cold turkey
i stopped taking my anti-depressant of choice (serzone). i took my last dose tuesday morning. i forgot to refill the prescription that day. on wednesday i called in the refill request, but i haven't picked it up.
my therapist acknowledged that he wasn't qualified to give me medical advice, but said that he believed that it was safe for a fetus. he also believes that staying on it will keep me from being less anxious during a subsequent pregnancy, and of course anxiety could be detrimental to a fetus. but the truth is that no one knows for sure what the long term effects of these drugs are on children exposed to them in utero; some studies are beginning to suggest, though, that there is a higher incidence of developmental problems. the short term effects vary; particularly in babies who were exposed in the third trimester, some pretty severe withdrawl symptoms can create justifiably cranky newborns.
i know there are compromises that will have to be made in my next pregnancy; there is no such thing as a perfect pregnancy. other than a week of heavy drinking and sushi consumption before i found out i was about four weeks pregnant, i had a perfectly-managed pregnancy, and hans still died. but there are some things that don't require compromise, and i think the anti-depressant issue is one of them. i don't feel like i can afford to take any chances with another wanted child. while the serzone has been helpful, i don't think it's been essential. and while it may regulate my mood, it definitely doesn't affect anxiety, which has become a bigger issue for me than sadness.
it takes a little while to completely drain from my system, but i'm doing okay so far. i'm sad about hans and find it absolutely necessary to keep myself busy, but those things are the same as a week ago and a month ago. i've talked with justin about it and asked him to be on the lookout for any signs of my method not working. i'm talking to both my primary and my therapist again in 2 1/2 weeks. i think i'm being responsible about it. i have a few months to see if i'm okay without it or i need it so much that the need outweighs the risk before we try to conceive.
my therapist acknowledged that he wasn't qualified to give me medical advice, but said that he believed that it was safe for a fetus. he also believes that staying on it will keep me from being less anxious during a subsequent pregnancy, and of course anxiety could be detrimental to a fetus. but the truth is that no one knows for sure what the long term effects of these drugs are on children exposed to them in utero; some studies are beginning to suggest, though, that there is a higher incidence of developmental problems. the short term effects vary; particularly in babies who were exposed in the third trimester, some pretty severe withdrawl symptoms can create justifiably cranky newborns.
i know there are compromises that will have to be made in my next pregnancy; there is no such thing as a perfect pregnancy. other than a week of heavy drinking and sushi consumption before i found out i was about four weeks pregnant, i had a perfectly-managed pregnancy, and hans still died. but there are some things that don't require compromise, and i think the anti-depressant issue is one of them. i don't feel like i can afford to take any chances with another wanted child. while the serzone has been helpful, i don't think it's been essential. and while it may regulate my mood, it definitely doesn't affect anxiety, which has become a bigger issue for me than sadness.
it takes a little while to completely drain from my system, but i'm doing okay so far. i'm sad about hans and find it absolutely necessary to keep myself busy, but those things are the same as a week ago and a month ago. i've talked with justin about it and asked him to be on the lookout for any signs of my method not working. i'm talking to both my primary and my therapist again in 2 1/2 weeks. i think i'm being responsible about it. i have a few months to see if i'm okay without it or i need it so much that the need outweighs the risk before we try to conceive.
posted by laura at 10:56 AM
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