Joined: 12 June 2005 United Kingdom Posts: 2616 Gender: Not Specified
Posted: 18 July 2007 at 1:09pm | IP Logged
has anyone done this?
after trying to kid myself for a good few weeks now that I am just tired and sleep-deprived, I have finally admitted to myself and DH that I think I have PND. We stayed up till 1am last night talking and crying and so feel even worse today lol!
I went to the docs today and cried and cried - she said she thinks I have mild PND and said that if I wanted to take them, there are antids I can take while breastfeeding..so she's prescribed me some..they are called sertraline hydrochloride 1 a day..she's given me one months worth and to go back then - I will prob be on them for 3-6 months.
she said the leaflet said that small amounts might be secreted in the breastmilk altho there is no evidence of this..I suppose the leaflet has to say that?
I am in two minds now about what to do, obviously I will never forgive myself if Hannah has any side-affects from them (or what if in years to come they discover something dreadful about babies who were bf'd while mum was on tablets?) but I don't think I'm doing her any favours if I choose not to take them either..I really am in a fog at the moment and can't see any other way out.
am v confused...has anyone been in a similar position? thanks, x
Joined: 13 June 2005 United Kingdom Posts: 8199 Gender: Female
Posted: 18 July 2007 at 1:19pm | IP Logged
I have taken sertraline before although not whilst breastfeeding. If its any consolation and I know everyone is different but that particular anti d really worked for me.
I can understand your dilemma as although I wasnt on ant ds I was on painkiller for most of the time I was breastfeeding Edward. It is a very difficult decision to make but I looked at it this way:
Would the doctor give me these tablets if they would be in anyway harmful to my baby? No.
Are the pharmaceutical companies only putting warnings on to cover their own backs? Probably, yes.
Would Edwards quality of life be improved if I was taking the tablets? Yes - I would be able to do so much more with him.
Would Edwards quality of life be lessened if I wasnt on the tablets? Yes - I would be able to do very little with him and would be depressed and unhappy, which would affect him.
Would it be better if I just stopped breastfeeding? No, breastfeeding is the best thing for a baby to eat, and Edward and I enjoy our feeds.
Now I'm not telling you what to do. But that is the way I looked at it. Its tough, I was on some pretty strong painkillers buts Eds is just fine. Lots of women breastfeed whilst on Anti Ds and go on to have healthy children and the dose you are on is quite low so even if small amounts can get across, they really would be tiny.
Good luck making the decision and I hope you start to feel much better really soon.
Joined: 29 June 2005 United Kingdom Posts: 2235 Gender: Female
Posted: 18 July 2007 at 1:21pm | IP Logged
hiya hun,i have not been in this situation thankfully but i can imagine how hard it must be,im sure the docs would not be able to prescibe them if there was going to be any side effects as im sure too that lots of reasearch has been done into the anti d's,i think the risk to the nhs would be too great if they were prepared to offer something they were not sure about.
i think you have to think about the pros and cons and will the consequences of you not taking them outweigh the consequences of you taking them? the chances are that things will get worse ather than better if you chose not to take them and then you will have to face looking after hannah whilst your unhappy and down,being a mummy is hard at the best of times.
keep your chin up wer all here for you and well done for realising you are suffering with pnd your v brave xxxx
Joined: 18 April 2007 Canada Posts: 256 Gender: Female
Posted: 18 July 2007 at 3:19pm | IP Logged
I have no idea what to suggest, as I can completely understand your predicament. I did a search on the internet about your medications and like you say it does kind of fluff an answer.
I searched Fluxotine (Prozac) also and it said that they had reseached that out of 11 babies only 1 had a side effect while breastfeeding.
Is it worth speaking to your doctor or pharmacist about when to take the meds...ie when is the med most effective and when it could be most prevalent in breast milk ...then you could give Hannah expressed milk and skip that feed to reduce the amount that is being passed to her through breastmilk.
I hope what I have said makes sense I have 2 sick kiddies at present so I am rushing my reply.
Joined: 12 June 2005 United Kingdom Posts: 5851 Gender: Female
Posted: 18 July 2007 at 8:00pm | IP Logged
Although I wasn't breastfeeding by the time I started taking anti d's for my PND, I do know 3 women who did take them whilst feeding. 1 took Fluoxitine, and the other 2 took Sertraline. This might be of interest to you:
Sertraline (Lustral) -has a half life of 26-65 hours and reaches
a peak after 7-8 hours. The long half-life metabolite is only
marginally active, unlike that in fluoxetine and hence is unlikely to
cause accumulation in the baby. There are published studies on more
than 30 infants with no untoward effects noted. In almost all cases
none of the drug has been detected in the infant plasma. Reported but
anecdotal, evaluation of an infant exposed to 100mg daily was that the
child reached normal developmental milestones and weight at 3 months.
There is one report of an infant developing benign neonatal sleep at 4
months, which resolved at 6 months, It is unclear whether this bears
any relationship with the maternal use of sertraline.
Hand on heart, if it was me - I would take them. The studies that have been done show no effect on the baby and the benefits from taking the tablets will help you to feel more in control and able to cope with whats going on at the moment, which will help Hannah and Ellie as well as you.
You probably know this, but they don't kick in straight away so if you do take them, don't be suprised if nothing has changed in 2 to 3 weeks. They WILL work and you WILL get better - I promise you.
Joined: 24 April 2007 United Kingdom Posts: 1847 Gender: Female
Posted: 18 July 2007 at 8:14pm | IP Logged
Haven't been in this position - didn't get medication for PND until after I had stopped bf. Was offered them, but turned them down. In retrospect, I wish I had taken them when they were first offered - I may have been able to get myself back on track again a lot quicker. I think the other MMs are right - the risk must be minimal for these to affect the baby - and it's important for the wee one - and for yourself - for you to start feeling better.
I'm glad you spoke to your doctor - too many people suffer in silence for too long before seeking help. Good luck with the tablets - remember to give them time to start working - I hope you feel more like your old self very soon. xxx
Joined: 01 June 2006 Ireland Posts: 1620 Gender: Female
Posted: 18 July 2007 at 9:01pm | IP Logged
Hiya Greedy,
I am really glad that you have been to see your gp, I don't know about you bit for me once I went to my Gp and once I talked to my Gp I felt a huge weight off my shoulders, almost to the point when I was tempted not to go on them.
I too had mild depression and it went undiagnosed for 11 months, it just got worse and worse and in the end it was destroying my relationship with my beautiful baby girl.
If I am honest with you I really didn't enjoy the first 11 months and its precious time I will never get back.....I suppose What I am trying to say is that the doctors would not give them to you if they harmed your baby and for me once I was on the meds the old me was back with in two weeks. Rachel was still the same but I was able to cope so much better.
Only you can make this decision pet do what you think is right for you and all your family.
ps.Well done for going to your gp as I know how hard it can be.
Joined: 02 May 2007 United Kingdom Posts: 209 Gender: Female
Posted: 18 July 2007 at 9:57pm | IP Logged
Didn't want to pass your post, I really don't have much advice.
You been very brave in admitting you feel this way. I think the benefits of you feeling more like you outweigh any negatives. It sounds like you'd only be on them for a short period of time just enough to get you back on track.
It must be very tiring looking after two small kids when you feel down and hopefully you'll feel more like you soon.
Joined: 12 June 2005 United Kingdom Posts: 2616 Gender: Not Specified
Posted: 19 July 2007 at 8:53am | IP Logged
thanks so much for all your replies,
martha, I do feel much much better already after going to the docs and telling dh - I even wondered whether I do need to take them but realise that of course I do lol. I haven't much enjoyed the last 3 months and that was the reason I plucked up courage to go to the GP - this will be my last baby so I want to enjoy her!
dizie, thanks for the info, I had to google some of the words to understand it!
I've discussed it with dh and we've agreed that it is better all round to take them and continue bf - I think if I stop bf I'd feel even worse..
so, I am going to go get them today and see how we get on, thanks again, xx
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Topic: breastfeeding while taking anti-ds?
Well done for going to your gp as I know how hard it can be.
