shining_star
11-09-2005, 12:46 AM
hi everyone I have just found out I'm pregnant due 4th July 2006 what about my meds?? Obviously I can't just stop them or can I? I've researched omega 3 fish oil and it has some success with bipolar does my Pdoc perscribe the omega 3 just like any other med?? other than that how do meds and pregnancy go??? btw is anyone else pregnant?? :bouncing: :bouncing:
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NodiGoiterGirl
11-09-2005, 01:52 PM
Congratulations!!!!
If I was in your position I would ask the doctor what to do about the meds. Some may be okay and some not, I don't know. It would be best to discuss your options with the doc before making any decisions. What meds are you on?
Good luck to you!
Nodi
If I was in your position I would ask the doctor what to do about the meds. Some may be okay and some not, I don't know. It would be best to discuss your options with the doc before making any decisions. What meds are you on?
Good luck to you!
Nodi
shining_star
11-09-2005, 06:17 PM
Thankyou NodiGoiterGirl
My Pdoc is on holidays until December {I have an appointment 12th} I'm taking Efexor 150mg and Seroquel 75mg
any help you can give would be appreciated
xxx
Shining_Star
My Pdoc is on holidays until December {I have an appointment 12th} I'm taking Efexor 150mg and Seroquel 75mg
any help you can give would be appreciated
xxx
Shining_Star
NodiGoiterGirl
11-10-2005, 11:07 AM
I would try and get in with another doctor. Some info that I read said effexor could be real bad for the baby if taken in the third trimester. I've read that you should avoid taking seroquel if you're thinking about getting pregnant, but there aren't any studies yet.
Try and talk to the nurse, see what they say. Maybe someone else who has gone through your type of situation will respond. You may want to make a new post asking about safe meds to take while pregnant.
Nodi
Try and talk to the nurse, see what they say. Maybe someone else who has gone through your type of situation will respond. You may want to make a new post asking about safe meds to take while pregnant.
Nodi
dragonprincess
11-10-2005, 01:59 PM
ellow shining star .well I just had my son june the13th and am also bipoler and was an meds . It was so hard but I made it through alive :eek: ;) .My doctor had to take me off all bipoler meds because of the risk to the baby.so had to find other was to control my bipoler.so if you need anything just ask :D . dragonprincess.
Ruth6:11
11-10-2005, 03:21 PM
You need real medical advice on something as important as this.
If your doctor's office can't refer you to another doctor I would either walk into an urgent care facility or an E.R.
This is important stuff - please don't delay.
:angel:
If your doctor's office can't refer you to another doctor I would either walk into an urgent care facility or an E.R.
This is important stuff - please don't delay.
:angel:
shining_star
11-11-2005, 02:01 AM
thanks for the advice...I'll contact my Pdoc's office on Monday and see what they suggest.
DragonPrincess - congrats on the birth of your son- did you go off all meds for your pregnancy? did you have probs with mania&depression?? any help you can give I'd be grateful for.
xxx tc xxx
Shining_Star
DragonPrincess - congrats on the birth of your son- did you go off all meds for your pregnancy? did you have probs with mania&depression?? any help you can give I'd be grateful for.
xxx tc xxx
Shining_Star
mudhound
11-11-2005, 06:39 AM
I have heard that the meds were a no-no during this time. Well, at least some of them. Get with your dr or pharmist asap.
dragonprincess
11-12-2005, 02:13 AM
hi shining star yes I was taken off all bp meds during my pregancy they did give me ativan at 5 mgs .Yes I did get the mania and bad deppresionand it was a hard time but very worth it when things get out off control with your harmons a long walk was the only thing that helped me .If you need support throught this time I wil try and help you through this it's going to bbe hard but you can do it it is worth it you'll see. ;) :wave: in my thoughts dragonprincess
ToughTimes
11-12-2005, 06:11 PM
Congratulations on your pregnancy. When I was pregnant with my son they made me stop my Depakote. They let me take my Paxil along with something else but I can't really rememeber, think it was Xyprexa or something with an X. Anyways, I suffered from HORRIBLE depression and they kept upping my Paxil dose but it did not help. Finally I made the decision to stop all meds. And I seemed to do a lot better. I have heard that when you are pregnant that the hormones seem to help your bipolar moods. I personally think that it is good to go all natural and stop the meds so that your baby will not have any issues. But if you need to be on meds then your doctor will know what is safe to take when you are expecting. Good luck with your pregnancy; I wish you the best and you will be in my thoughts. My son was born July 2, close to your due date!!! :)
Aintgotaclue
11-15-2005, 04:38 PM
Hi,
I'm bi polar (and not sure what other lables they've slapped on me) and 100% believe I'm pregnant ( still too early for a positive test and a long story )
I'm in the process of cognitive therapy but not been on any meds for years. I've just come of fthe contraceptive pill and believe I conceived within the same week and now feel I'm totally insane ! My hormones are doubly sky high and I've had loads of early pregnancy symptoms to deal with.
The problem is ..... I am terrified ( not about the pregnancy - it was planned ) I am absolutely terrified at the thought of even stepping out the front door, people looking or touching me. I've always had panic attacks, social phobia and all the fears but now I'm terrified! I'm in a complete world of my own - totall spaced out - sever mania one minute and the next curled into a ball to hide. Yesterday I had hallucinations ! A stange tingly, electric, jumping feeling in the pit of my stomach, jumping higher and higher up to my throat and when it reached the top and came out my mouth .... I felt like I was falling. I mean falling as in, out off an aeroplane head first at 20 000 feet still with this weird electric feeling. ( almost like immense doses of adrenaline ) I was absolutely terrified! This was my first hallucination so did nt know what was happening and I was really weird feeling, completely on another planet. My terror was nt the falling though, it was the strange uncontrollable feelings in my body and then the fear. Obviously I freaked out, big time. I could feel the feeling coming so was curling into a ball and ripping shreds out my face and head trying to hide from it. I truely believed I had gone mad and would be getting carried out in a straight jacket. So then came the next set of terror and uncontrollable grief. I had a really good friend with me and it was nt in public. I was still semi conciously alert and could explain to my friend what was going on and the feelings ....then I realised I was having a bad trip. Why it was happening was beyond me but I managed to lift the bad trip. I'd felt strange for a while before but the bad trip was nt too long. When I'd managed to shake the badness away I went to the bathroom only for it to start again only this time tiny little lights were shooting out from the floor. I new i was hallucinating and immediately took the giggles, This went on for about an hour but without anymore hallucinating. I'm terrified, what is wrong and why has this never happened before ...... ok, my hormones are sky high but no one else on the pregnacy boards are hallucinating !
I'm scared to tell my therapist and dont want to blab about the pegnancy till I get positive test result and am a bit further along. Does amyone know if it is the surge of hormones or has my condition simply got worse.
I'm bi polar (and not sure what other lables they've slapped on me) and 100% believe I'm pregnant ( still too early for a positive test and a long story )
I'm in the process of cognitive therapy but not been on any meds for years. I've just come of fthe contraceptive pill and believe I conceived within the same week and now feel I'm totally insane ! My hormones are doubly sky high and I've had loads of early pregnancy symptoms to deal with.
The problem is ..... I am terrified ( not about the pregnancy - it was planned ) I am absolutely terrified at the thought of even stepping out the front door, people looking or touching me. I've always had panic attacks, social phobia and all the fears but now I'm terrified! I'm in a complete world of my own - totall spaced out - sever mania one minute and the next curled into a ball to hide. Yesterday I had hallucinations ! A stange tingly, electric, jumping feeling in the pit of my stomach, jumping higher and higher up to my throat and when it reached the top and came out my mouth .... I felt like I was falling. I mean falling as in, out off an aeroplane head first at 20 000 feet still with this weird electric feeling. ( almost like immense doses of adrenaline ) I was absolutely terrified! This was my first hallucination so did nt know what was happening and I was really weird feeling, completely on another planet. My terror was nt the falling though, it was the strange uncontrollable feelings in my body and then the fear. Obviously I freaked out, big time. I could feel the feeling coming so was curling into a ball and ripping shreds out my face and head trying to hide from it. I truely believed I had gone mad and would be getting carried out in a straight jacket. So then came the next set of terror and uncontrollable grief. I had a really good friend with me and it was nt in public. I was still semi conciously alert and could explain to my friend what was going on and the feelings ....then I realised I was having a bad trip. Why it was happening was beyond me but I managed to lift the bad trip. I'd felt strange for a while before but the bad trip was nt too long. When I'd managed to shake the badness away I went to the bathroom only for it to start again only this time tiny little lights were shooting out from the floor. I new i was hallucinating and immediately took the giggles, This went on for about an hour but without anymore hallucinating. I'm terrified, what is wrong and why has this never happened before ...... ok, my hormones are sky high but no one else on the pregnacy boards are hallucinating !
I'm scared to tell my therapist and dont want to blab about the pegnancy till I get positive test result and am a bit further along. Does amyone know if it is the surge of hormones or has my condition simply got worse.
lilly5
11-15-2005, 08:47 PM
when I decided to get pregnant 10 years ago, I went off all my meds (prozac, xanax and depakote, at the time). The pregnancy was normal (#3) but I was depressed for 9 months. For myself, I had to go off the meds for the sake of the baby's health, but it is a definitely a decision that needs to be made with the help of your doctor. I chose to go without the meds, but you may not have a choice. Or they may lower your dose or make a change. But ultimately, the decision is yours and the baby's father's. Good luck and G bless you all. Lilly
Zbaby
11-16-2005, 04:49 PM
The first trimester is crucial in terms of drug implications and normal development of an embryo. If you can ease off the medications (in part or fully), that would be the safest thing to do for the baby.
One thing to remember is that most anti-seizure medications are very dangerous to the baby. These medications are often prescribed as mood stabilizers to bipolar people like us. Lamictal and Tegritol (or its latest version Equettro) should not be taken at any time during pregnancy.
In some cases, it's worth the calculated risk to stay on anti-depressants -- theoretically. I have seen some beautiful and perfectly healthy babies born from mothers who took Celexa and Lexapro during the 2nd and 3rd trimester. However, I've heard that anti-depressants alone can do more harm than good for BP people.
My preference when I decided to have a child was to completely rid my body of drugs. That meant staying off medication for 3 months before conceiving my child. My intention was to go through the pregnancy without drugs.
Soon after I got off Celexa, I experienced a few hypomanic episodes. My behavior was so inappropriate that I lost my job. It bothered me so much that I sunk into a depression, which was exacerbated by the fact that my husband and I were moving to a new city mid-pregnancy and I had to start a new job within a week of the move. Oh, yeah, and it was a banner month in terms of hot weather -- 17 days of 100+ degree weather in the month that we moved. Did I mention that my new job involved outside sales where I spent most of my day driving to different businesses around town? I was 4 months pregnant and miserable in a job I hated and in a town where I had no friends. It got so bad that I orchestrated my own job termination, and I'd only held down the job for 6 weeks or less.
Long story short, I finally gave in and started up with Celexa in my 6th month. They gave me twice the dose I used to get due to my increased body weight and the sorry mental shape I was in.
The Celexa helped a little, but not enough to fully get me out of my depression. However, I shudder to think what might have happened if I had stayed drug-free. Let's just say that if a semi-truck came barreling down a road at 80 mph and I was in its direct path, I probably would have stood still rather than run to safety.
It's anyone's guess how hormones will affect a bipolar person when they're pregnant. All I know is that it's been 2 1/2 years since I conceived my son, and my mental state is much worse than it was pre-pregnancy. The only respite I had from my tumultous psychological problems happened during the first six months of my son's life. My world revolved around him and I felt so blessed to be his mother. Then my world came crashing down again. At this point my docs diagnosed me as bipolar. I've had glimpses of normalcy here and there, but my drug regimen has not been perfected and it frustrates the hell out of me.
But I digress. The only advice I can give to you is that your baby's health depends on your health. It can be extremely harmful if you're drug-free for the baby but so distraught that you can't take care of yourself otherwise. Weigh your options carefully and be honest with yourself about your limitations. Good luck!
One thing to remember is that most anti-seizure medications are very dangerous to the baby. These medications are often prescribed as mood stabilizers to bipolar people like us. Lamictal and Tegritol (or its latest version Equettro) should not be taken at any time during pregnancy.
In some cases, it's worth the calculated risk to stay on anti-depressants -- theoretically. I have seen some beautiful and perfectly healthy babies born from mothers who took Celexa and Lexapro during the 2nd and 3rd trimester. However, I've heard that anti-depressants alone can do more harm than good for BP people.
My preference when I decided to have a child was to completely rid my body of drugs. That meant staying off medication for 3 months before conceiving my child. My intention was to go through the pregnancy without drugs.
Soon after I got off Celexa, I experienced a few hypomanic episodes. My behavior was so inappropriate that I lost my job. It bothered me so much that I sunk into a depression, which was exacerbated by the fact that my husband and I were moving to a new city mid-pregnancy and I had to start a new job within a week of the move. Oh, yeah, and it was a banner month in terms of hot weather -- 17 days of 100+ degree weather in the month that we moved. Did I mention that my new job involved outside sales where I spent most of my day driving to different businesses around town? I was 4 months pregnant and miserable in a job I hated and in a town where I had no friends. It got so bad that I orchestrated my own job termination, and I'd only held down the job for 6 weeks or less.
Long story short, I finally gave in and started up with Celexa in my 6th month. They gave me twice the dose I used to get due to my increased body weight and the sorry mental shape I was in.
The Celexa helped a little, but not enough to fully get me out of my depression. However, I shudder to think what might have happened if I had stayed drug-free. Let's just say that if a semi-truck came barreling down a road at 80 mph and I was in its direct path, I probably would have stood still rather than run to safety.
It's anyone's guess how hormones will affect a bipolar person when they're pregnant. All I know is that it's been 2 1/2 years since I conceived my son, and my mental state is much worse than it was pre-pregnancy. The only respite I had from my tumultous psychological problems happened during the first six months of my son's life. My world revolved around him and I felt so blessed to be his mother. Then my world came crashing down again. At this point my docs diagnosed me as bipolar. I've had glimpses of normalcy here and there, but my drug regimen has not been perfected and it frustrates the hell out of me.
But I digress. The only advice I can give to you is that your baby's health depends on your health. It can be extremely harmful if you're drug-free for the baby but so distraught that you can't take care of yourself otherwise. Weigh your options carefully and be honest with yourself about your limitations. Good luck!
dragonprincess
11-16-2005, 09:14 PM
Hello everything that you have heard here is true it is going to be a very very hard road ahed .but with support you can make it through .I used the heath board here alot .It help to know that people out here have gone through the same thing that your going and don't be afraid to ask whatevere you need to .I must of been suicidel acouple of times and my friends here helped me get my head and harmons togther see i was on no meds for my bp becuse i am also on meds for my sezuire condition which was getting worse because of the pregancy and the bp meds were makng it worse plus going through a divorce didn't help anything plue my ex fighting with my current man to get me back made me worse . but I made it so can you .here to help u throught this like evrone helped me . In my thoughs dragonprincess :angel:
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Pregnant Angel
11-19-2005, 05:39 PM
Thankyou NodiGoiterGirl
My Pdoc is on holidays until December {I have an appointment 12th} I'm taking Efexor 150mg and Seroquel 75mg
any help you can give would be appreciated
xxx
Shining_Star
I am severly Bi-Polar and I am going through treatments with different meds. I just also found out that I am pregnant.11 wks. I have such bad problems of getting out, I can't get a job and so on... So I went to the hospital hoping that I could get set up with some medication so I could be a mother with a job, before I have the baby. My psych said that I can't take Seroquil b/c there are studies suggesting that during the first trimester the babys spine might not close.There were other options, BUT with other side effects, and none were even worth risking. Cleff Lip, and lots of birth defects. I will know for sure this thursday if there are any that aren't risky, and let you know what I found. Oh and he didn't want to start me on the newer drugs because he didn't believe there were enough tests to show safety. Et least my doc was truthful!! :confused:
My Pdoc is on holidays until December {I have an appointment 12th} I'm taking Efexor 150mg and Seroquel 75mg
any help you can give would be appreciated
xxx
Shining_Star
I am severly Bi-Polar and I am going through treatments with different meds. I just also found out that I am pregnant.11 wks. I have such bad problems of getting out, I can't get a job and so on... So I went to the hospital hoping that I could get set up with some medication so I could be a mother with a job, before I have the baby. My psych said that I can't take Seroquil b/c there are studies suggesting that during the first trimester the babys spine might not close.There were other options, BUT with other side effects, and none were even worth risking. Cleff Lip, and lots of birth defects. I will know for sure this thursday if there are any that aren't risky, and let you know what I found. Oh and he didn't want to start me on the newer drugs because he didn't believe there were enough tests to show safety. Et least my doc was truthful!! :confused:
Pregnant Angel
11-19-2005, 05:44 PM
[QUOTE=Aintgotaclue]Hi,
I'm bi polar (and not sure what other lables they've slapped on me) and 100% believe I'm pregnant ( still too early for a positive test and a long story )
I'm in the process of cognitive therapy but not been on any meds for years. I've just come of fthe contraceptive pill and believe I conceived within the same week and now feel I'm totally insane ! My hormones are doubly sky high and I've had loads of early pregnancy symptoms to deal with.
I was wondering, have you ever been diagnosed as obsessive-compulsive. (But also bi-polar.) Because my ex I was in school with him and he would trip out like that and you knew he wasn't faking, or on drugs!! If you don't know the simptoms just reply and ask.
I'm bi polar (and not sure what other lables they've slapped on me) and 100% believe I'm pregnant ( still too early for a positive test and a long story )
I'm in the process of cognitive therapy but not been on any meds for years. I've just come of fthe contraceptive pill and believe I conceived within the same week and now feel I'm totally insane ! My hormones are doubly sky high and I've had loads of early pregnancy symptoms to deal with.
I was wondering, have you ever been diagnosed as obsessive-compulsive. (But also bi-polar.) Because my ex I was in school with him and he would trip out like that and you knew he wasn't faking, or on drugs!! If you don't know the simptoms just reply and ask.
GatsbyLuvr1920
11-19-2005, 06:54 PM
First off, congratulations, shiningstar! :bouncing: You definitely need to see your doctor right away. The only thing I know for sure is this: I don't want to worry you, but it has been proven that valproic acid (Depakote) is a common teratogen that causes autism. There has been much research done on this, and rats injected with valproic acid in the womb are used as an animal model of autism. I imagine that if Depakote causes this, the other mood stabilizers might. It is a scary decision because you don't want to harm your baby, but you don't want to risk having an episode, particularly a manic episode. I honestly don't know about the safety of the atypical anti-psychotics (Zyprexa, Seroquel, Risperdal) or lithium and other mood stabilizers, but I do know that the sooner you talk to your doctor, the better. He/she will be able to safely judge what meds you can take during your pregnancy (if any), and set up options if you would become manic. Good luck, God bless, and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask! I wish you and your baby all the best! :angel:
-GatsbyLuvr1920-
-GatsbyLuvr1920-
Aintgotaclue
11-19-2005, 06:56 PM
Hey pregnant angel,
Done a bit of research on OCD, and yeh, I've deffinately got that one lol. Doc diagnosed me with Social Phobia the other week too. Not exactly sure whats wrong with me but I'll find out on Monday morning cause I'm totally going to screw up his stupid 45minute session anyway. He really rattled me last week so I'm going to cause it !
The change in hormones deffinatley were a factor though ! :confused:
Done a bit of research on OCD, and yeh, I've deffinately got that one lol. Doc diagnosed me with Social Phobia the other week too. Not exactly sure whats wrong with me but I'll find out on Monday morning cause I'm totally going to screw up his stupid 45minute session anyway. He really rattled me last week so I'm going to cause it !
The change in hormones deffinatley were a factor though ! :confused:
MTB2
11-29-2005, 05:56 PM
Congrats to you! I am pregnant and also due in July 2006. My husband and I decided I should go off medication while we were trying and subsequently pregnant. I was on Lamictal, Wellbutrin, Lexapro, and Xanax as needed. I went off everything except the Wellbutrin. I know the SSRI's are pretty safe, Lithium has a small percentage of risk of birth defects (heart defects in particular) and Lamictal not enough is known, all the others I don't know really know about. I stopped Lamictal because it's so new and there aren't enough studies to determine the effects it could have on a fetus. I wasn't willing to take that risk. I have been doing pretty well but who knows whats to come. I know from what I have read that the most crucial time is the first trimester so I would get in AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to see someone.
I didn't look at the date you posted so sorry I am answering this so late....I hope you already saw a doctor about this issue!
I didn't look at the date you posted so sorry I am answering this so late....I hope you already saw a doctor about this issue!
jkn191
12-14-2005, 02:09 PM
Hi all.
I'm new here, and my Dr. told me to look into and seriosly consider what I want to do because my signfigant other and I want to try for a baby. I'm on 25 mg of Seroquel and 60 mg of Prozac. I was told to think about the Seroquel more cuz according to my doctor, it's not been tested throughly or something. He didn't give me much info, and I haven't found much on the internet. I'm gonna call around, but if I don't find much more info or hear anything good, I think I am going to go off of it when I get pregnant or before if it is reccomened by a doctor, and then rely on just the prozac again.
~Jen
I'm new here, and my Dr. told me to look into and seriosly consider what I want to do because my signfigant other and I want to try for a baby. I'm on 25 mg of Seroquel and 60 mg of Prozac. I was told to think about the Seroquel more cuz according to my doctor, it's not been tested throughly or something. He didn't give me much info, and I haven't found much on the internet. I'm gonna call around, but if I don't find much more info or hear anything good, I think I am going to go off of it when I get pregnant or before if it is reccomened by a doctor, and then rely on just the prozac again.
~Jen