Does anyone know just how safe it is to take Zoloft during pregnancy? My doctor prescribed it today and I'm really scared to take it. She gave me ambien at my last appointment to help me get some sleep but I wake up long before I should. She said it really sounds like depression and wants to take care of it now so i can be healthy for the baby to be healthy. Now, I have been going through this pregnancy alone, which that itself is enough to be emotionally draining, plus with all the pain and being tired all the time since I don't sleep, shouldn't I be depressed??! Should I really take meds?? I do want to feel better, but I don't want to do anything that could harm the baby. Any thoughts on this?

I don�t know about Zoloft from what I can see it is one of the safer drugs but they don�t know completely. Only you can decide but you have been through a huge amount in the last few months and a lot of it is enough to make anyone feel down or anxious. Is you doctor offering any alternative solutions (maybe that do not include drugs) to help you feel better? I am not saying don�t take drugs for depression because they can be completely necessary. If it was me I think I would like to see if there was anything less drastic to try first. Sorry I am not a lot of help!
Aroha

Any opinion is a help! thanks. About a month ago she prescribed the ambien to help me sleep, and suggested we wait until after the baby is born to start treating depression, which seemed reasonable to me, especially worrying about postpartum depression. This past visit when I told her I do not sleep when I take the ambien she looked at my like I was nuts! And said it sounds like depression and that we should start treating it now so that I could be healthy for the baby to be healthy. I've never dealth with depression and I don't know how all the medications work, but I believe I'm more depressed because of sitations and not a chemical imbalance. Can meds work for that?Zoloft is not going to make my baby's father want him, nor is it going to pay my bills or take care of my other kids! But, maybe it does help with the anxiety?

Hi,
I got the following off this site
http://www.psychologyinfo.com/depression/women.htm

In general, during pregnancy, all medications (including psychotherapeutic medications) should be avoided where possible, and other methods of treatment should be tried.

The decision to use a psychotherapeutic medication should be made only after a careful discussion with the doctor concerning the risks and benefits to the woman and her baby.

I did not deal with depression when I was pregnant but I feel you are right in feeling that a lot of how you are feeling is to do with the situation rather than something physical. Antidepressants can help with that in that they lower the anxiety and can make life a lot more bearable. Also if you are not sleeping then it is very difficult to cope. A lot of sites say they should be used with counselling of some sort for situational depression. And it is certainly an option to just try the counselling first!

Did the doctor offer therapy with or instead of drugs? Is it possible to speak to a medical person who knows about the drugs available as well as possible therapy regimes and ask them what they think?
Aroha

A lot of times a drug can be safer in one trimester than it is in another. The best thing to do would be to discuss your concerns with your doctor. The next best thing would be to call a pharmacist and ask them. You could get a second opinion as well. What it comes down to is if you think taking the medicine is worth the risk. You're already stressed, which means your baby is stressed. You don't want to add stress to your life right now. Just because a doctor writes a prescription, doesn't mean you have to get it filled. Zealand brought up a good point about the therapy. Talking about what you're going through can help...that way you don't feel so much like you're taking on the world alone...exercise is a good stress reliever, too.

quote:

Originally posted by kellyjo25:
[qb] Does anyone know just how safe it is to take Zoloft during pregnancy? [/qb]

I took Zoloft for my entire pregnancy with my last baby and breastfeed on it for about 8 months too. I didn't have any problems.

I've taken antidepressants before. They don't make the situation more bearable. All they do is make it easier to bear the load. So instead of feeling like you are inside a hurricane, you feel like you're living thru a thunderstorm.

For me, when I'm stressed I feel like the feelings in me are wound up and spinning around so fast I can't get control and deal with things. It's like the medicine turns off the spin cycle so that I can deal with things.

If you've exhausted every other method, use them for a short term. I can only tolerate them for about a week. But often that was enough to give me the energy to start finding solutions. Use the drugs as a stepping stool to help you find your own solution.