Weaning- September 8, 2013
This has been staring me in the face for the past few weeks. I wondered what irreparable damage I was doing to baby 2.0’s internal organs and future psyche as I passed the 30 weeks mark a few weeks back.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a huge advocate of better-living-through-chemistry. Zoloft was a literal life and sanity saver as postpartum anxiety and obsessive-compulsive behavior started THE NIGHT I gave birth to my daughter nearly three years ago. I had a successful and mostly happy pregnancy the first time around. I had weaned off Prozac before conception efforts began with Baby #1. (I had taken that since my eating-disordered days as a teen many years ago.) I felt totally fine. I thought I would be totally fine. I was until I gave birth, the hormone drop began and mental illness reared it’s ugly-head again.
Fortunately, I knew about Katherine Stone and her amazing work for women all over the world. (She really has become a role-model for me in my life and someone I hope to meet in person one day so I can tell her that. ) So, I took action immediately. I talked to a therapist and joined Team Zoloft so I could be the kind of mother I knew I could be. I stopped worrying about the negligible amount of Zoloft in my breast milk thanks to Katherine and the community she built. I stayed on Zoloft throughout this pregnancy until recently.
So you may be asking why I decided to wean off Zoloft in the 3rd trimester this time, knowing what I know about my mental health. Well, I just started to sort of panic that there would be a problem. I understand the odds. I took a very low dose and the odds were very slim that there would be a problem. My doctor said the baby could have some withdrawal symptoms like listlessness and trouble eating. Yes, I know newborns are typically listless by nature and have to learn to eat anyway, but I just had a weird feeling. My doctor said there are many other women who feel the same way and take the bottle of Zoloft with them to the hospital and start it up right after giving birth.
That was good enough for me. Done. That’s the plan. It took 1-2 weeks to wean off the meds and feel fine for now.
I just felt like I had done everything in my power to have a healthy child the first time and I wanted to make that same effort for the second. My husband reminded me that even when you do everything to have a healthy child, babies still get sick and we’ll handle that together if it happens. True.
But, I still feel better knowing it’s out of my system and the bottle will be waiting happily in my hospital bag.
Spread it around:
You do what you need to for you. I will admit I took it through my third trimester without any issues. And nursed mah baby while I was on it for a long time. But as long as you are okay, that is what matters. And that you are working with and talking to your doctor about all of this. Critical.
Also, if you need extra support, I am here. As are loads of FB groups, Twitter hashtags and the like. Hugs!
Thanks Dear! This makes me feel better. ::hugs::
Like Andrea said above, you have to do what works for you. The most important thing is to have a team around you ready to help if you need it. ~ K
Oh, and P.S., thank you so much for your kind words about me! I’m sure we’ll get the chance to meet in person someday! 😉
Thank you so much Katherine! I feel better prepared this time around thanks to you and the wonderful network you built! It means so much that you would read my post and comment. Thank you!
Have you asked about changing to a different SSRI? I personally took Celexa throughout my pregnancy with Will– even the third trimester. There was no warning about the third trimester on my bottle. He was fine although he did have a heart murmur that closed on its own before he was six months old. My pregnancy with him was so dramatic, though, that I can’t blame the murmur on the drugs. I couldn’t take the drugs with John because they made me incredibly nauseous throughout the entire pregnancy– and I was a hateful bitch as a result. I did take them throughout my pregnancy with Kat, and she was born in perfect condition. If it feels right to you to stop taking it, then more power to you, but if you need to take it, I don’t think there’s any harm.
Celexa, huh? No, I hadn’t thought of asking. Oh well! I expect a little anxiety and crazy to sneak in at the end, but for now I feel okay. Glad it went well the third time.
GO ON WIT CHA BAD SELF! I give mad props for weighing it all out and deciding what you feel most comfortable with and THEN sharing your story so that it can be an encouragement to other moms in your situation. I’m sucky at commenting, but love following your blog
Thank you, Rebecca! That means a lot.
((()))