meds and nursing

[JamieB]

I am going in to see my nurse practitioner this afternoon hoping to get meds for PPD. I have absolutely no faith in her either, and would not trust her to prescribe me meds that I can take while nursing. Are they all safe? I'm in Canada if that makes a difference.

Also, DS is almost 9 months and I hate hate hate nursing. I really want to stop but it is just not in my bature to make a huge decision like that. Would PPD cause me to hate nursing? Might it get better? Maybe I should stop nursing to take the meds? What about TTC while on these meds. DH and I are not preventing right now. Should I wait until AF shows before I start any meds?

Thanks

[mom0810]

Zoloft is the safest and most commonly prescribed. You can check out Kellymom for more information, or check out Dr. Hale's breasfeeding meds and safety page.

Undetectable amounts of zoloft make it into your milk. It's incredibly safe, and very effective.

Do you have a therapist, also? That would be a key in getting good treatment.

[mom0810]

Also, yes, ppd could make you dislike or hate nursing. Please start the meds before making a choice about weaning. You may be really surprised to find that you are loving it after a couple of weeks.

It takes a couple of weeks for the meds to really start working, so be patient. Some things you could experience when starting meds are increased anxiety, insomnia, the feeling of heart beating fast... but these are all normal and will go away in a couple of days. You could get an upset tummy, too. But that will pass quickly and you will be on the road to recovery very quickly.

[MonkeysRUs]

The website breastfeedingmadesimple (based on the book) has excellent information. The link is below:

http://www.breastfeedingmadesimple.com/

If you click on "depression" on the menu on the left hand side, there is all kinds of information, including handouts for moms, and a resource guide for health care professionals. Everything is open source, meaning it can be freely shared. The resource guide (click on the link titled "A Breastfeeding-Friendly Approach to Depression in New Mothers: A Curriculum and Resource Guide for Health Care Professionals") contains wonderful info that can be shared with your NP (and would make great reading for yourself too). There is lots of info on treatments that don't involve drugs. Kathleen Kendall-Tacket has done a lot of research in this area, and has found that treatments such as omega-3 supplements, St. John's Wort, light therapy, exercise and psychotherapy are all very effective. I attended a seminar that Kathleen did on this topic, and it was really interesting. The resource guide also contains info on medications for depression that are compatible with breastfeeding.

[Surfacing]

Hi Jamie, I'm also in Ontario, Canada. Do you know about Motherisk? They are located in the Hospital For Sick Children in Toronto. If you call them, they have up to date info on meds and nursing. You can ask them about meds that your NP is considering prescribing for you. In the U.S. the doctors seem to like to prescribe Zoloft for PG and nursing.

Here is the link to the Motherisk website and it has a few 1-800 #'s listed there.

http://www.motherisk.org/women/index.jsp

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Zoloft is considered the safest to take while bfing and it is often prescribe to pg woman as well.

[JamieB]

Thanks for thereplies everyone. I have tried Zoloft before and I didn't react well to it. My NP ended up prescribing Celexa but thought maybe I should try to get along without meds first. I haven't decided yet but am not rushing into anything. I actually feel a lot better after my appt., I think just knowing that there is hope.

Thanks for the info on Motherisk. I will check that out and then go from there on whether or not to wait for AF or not.

Thanks again. It is so nice to be able to come here.

[goodygumdrops]

I am taking Celexa for ppd and anxiety and I'm still nursing. I am feeling 100% better since I've been on it about 8 weeks. I did experience some side effects of increased anxiety when I first started it but I was a mess then anyway. Dr started me at 5mg because I was so sensitive. When we finally got to the therapeutic dose of 20 mg, I noticed a big difference. I am actually going to increase my dose to 30 mg because I am still having some intrusive/ruminating thoughts sometimes but I am feeling almost no physical symptoms of anxiety. Oh, and I also showed a sensitivity to zoloft, too. But I think it was because my ppd and anxiety were so bad that I was super sensitive and we started the dose too high for my body.

I would go ahead and start the meds. I think you will feel much better. My son hasn't shown any reaction to the meds, whatsoever.