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CYMBALTA & PREGNANCY
Last post 06-18-2008 6:05 PM by DaisyMay. 2 replies.
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Hi Kaci34 and all the ladies out there reading this.
I am a 39 year-old married woman who has not been able to conceive during my 8 years of marriage. My husband and I are now undergoing preparations for in-vitro fertilization. To complicate matters, I too, suffer from depression. My infertility-specialist, INSISTED on a "medical clearance" from a Psychiatrist regarding Cymbalta use in pregnancy. I began taking Cymbalta 60mg almost 3 years ago. After about 3 months of taking Cymbalta, I asked my family doctor to decrease my dosage to 30mg. My doctor indicated that the "normal" Cymbalta dose for an adult is 60mg, but agreed to decrease it as long as I stayed "in-tune" with my body and promised to increase it back to 60mg if I noticed a change for the worse. I've been taking Cymbalta 30mg for 2 1/2 years now. I seen a Psychiatrist yesterday to talk about the risks of Cymbalta use in pregnancy and learned the following: Because Cymbalta is a relatively new drug it has NOT been studied long enough for the Psychiatrist to recommend continuation of the drug during pregnancy. She recommended that I consider switching to a safer and longer studied drug like Zoloft. She mentioned that Prozac and Paxil have been studied adequately and have been found to have a higher risk of heart defects and Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension (PPHN) in the newborn. We talked about "weaning" off of Cymbalta and NOT taking anything during pregnancy...easier said than done. I hate the side-effects of missing a dose of Cymbalta, after missing just 1 day, I feel extremely dizzy and VERY "scatter-brained". The Psychiatrist stated that those are symptoms of "withdrawal". The plan to "wean" me off is 7 days of Cymbalta 20mg and 7 days of Prozac 10mg. We also talked about the risks of a depressed mother (not on anti-depressants during pregnancy) on the unborn child: A depressed mother will NOT be as motivated to care for herself and her unborn child (e.g.: proper exercise, preparing and eating healthy meals, following through with obstetric care, etc). The Psychiatrist also stated that studies have found that babies born to depressed-mothers have a higher risk of learning disabilities and problem-solving skills.My personal opinion is that one needs to seek the advice of "specialists" in their particular fields so that one can make the decision that they find best suits them. My Psychiatrist told me to think about all that we discussed and to call her once I made a decision. After talking to my husband and after "sleeping" on it, I have decided that I do NOT want to risk exposing my unborn baby to my depression and I certainly do NOT want to risk affecting my unborn baby with a life-time of learning disabilities and problem-solving skills. I think that they best decision for ME, is to switch from Cymbalta to a safer drug (like Zoloft). I believe that it is VERY important for my unborn child that I feel mentally and emotionally stable (calm, happy, motivated) during my pregnancy. I have tried in the past to overcome my depression with the help of my therapist by simply utilizing "talk therapy". While my therapist helped me in many important ways, the addition of Cymbalta to my care helped me immensely. I realize that I can't combat my depression alone. Lastly, the Psychiatrist also stated, that if I chose to take an anti-depressant during pregnancy, there was a risk that my baby will undergo "withdrawal" symptoms (from the lack of serotonin) for 2 weeks post-birth...incessant crying, agitation, difficulty comforting the baby, and sleeplessness.
It is evident that there are risks to my future-unborn baby regardless of what path I take. Wish me luck ladies :-). AA
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DaisyMay
 - Joined on 06-18-2008
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Hi Kaci34 and all the ladies out there reading this. I am a 39 year-old married woman who has not been able to conceive during my 8 years of marriage. My husband and I are now undergoing preparations for in-vitro fertilization. To complicate matters, I too, suffer from depression. My infertility-specialist, INSISTED on a "medical clearance" from a Psychiatrist regarding Cymbalta use in pregnancy. I began taking Cymbalta 60mg almost 3 years ago. After about 3 months of taking Cymbalta, I asked my family doctor to decrease my dosage to 30mg. My doctor indicated that the "normal" Cymbalta dose for an adult is 60mg, but agreed to decrease it as long as I stayed "in-tune" with my body and promised to increase it back to 60mg if I noticed a change for the worse. I've been taking Cymbalta 30mg for 2 1/2 years now. I seen a Psychiatrist yesterday to talk about the risks of Cymbalta use in pregnancy and learned the following: Because Cymbalta is a relatively new drug it has NOT been studied long enough for the Psychiatrist to recommend continuation of the drug during pregnancy. She recommended that I consider switching to a safer and longer studied drug like Zoloft. She mentioned that Prozac and Paxil have been studied adequately and have been found to have a higher risk of heart defects and Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension (PPHN) in the newborn. We talked about "weaning" off of Cymbalta and NOT taking anything during pregnancy...easier said than done. I hate the side-effects of missing a dose of Cymbalta, after missing just 1 day, I feel extremely dizzy and VERY "scatter-brained". The Psychiatrist stated that those are symptoms of "withdrawal". The plan to "wean" me off is 7 days of Cymbalta 20mg and 7 days of Prozac 10mg, should I choose that route.We also talked about the risks of a depressed mother (not on anti-depressants during pregnancy) on the unborn child: A depressed mother will NOT be as motivated to care for herself and her unborn child (e.g.: proper exercise, preparing and eating healthy meals, following through with obstetric care, etc). The Psychiatrist also stated that studies have found that babies born to depressed-mothers have a higher risk of learning disabilities and problem-solving skills.My personal opinion is that one needs to seek the advice of "specialists" in their particular fields so that one can make the decision that best suits them. After talking to my husband and after "sleeping" on it, I have decided that I do NOT want to risk exposing my unborn baby to my depression and I certainly do NOT want to risk affecting my unborn baby with a life-time of learning disabilities and problem-solving skills. I think that the best decision for ME, is to switch from Cymbalta to a safer drug (like Zoloft). I believe that it is VERY important for my unborn child that I feel mentally and emotionally stable (calm, happy, motivated) during my pregnancy. I have tried in the past to overcome my depression with the help of my therapist by simply utilizing "talk therapy". While my therapist helped me in many important ways, the addition of Cymbalta to my care helped me immensely. I realize that I can't combat my depression alone. Lastly, the Psychiatrist also stated, that if I chose to take an anti-depressant during pregnancy, there was a risk that my baby will undergo "withdrawal" symptoms (from the lack of serotonin) for 2 weeks post-birth...incessant crying, agitation, difficulty comforting the baby, and sleeplessness.
It is evident that there are risks to my future-unborn baby regardless of what path I take. Wish me luck. AA
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