Bipolar meds and pregnancy?

Question

I'm 23 and on antidepressents and antipsychotics I was wondering if anyone either knows ok meds to be on while pregnant or what they have used during pregnancy. I'm not pregnant yet but my husband and I would like to start a family. I could use a little help finding some info out. I have had a very hard time finding info on this subject. I guess a lot of people expect people with bipolar not to have children. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

I am bipolar and 38 weeks pregnant with #2. They required me to go off the antipsychotics, but I could've stayed on the regular antidepressants if I needed them. Due to what my husband calls "pregnancy magic", I haven't needed them, but I've been keeping my husband, psychiatrist, psychologist, and OB-GYN informed about any mood changes. I was told that Lexapro and Prozac are both safe during pregnancy. Talk to your doctors-all of them!- before you go off any meds. They will know what's safe for you & your potential baby. You will probably also have to go right back on the meds after the baby's born, so breastfeeding is probably out, but again, talk to your docs! Also, talk to them BEFORE you get pregnant, so you can make sure you're just on whatever's safe. You can have kids, too, and be a good mommy. Just because you've got bipolar doesn't mean you can't. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Answer 2

visual hallucinations are usually because of extreme stress and not due to mental illness, I am pretty sure I read. Psychosis is usually about hearing things or thought insertions, not visual hallucinations. so if you can reduce your stress level, the hallucinations should be less frequent or go away. In my own experience (I also have bipolar and was diagnosed borderline, but it turned out that psych meds were causing the behaviors that gave me the borderline diagnosis) I had visual hallucinations only once, when i was extremely stressed & they went away when the stress got less. I'm pretty sure that antipsychotic meds are not safe during pregnancy. And I personally wouldn't risk it. Antipsychotics are the most toxic class of psych meds there are, the worst of the worst, and so it would seem they must be risky to a fetus if they cause such harm to the person who actually ingests the drugs. In my case, as I said, i got diagnosed bipolar and had all kinds of outrageous behaviors, and it turned out the poor behaviors were actually CAUSED by the meds. They said it was borderline, and I said how can that be, that I suddenly come down with borderline when I am in my 30's, and never had these problems before? My second husband (who was my bf at the time) figured it out - it was the ativan. And later, the antidepressants, or later, every day I came down off short half-life antipsychotics, I would get really irritable. Later, the adderall. and other meds that didn't make me irritable would impair my thinking so much, that I couldn't control my behavior, so I still was kinda outrageous, and stupid, too. so anyway, after 25 useless meds and electroshock too, which zapped at least a year of my memories, I gave up last year. And now that I have been off meds for many months, my thinking is sharper, I am able to get more chores done, and I am less irritable. I'm still depressed as hell but don't want to die quite so much. i no longer get the feeling that I must literally claw my face off or stab at my chest repeatedly with a knife - I think that was akasthisia, in hindsight, for YEARS of agony, where it was so very hard to control my behavior and not stab myself. so maybe this isn't your situation, but if this info helps a few people out of the same hole that got dug for me by psychiatrists, then it's worth typing it out. I got some help from dialectical behavior therapy, the distress tolerance parts of the program. so look into that. some of the stuff is strange eastern spaciness, but there is MUCH practical advice in there, if the new agey stuff gets to you. all the best to you

Answer 3

I have had depression and really bad anxiety for about 8 years now and I am 25weeks pregnant. I am still taking my medication because I checked with my GP and psych and they said it was fine and better to be on it than to come off and get withdrawals etc and stress the baby out. Just check with your doc about your particular meds, maybe you might just have to switch to different meds while you are pregnant. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you won't be a wonderful mum because you will be. Take care of yourself and good luck with starting a family. Make sure you do what you know is right for you :-)

Answer 4

I was on some meds (HBP) before I got pregnant and spoke to the doctor about what would be safe during pregnancy. He looked up different ones and decided to go w/ a different one, one that had least risk to the baby. I switched right then in the chance that i would get pregnant. I did get pregrnant and my daughter was fine. In my opinion the doctor is the best resource for this one. They have a medical tool they use that seperates drugs into "risk" catagories for pregnant women. Hope that was helpful. Good luck to you and your family :)

Answer 5

I have clinical depression and anxiety disorder myself, and the OB/GYN said it was safe to take my Zoloft throughout my pregnancy and while breastfeeding. I was also on Ativan PRN, which he said I could only take until my 6th month, as it would make the baby addicted. However, he said that if I needed it, that the baby could be put on medication after birth, then weaned off, as it would certainly harm the baby more if I got suicidal while pregnant. I stopped the Ativan on his advice, as it was only PRN, so I didn't have to deal witht he problem.

My best advice is to talk to your OB/GYN and your psych doctor about it before getting pregnant, let them get you stable on a safe drug regimen for both of you, THEN start trying to get pregnant.

Answer 6

Honestly NO medication is good to take while being pregnant . Not even tylenol. but especially not Ibuprofin as it thins the blood.
The best person to ask about this would be your gyno or an Obgyn . You can call them up on the phone and ask them questions or make a consultation.

Answer 7

well lithium is the one you want to watch out with-it does cause something called ebstein's anomaly, which is a faulty heart valve, the tricuspid valve doesn't form properly and that will lead to problems in your baby...if you are on antipsychotics that too, should be watched with precaution as they too have side effects...they can interfere with normal development of the baby's spinal cord...known as spina bifida...you should check most importantly with your doctor or google the drugs and read up on the side effects!

Answer 8

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Answer 9

I would contact your psych doctor they should be able to safely switch your drugs BEFORE pregnancy. Of course there is a limited drug base that is safe during pregnancy but its not unheard of either Good luck :)

Answer 10

You definitly have to talk to a doctor or pharmacist about this sort of thing, I wouldn't listen to anybody on here for this kind of advice.