[TnPhotoMama81]

Do any of you know if taking depression/anxiety medications can affect your fertility?

Are any of the meds safer over others?

Thanks!

[missy123]

Melissa, I do not know about safer than others during TTC or any other time but I take Welbutrin. My doctor knows we are TTC and my RE knows I take the meds and they both said the plan is to wean me off when I get pregnant. Get in to see your doctor, depression is no fun.

[Erin84]

Melissa, I've been wondering the same thing lately.

[StaceygirlPa]

Melissa, I would go to your doctor and explain what you have been through and let them know as soon as you can you want to TTC. They can help you with what meds that can help you. Please don't go and let the depression eat at you. You are to nice of a person for that.

[okiliz]

Melissa,
Well... Oddly enough, I just went in today to see the doc for depression/mood/migrane meds today . He knows that we are TTC but that right now we are NTNP if this cycle fails until June . He started me on topamax again for the migranes and it is a mood stabilizer as well ... I started to see him after I lost the twins and he wanted me to try it without any meds for awhile... but I realized that it's still too hard, I still miss them to much and it hurts more then it should... So I went in today to see what my options were . He said Prozac or welbutrin would work and would not prevent me form getting pregnant , although obviously being on nothing would be ideal . '
He said when I find out that I am pregnant, to talk to them and they would still advise that I stop the meds (whichever I am on ) but that If I felt I had to, I could stay on prozac the entire pregnancy on a low dose but with wellbutrin I would have to either stop or wean off quickly . Topamax I would have to stop when I found out about my next pregnancy as well ... TTC is hard enough , without being depressed... I don't know if this helped but I hope you feel better soon

[.:Shortcake:.]

I have been to the doctor for depression many times. He told me there is none that are safe (the GP) my OB-Gyn however told me that she would rather me be on it and stabilize and wean off when pregnant than to have to go on them while pregnant iykwim.

[Cait&AngelAbove]

I have not been on meds for a while but I know there were some that my doctor said that when I wanted to start trying I needed to stop taking them. I can't remember what they were. I would talk to your doctor about it. A lot of women take meds while they are ttc and while they are pregnant.

[angel3y35]

None of them are "safe" when pregnant but that being said most doctors would rather you take something now and wean off when you get pregnant. I just started taking Welbutrin a month ago. I don't know if I was in more of a funk this go around or what but I actually noticed a difference after only a few days. I say go get the meds now because being miserable and depressed is no fun.

[wishfulgal]

I believe Prozac is safe while TTC/pregnant but obviously you'd need to ask your doctor. I have thought for quite awhile that I should be on something, but I am worried that it would affect my fertility and we just don't need any other odds stacked against us at this point.

[ohnicole]

I have no advice on the meds, Melissa, but I hope whatever you decide to take helps you feel a little better. This road is so rough

[acchickpea]

...Hugs....

[TnPhotoMama81]

Thank you everyone for your replies.

I have thought about gettings meds for depression for many years but always put it off because I was too scared to go on them. I don't want to feel like I am dependent on them or anything...I dunno...just freaks me out.

Things have been pretty bad for us lately though. All of this stuff has been happening to us on top of our loss....

I am not sure how much I have told you guys but my husband has lost 2 jobs in under a month. He has a new job now but we are SO behind on all our bills...we are very close to having some of our utilities cut off. We have been waiting and waiting for our tax return. We were supposed to have it a few weeks ago and it was going to solve all our money problems but now I just don't know. I called the IRS yesterday for the third time and told them we NEED this money now and told them why. They are putting a hardship referral on our taxes and sending them to another dept that might be able to get them to us faster.

We also had a problem with his first job that he lost...they tried to claim he was an independent contractor instead of an employee to get out of their half of paying ss taxes and medicare, etc. Since they did that...they were trying to make us pay their half and ours. We have turned their company into the IRS and they will determine if he was actually an employee. I don't see how they could say he was an indep. contractor. We sent them a 4 pg letter that pretty much proves he was an employee along with copies of all his check stubs showing his raises and whatnot. It is such a mess.

Also the reason they fired him was very wrong. They were upset bc they claim he re-enlisted in the Marines which he never did. He is in the reserves and has been since before they hired him. They KNEW he was in the reserves but were punishing him with less work hours than the other employees bc he was missing work for his drill weekend. ALL OF WHICH is illegal. He is protected under the soldiers and sailors act. SO yeah....we have turned them into the dept of labor as well. Once the IRS deems him as an employee, then we just show the letter to the dept of labor and this place is going to go doooooooooooooown. They were also not paying him (or anyone else) over time or into unemployment. It is going to be a sh*t storm lol. I really hope all of this is ruled in our favor because they really did him wrong. He is a very hard worker and did a lot for them. It just really p*sses me off.

Ugh.

Also our cat got ran over last Saturday I think it was? and then our sea urchin died and a big conch we had in our saltwater tank died too. Our filter stopped working a couple of weeks ago and the water quality has taken a nose dive but there isn't anything we can do about it but hope for the best and probably watch all our critters in the tank die one by one. I know they are just fish or whatever, but I don't like to think of anything suffering.

We can't afford dog food right now either and so the dogs are eating leftovers...not the end of the world or anything but they are getting fat again and we worked so hard to get the weight off of them. They are pugs so they are very food driven dogs.

We are at the point now of seriously thinking about getting rid of all our animals. We just cant afford all this and it is so stressful. I am not the kind of person to just dump our animals/responsibilities off on other people - I have worked with animal rescues myself so I know how crappy it is to do that. I am just at my wits end with all of this and my husband is too but moreso than me.

What else? The brakes are going out in the car, my husbands car doesnt even run and we desperately need it to, my chi flat iron is trying to crap out on me lol (very trivial but those things are $100 bucks or more a pop)...

OH and this morning our high risk appt was cancelled bc the counselor is sick. I am so upset about this because my husband took off for his drill weekend (he was supposed to leave last night) to be there at the appt with me. We were just about to leave when they called me. It throws all our other appts off bc they did this too. Normally I am understanding about things like that but just when it is piled onto everything else...it is hard not to be very upset about it. Now it is rescheduled for next Thursday and the only thing they have open is early in the morning. I only work two days a week and Thurs morning is one of those days so now I am going to miss work (and more money on a paycheck for us).

To top everything else off, my husband and I have been having some problems lately which is not something that happens too often with us so it has me pretty upset. It isn't anything I like to admit either because I don't want people thinking we are having major problems or anything. But yeah...things are slightly better today but having problems with him is what upsets me the most out of anything. He told me the other night he isn't sure he even wants another baby at this point. I THINK though that he is just saying that right now because of all the problems we are having....

We are both just so stressed out. I just want all of this to end

I have an appt on Monday that was supposed to be for talking about all the test results (even the ones from the high risk place if they had them back by then). I went ahead and kept my appt bc I know Jeremy and I are both off that day and we can at least hear the results of our clotting bloodwork and maybe the tests they ran on the baby.

I am going to talk to the doctor on Monday about getting put on depression meds possibly. I feel like all of this is consuming me and I can't stand it.

However, I don't even know how long I could be on them anyway. We are about to lose our insurance....YAY. Not sure if I can pay out of pocket for meds once we lose it.

If you read all of this you deserve a steak dinner with all tha' fixins.

[Cait&AngelAbove]

Melissa I am so so sorry that you are having to go through all of this! You are a very strong woman! I just wanted to let you know that you are in my thoughts and prayers and I hope things get cleared up and better really soon!

[wishfulgal]

I am so sorry you have to go through all of this . Sometimes it truly does seem like when it rains, it pours. We don't have nearly as much crappy stuff going on as you do right now, but all around it has been a very sucky year and a half or so for us. Just one thing after another.

Hang in there.

[ohnicole]

Huge huge huge hugs! I hope things start turning around for you soon.

[Joanna1127]

I'm so sorry you're going through all of this. It definitely sounds like you have a ton on your plate right now.

I conceived my daughter and carried a healthy baby while on Wellbutrin 4 years ago. Through the years I've tried different meds, but Wellbutrin was always one that was considered ok for pregnancy. Just recently I conceived while on Wellbutrin again and am currently expecting. My RE suggested I cut down on the dose and that some will say nothing is better when pregnant, but ultimately they want mom to be ok too. I would recommed the Wellbutrin.

Hang in there and I"ll be saying some prayers for you. hugs!

[TnPhotoMama81]

Thank you everyone...from what I read it sounds like Wellbutrin might be the way to go.

[.:Shortcake:.]

Huge massive hugs to you! I wish I lived closer, I would come over and just be there for you! I hope things look up for you soon!

[joyguide]

It defintely sounds like a little bit of pharmaceutical assistance in order for you! It usually just helps make everything just easier.

I have been prescribed the gamut of antidepressants since I was 16 and prozac had just made its FDA approval debut....and while I'm not on anything any longer (have not for 5 years)...I have to say that Welbutrin was the most effective, besides prozac itself, which I really liked except for that it made orgasms impossible (typical side effect of SSRIs anyway). However...Welbutrin seems to be the best for normal depression, and is also good for anxiety since the two are often mixed together. I went off Welbutrin because I was one of the rare people who had side effects (hair loss and weight gain and increase in anxiety)...but aside from my experience, it is the only antidepressant where weight loss is actually the common and usual side effect. It also gives you a ton of energy and is great for the sex drive. I'd never gone off if I had not had the side effects, and I'm not a medication kind of girl.

Its also super easy to wean off of, maybe a 2 week taper if you've been on for a long time, but I was told to stop cold turkey and had no ill effects. Prozac also has an easy wean, as the half life is 6 weeks so it leaves your body slowly.

And I just also wanted to mention, and this is from personal experience..if your docs want to try you on Effexor, tell them to shove it. Coming off effexor was the most miserable experience in my life, and if you know you'll be coming off it when you get pregnant, its not something you want to be goin through. It took well over a year for the "brain shocks" to go away.

I hope you can find a solution soon...in the meantime...we're here as your unoffficial therapists, counselors and listeners.... :-)

[terajet]

So sorry you are going through all this. Things will definitely get better. It's hard to think positively when things keep piling up but take it one step at a time.

Feel free to vent anytime.