Hello,
I am sorry if this message ends up in the wrong inbox - I am having trouble emailing it through.
I have a question about medications in pregnancy and breastfeeding. I suffered from severe anxiety during pregnancy and after the birth of my first child and am contemplating falling pregnant with Bub #2. Before conceiving, I want to have a wellness plan in case I become ill again.
I tried Zoloft post-pregnancy when I became unwell last time and despite taking it for a number of weeks and increasing my dosage, it was not successful. I ended up taking Prozac 10mg which worked well but I lost weight on this drug and more importantly, was extremely concerned about the level of the drug passing through my breast milk. My concern about the level of Prozac passing through my breast milk meant that I delayed treatment for much longer than I should have. My doctor has suggested I trial Citalopram (Celexa or Cipramil) prior to falling pregnant as it has a better profile for pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Firstly, does it have a better safety profile for pregnancy? I understand that Prozac has been around a lot longer and therefore I would have thought that it potentially was better in pregnancy? I also thought that it would be better to take 10mg of Prozac than potentially a higher dosage of another drug but my doctor said that I can't think about it like this as each drug has a different molecular structure?
I understand that Citalopram is better in breastfeeding but thought it might be better to trial Lexapro as it has an even better profile? Or is the Lexapro better for breastfeeding and not necessarily for pregnancy?
I completely understand that the overall advice would be to take the drug that works. However, given that I have time to trial drugs prior to falling pregnant, and that weight loss was an issue with the Prozac (I don't want to be pregnant and losing weight!), I want to use this time to make an informed evidenced based decision whilst I am well so that if I became extremely anxious again, I would already have a potential plan in place. My doctor could not answer these questions when I asked and suggested I do my own research and that ultimately it was my decision.I would phone your help-line but I live outside of the USA.
Help and advice would be most welcome!
I am sorry if this message ends up in the wrong inbox - I am having trouble emailing it through.
I have a question about medications in pregnancy and breastfeeding. I suffered from severe anxiety during pregnancy and after the birth of my first child and am contemplating falling pregnant with Bub #2. Before conceiving, I want to have a wellness plan in case I become ill again.
I tried Zoloft post-pregnancy when I became unwell last time and despite taking it for a number of weeks and increasing my dosage, it was not successful. I ended up taking Prozac 10mg which worked well but I lost weight on this drug and more importantly, was extremely concerned about the level of the drug passing through my breast milk. My concern about the level of Prozac passing through my breast milk meant that I delayed treatment for much longer than I should have. My doctor has suggested I trial Citalopram (Celexa or Cipramil) prior to falling pregnant as it has a better profile for pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Firstly, does it have a better safety profile for pregnancy? I understand that Prozac has been around a lot longer and therefore I would have thought that it potentially was better in pregnancy? I also thought that it would be better to take 10mg of Prozac than potentially a higher dosage of another drug but my doctor said that I can't think about it like this as each drug has a different molecular structure?
I understand that Citalopram is better in breastfeeding but thought it might be better to trial Lexapro as it has an even better profile? Or is the Lexapro better for breastfeeding and not necessarily for pregnancy?
I completely understand that the overall advice would be to take the drug that works. However, given that I have time to trial drugs prior to falling pregnant, and that weight loss was an issue with the Prozac (I don't want to be pregnant and losing weight!), I want to use this time to make an informed evidenced based decision whilst I am well so that if I became extremely anxious again, I would already have a potential plan in place. My doctor could not answer these questions when I asked and suggested I do my own research and that ultimately it was my decision.I would phone your help-line but I live outside of the USA.
Help and advice would be most welcome!
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