Posted by SLS on January 22, 2001, at 10:28:19
In reply to Re: Research on stopping and starting SSRIs, posted by Shell on January 21, 2001, at 1:14:29
> > Shell: I had heard from my doc that it was okay to take prozac while pregnant as long as it was monitored carefully.
> >
> > Is that not true? Or is it "physicians choice" kind of thing?
>
>
> It probably is. At the time, I was taking it for only OCD (didn't have depression then) and I figured I could deal with the OCD symptoms for those months. I'd dealt with them without medication for years before I was diagnosed, so it wasn't a big deal.
>
> Shell
Hi.Prozac (fluoxetine) has been studied extensively for any potential risk it may have in pregnancy. Results have demonstrated a lack of significant negative effects. There is some thought that it might be desirable to stop taking medications like Prozac during the first trimester and then resume it. Of course the risk of losing efficacy is there for stopping it, but perhaps 3 months allows for a better chance of recapturing the antidepressant effect compared to 9 months.
I am not nearly read up enough to make any kind of recommendation. Neither am I a prospective mother. If I recall, the only event that might occur with the taking of Prozac during pregnance is a statistical risk of slightly premature births. Don't remember. Also, there is the issue of having these drugs appear in breast milk. They do. However, the levels are supposedly very low and does not seem to affect the development of the infant.
There are many different perspectives and professional opinions regarding the use of antidepressants during pregnancy and lactation. I would want as perfectly healthy a child as is possible. However, severe depression of the mother would affect her ability to take care of the child and foster its health and welfare. This may offset by a wide margin the apparantly miniscule risk of Prozac administration. I guess there is sort of balance-scale that you must work with.
Tricyclic antidepressants have been around for over 40 years. They have proven themselves safe. Prozac has been marketed in the U.S. for 12 years and seems to be safe so far.
I wish I could have provided more detail and some sort of consensus of opinion. I can't. I wouldn't know what to do if I were you.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:52035
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010122/msgs/52218.html