Breastfeeding and antidepressants (need an answer quickly please!)

1322 Views 20 Replies 10 Participants Last post by judejude, Apr 27, 2006

Lousli

Discussion Starter · Apr 14, 2006

My daughter is 15.5 months old, and still nurses a ton. I have an appointment tomorrow to find out about antidepressants. I know in theory my doctor should know what is considered safe, but I want to double check. I have heard Zoloft is the safest, but has a high incidence of sexual side effects, which is a huge concern for me. Wellbutrin has a very low incindence of this side effect, but I'm having a hard time finding breastfeeding info on it. Any experience in this area?

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tm2840

· #2 · Apr 14, 2006

Just my personal experience. I took Wellbutrin when DS was a couple years old and it didn't affect him. I took Zoloft from before DD was born until she was two or so, and it had no effects on her. The sexual side effects from Zoloft were MUCH more minimal than Paxil (which I tried in a moneysaving effort a few months ago, and finally gave up and weaned off to a diet and supplement solution that is working for me).

You can always try the Zoloft, as it has at least been tested, and if it's not working for you (every person responds so differently) then you can try something else.

The straight SSRIs (not the newer antidepressants) have a lot more history with breastfeeding. While not perfect, they at least only act upon one brain activity. the newer ones seem more scary to me, the way they mix up chemicals and brain activity with different half lives etc.)

Have you checked Tom Hale's site for his FAQs on breastfeeding an medication? I think there is also a Canadian site called MotherWatch.com that has a lot of good info (but I can't guarantee I got that right as it's been three years since I did much digging into that site).

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perl

· #3 · Apr 14, 2006

Been taking Zoloft for years now and I'm still a hound

Here's the link to the Hale site - http://neonatal.ama.ttuhsc.edu/cgi-b...cus/discus.cgi

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familylove

· #4 · Apr 14, 2006

BTDT....but I took Lexapro while nursing (no noticable affect on DS) and Celexa while pregnant. The link below is originally from a site I like called Dr Ivan's Depression Central (strange name, good info

) There is a section on Women and Depression with a few links to topics on breastfeeding while taking meds.

http://www.womensmentalhealth.org/to...stfeeding.html

As a pp said, Zoloft seems to be a safe choice b/c it has been around so long and there is more data available on its affects.

HTH!

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moonshine

· #5 · Apr 22, 2006

I have tried Prozax, Lexapro and now Zoloft while bfing, all considered safe. So far I am having the least amount of side effects on Zoloft. Wellbutrin is considered not safe while bfing, according the info my doc and I looked at.

Lousli

Discussion Starter · #6 · Apr 22, 2006

I looked at Thomas Hale's site. He says that Wellbutrin is not his first choice, but not that it is unsafe. The contraindications are seizure disorders in mom or infant and that it can affect milk supply. Thanks for answering though!

Lousli

Discussion Starter · #7 · Apr 22, 2006

I actually just went to his site and looked up Lexapro, since I'd never heard of it before. He says that many women who use it have reported excessive sleepiness in their babes and he discourages it's use! Just thought people might want to look into it more, his website is above...

MCatLvrMom2A&X

· #8 · Apr 22, 2006

I think Zoloft has been the safest it is what i used for ppd both times. I did serzone with dd the last 5 months because of libido issues w/zoloft.

moonshine

· #9 · Apr 22, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lousli
I actually just went to his site and looked up Lexapro, since I'd never heard of it before. He says that many women who use it have reported excessive sleepiness in their babes and he discourages it's use! Just thought people might want to look into it more, his website is above...

The reason I wanted to get off of it is because of MY excessive sleepiness. I am not a napper, but I started napping EVERY DAY. And a really horrible, heavy sleep. Didn't notice anything in DD, but then she is 28 months old, so she is obviously not nursing like a newborn.

Lousli

Discussion Starter · #10 · Apr 22, 2006

So far I haven't noticed any difference in my daughter, but it has only been a week. So if I notice any side effects, I would definitely use something else. I just thought it might be a good idea to keep this thread going, since it seems to be a pretty common concern for many women.

Naughty Dingo

· #11 · Apr 22, 2006

I have taken zoloft at lower doses 25-50 mg daily, and have not had any sexual side effects.

Good luck
Nd

JuniperMama

· #12 · Apr 22, 2006

I got on zoloft when ds was 5 mos because of pp anxiety. It helped and did not affect him but I had NO sex drive. NONE.

When DS was over a year and not nursing constantly, I switched to Wellbutrin. My ARNP (nurse practitioner), who specializes in PPD treatment, felt that Wellbutrin was fine for a child who is not nursing round the clock. DS was still nursing 4-6x/day at that point and never showed any ill side effects.

Good luck. Hope you get some PPD relief.

moonshine

· #13 · Apr 26, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Naughty Dingo
I have taken zoloft at lower doses 25-50 mg daily, and have not had any sexual side effects.

Good luck
Nd

You were on this low of a dose? I started at 50, am now at 100, and my therapist says a "normal dose" is 200-250mg.

Naughty Dingo

· #14 · Apr 26, 2006

Yeah, 25 mg per day is just about the perfect dose for me. I do get some side effects, but they tend to be very positive for me (euphoric feelings, lots of energy)

I think at that low of a dose, there may be less of an impact from some of the other side effects.

I started on zoloft actually when I was pregnant with my second DD. I am sure that was a factor in the dose. But I never had to increase except for a short period of extreme stress last winter when I went up to 50 for about a month.

The 25 mg dose is what is used to treat pms in women who have severe issues. It is dosed in a 2 week on/off schedule in relation to the woman's cycle. Pretty interesting.

ND

Naughty Dingo

· #15 · Apr 26, 2006

Also wanted to add, since my child was on zoloft via my use from before she was born, it is hard to say if she had any effects. But she acted like a normal baby in terms of her alertness, sleep, appetite, etc.

ND

perl

· #16 · Apr 26, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by moonshine
You were on this low of a dose? I started at 50, am now at 100, and my therapist says a "normal dose" is 200-250mg.

Eek! 200 mg is the upper end - anything over that is off-label, usually for severe anxiety disorders (namely OCD). Most people are on 50-100mg for mood symptoms; higher doses are helpful for anxiety symptoms.

btw - love the hat, naughty dingo!!

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moonshine

· #17 · Apr 26, 2006

Hmmmmm.

:

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Yinsum

· #18 · Apr 27, 2006

I took zoloft while nursing for 10 months. DD was a little over 18 months and I nursed until she was 3. I would like to add something that I wish someone had told me. While zoloft seemed to have no negative effects on dd, I believe it contributed to a 23 pound weight gain for me. I say this because I was exercising regularly and my appetite decreased. When I begn to do online research I found I was not the only one with that problem.
I don't mean to be a downer, but I wish I knew that side of things. My doctor played that down. That weight gain did little to decrease my anxiety.

judejude

· #19 · Apr 27, 2006

This is a great topic.
I am TTC but am on wellbutrin and celexa. I had PPD with my daughter 10 years ago and I never got help. It was very difficult. C-section after planned home birth and then she was born with Spina Bifida and was in the hosp. for a month. We didn't start out very well, not to mention I have sttruggled with depression my whole life.

Anyway, when TTC a couple years ago there was a good study that came out about some of the SSRI's including Celexa and apparently the psychiatrist felt like this study gave the go ahead for taking it while pregnant and breastfeeding, although she acted like breastfeeding was worse with the Celexa, but she may have just been anti-bf. Anyway, I just read and was also told that a new study just came out now which says the opposite of that study and so apparently they are back to saying that your risks with the depression has to far out weigh the risks. Of course most docs think the simple answer is to just give the kid formula.

Anyway, due to all this it has me very confused about what I will do the second time around.
I do know however that Wellbutrin is not a good one to take and is not recommended at all.
I also worry about risks to the baby that you can't see. You know they've also talked about learning disabilities and different stuff like that later on in childhood.

I do agree with what someone else said about the older drugs being better---I totally agree with that. The newer stuff, no matter how well it works, doesn't have as much data about this issue. At least they know a little bit more about those.

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Lousli

Discussion Starter · #20 · Apr 27, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by judejude
I do know however that Wellbutrin is not a good one to take and is not recommended at all.

I would urge you to do more research on this, and come to your own conclusion. Dr. Thomas Hale, author of Medications and Mother's Milk, is considered probably the most well-respected Dr. in this field. He does say that wellbutrin is not his first choice for breastfeeding mothers, but does not say that it isn't safe. The risks he describes are that it is not to be used in mothers/children with siezure disorders, and that it may decrease milk supply in some women.

It may not be the best choice for you, especially if you can do okay on a drug that has been studied more thoroughly, such as Zoloft. But in my case I believe it is a better option since it does not have sexual side effects and I am nursing a much older child, not an infant.

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