevacid was definitely better than nothing. I also took Zantac and Nexium. Zantac did nothing and Nexium never had a chance to kick in since I delivered at 35 weeks.

Best of luck while TTCing!
Take care,
Marla
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HG PG 1: miscarried at 16 weeks 3/18/2002
HG PG 2: baby girl 5/29/2003
Step-Son: born 11/26/1990 (acquired May 1997)
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Postby Joci6 » Aug 03, 2004 4:29 pm

Marla-

Thanks for your reply. Do you have GERD or Gastritis? Or is it something you only have to take when pregnant?

Sandra
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Response to Sandra

Postby Mar2 » Aug 05, 2004 8:24 am

Hi Sandra - I have GERD, which is caused/exaccerbated by a hiatal hernia. It was a problem for many years before I was pg. And although I've never tested positive for h pylori, every one else in may family (parents, sisters, aunts, uncles) has been treated for it and ulcers. These gastric problems seem to be hereditary so I guess I'm the lucky one with no ulcers yet;)

I forgot to mention earlier that Pepcid AC also seemed to work for a lot of women when I was pg and posting on the old HuGS board.

I hope you find something that helps keep the GERD under control.

Take care,
Marla
------------------------------------------------
HG PG 1: miscarried at 16 weeks 3/18/2002
HG PG 2: baby girl 5/29/2003
Step-Son: born 11/26/1990 (acquired May 1997)
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Postby danimomof2girls » Aug 05, 2004 10:49 am

Hey you guys,
I just wanted to share a natural medication experience. After my second pregnancy, I would go from constipation to diarrhea and back to constipation. I would have diarrhea more than five times a week! My doctor thought that I needed a colonoscopy but told me that I could try "probiotics" first. Let me tell you how awesome it worked! I is good bacteria in capsule pills and is sold at health food stores such as GNC. I took it for 5 days and started noticing a difference. My doctor thought that my GI track had become sluggish from having the TPN treatments for so long and not being able to hold food down and that I had a build up of pylori or bad bacteria. I just wanted to share how good probiotics worked for me in case any of you guys experience this issue!
I'll post this as an original post as well. With all of you GI issues during pregnancy, I thought I'd share it with you so you can keep it in the back of your mind for later!
Danielle
SURVIVED HG TWICE!
Kaitlyn Elise (11/22/99) - Hospitalized 13 times
Julia Leigh (02/03/02) - Given Zofran SubQ pump
Rec'd TPN's via Hickman Catheter from 7 weeks gestation till birth after failed enteral treatment.
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zoloft and more nausea

Postby Janehh » Oct 11, 2004 9:28 am

Hi everyone--I'm taking zoloft 50 mg; was going to stay off during 1st trimester but when hg hit thought it best to stay on. I'm on 50 mg plus zofran plus unisom & b6, plus home IV. Does anyone feel like the zoloft made them sicker? I feel a bit better on the days I forget to take it! I can't stop though, since if I get depressed that is much much worse. Also, since zofran works against serotonin and zoloft is supposed to kind of do the opposite, is this a problem?
thanks
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Postby Lacey » Nov 18, 2004 4:24 pm

i just wanted to say i found this thread so useful and so reassuring to me. i just joined today and have been obsessing on so many of these same questions. so thanks for everyone being so open.
"I will live by my own policies, I will sleep with a clear conscience, I will sleep in peace." -Sinead O'connor
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