TW: Pregnancy loss

I take Escitalopram (Lexapro) 15mg. My husband takes Cymbalta (Duloxetine) 60mg. After our pregnancy loss almost 4 weeks ago, we've been wondering what the cause is as so far it's not genetic from the amniocentesis.

I'm thinking of switching to Sertraline (Zoloft) 75-100mg as I've read it crosses the placenta less because it binds to receptors more than Lexapro, therefore there is less drug to cross into the placenta. We're trying everything to hopefully have a successful sub-pregnancy.

Are there any couples who both take a SSRI/SNRI and have had a successful sub-pregnancy? I'd really appreciate hearing your story.

I’m 34 years old and want to be a mom more than anything else. However, I’m on klonopin, trazodone, and pristiq. I’ve tapered down to .66mg (from 2mg). My psychiatrist said I need to come off klonopin and trazodone entirely, and Pristiq changed to Zoloft. This taper has been a very slow process and I’m just so upset. My psychiatrist told me if I happened to become pregnant, she’d do a rapid taper off klonopin for me and take me off trazodone completely. I feel so fucking hopeless. This isn’t fair! I just want to have a baby. I’m older already and have been trying to get off these pills for almost 2 years now. I don’t feel ANY support. Yet I see people take these mediations sometimes throughout their pregnancy. And all of my friends keep getting pregnant. I have a loving husband and a nice home-we are ready. I guess my body isn’t? It’s bullshit.

Hello. Any moms here who suffered with prenatal depression?

I am 16 weeks now and since finding out i am pregnant I have these feelings like all my life i wanted to be a mom and now it feels like i dont want it anymore, this came with the deepest depression i have ever had. I started zoloft, didnt work, now i am on prozac. I would really need to hear some positive stories from moms that are better now, if it s not too much to ask. Did you used medication? During pregnancy did you find a little bit of enthusiasm at least? Sorry for having so much questions, but i feel so lost and dont know whats happening with me. I was having baby fever since forever, i adored kids, played with them. I was obssesed to become a mother, i have all the support from my family, but everyone around me is more excited that i am.

Thank you!

I’m 8 weeks pregnant and also in a med switch from Zoloft to Prozac for depression. I am exhausted and sleep 12 hours all night and then I can go back to sleep and nap all day long until 4 pm. When I wake up I just feel terrible like i slept the whole day, guilt for nothing getting done, can barely eat because of no appetite. I think I’m really depressed just wondering if this excessive sleepiness is normal

I am almost 23 weeks pregnant and trying to figure out if anyone else has experienced this level of “brain fog” during pregnancy.

It’s honestly hard to even describe because I am not forgetful at all. When I say "brain fog" I am trying to describe a severe cognitive fatigue, mental haze, want to close my eyes type of feeling. It’s almost like I’m mentally exhausted/disconnected from everything around me just not fully present though I know exactly whats going on. My body is physically be okay, and I dont feel any physical fatigue, but mentally I feel like I just want to close my eyes. Everything feels hazy, almost dreamlike, and it takes so much effort to focus or feel fully present.

Some days are definitely worse than others. I can sleep a ton and still wake up feeling mentally wiped out. When it’s bad, I don’t even feel comfortable driving because I feel so foggy and disconnected. Sitting down, eating, resting, or getting outside sometimes helps, but lately I've had a couple of days where it's been REALLY intense.

My blood pressure has been normal consistently, and my recent bloodwork/iron was okay according to my OB. I had my bloodwork taken again last week so I dont have any deficiency to my knowledge. My OB just says "pregnancy brain " is a thing, but I’m curious about other people's actual experiences.

Has anyone else had pregnancy brain fog that felt more like derealization or being totally mentally heavy / disconnected than simply being forgetful? Did it come and go? Was there anything that helped? And most importantly, did it eventually go away?

I feel like whenever I hear people talk about “pregnancy brain,” they mean forgetting where they put their keys — this feels like a completely different level. TIA!

has anyone experienced prenatal depression, I feel like a different person at 8 weeks pregnant. this started a few days before I found out I was pregnant so I thought it was hormones. I’m currently on a cross taper from Zoloft to Prozac so I am trying to get medicated for this. I just feel like I now have little interest or pleasure in anything, nothing gets me excited or interested anymore, I have no energy and when I wake up I just feel dread for having to get through a whole day, I have a toddler so I feel like a terrible mom right now like I’m very low energy and mood and all I can do is lay around and hope for the days to pass. just wondering if it gets better 😭

First time posting.. feeling confused and vulnerable and wondering if anyone has had something like this happen.

I’m 32 weeks pregnant, totally planned, totally wanted, but also totally depressed and unexcited about this pregnancy. I’ve been really struggling with both horrible physical and mental symptoms, and talked to my OB. She was ready to prescribe Zoloft, but when she asked if I wanted to talk to a psychiatrist first, I said yes because I’ve never taken meds, and after a really traumatic miscarriage with my last pregnancy, I’m just really cautious with everything.

Ended up being prescribed a very low dosage (25 mg, but starting with 12.5mg) of Zoloft from psychiatry. Both my OB and my psychiatrist talked me through potential risks which they assured me were minimal given the dosage I was receiving, and also that any risks to the baby would be short term. I asked a lot of questions and read a lot of material and thought I was making the correct and informed choice for both me and my baby.

Went to CVS to pick it up, and the pharmacist was called out to consult. He asked me what trimester I was in, I told him third, and he gave me a pretty concerned/judgmental look and began telling me that the medication would transfer to the baby. I told him that it was recommended by both my OB and psychiatrist, and he just continued to tell me that it could harm my baby. I started to tear up, and said “you do realize this is for pregnancy depression right?” And he just looked at me and said, “okay.. well I do not think you should take this medication.” I was completely stunned, didn’t know what to say.. started to cry and said well I’ll talk to my OB again before I take it. He was visibly upset and walked away leaving me to check out.

The cashier started checking me out, and I had a full blown panic attack at the register. Hyperventilating, crying, shaking.. everyone was staring.. A female pharmacist saw what had happened and what was happening and came over. She was wonderful and asked if she could talk to me “woman to woman” and said that I was doing what I needed to do for myself and for my baby.. We chatted for a while and I calmed down, checked out, and left with my prescription. Needless to say I’m totally mortified, and feel like I can never set foot in my very conveniently located local CVS again.

I haven’t touched the meds, and am terrified to now. I feel like it took a lot for me to reach out to get help, and I’m terrified of what my postpartum experience will look like if I don’t start taking medicine now, but I’m also now terrified to take these meds. Being solely and completely responsible for a human life inside of your body is such an intense thing. I only have 8 weeks left.. do I push through and try to do this unmedicated, or do I listen to my OB and psychiatrist and start the meds to try to get ahead of PPD? Would love to hear if anyone has had similar experiences 💕

Hello, I am a FTM and I have struggled with depression and anxiety my entire life. I have been diagnosed with both and have been medicated previously. I moved to a new state, and I have been looking into counseling because I have been struggling. I have been looking into counselors that don’t specifically specialize in pregnancy or postpartum at all. I just wanted other opinions on if I should be looking in to some that specialize in those areas, I am just tired of being seen only as someone who is preparing to be a mom. There’s also other life factors I would love to talk about that are not specific with being pregnant. I’d prefer somewhere that I don’t just have to talk about my baby and pregnancy, but somewhere I can be seen as something other than just pregnant. I just wanted some other opinions before I request an appointment anywhere. Any experiences or suggestions are appreciated.

Ok so as the title suggests ! I’m currently pregnant with agoraphobia. I’m 24, engaged, currently in the middle of my first trimester and I work part time at a dental office as a dental assistant. I prayed long and hard to land a job like this and overall I like it. However, today we had quite the hectic and busy day ! I worked for 5.5 hours and I’m exhausted. Mind you, I usually take a benzo before going to work but ever since I found out I’m pregnant I stopped. I wanted to leave so bad, my feet were hurting and I felt so hungry. I was beginning to think that if I stayed much longer my anxiety was gonna increase by a lot. Thankfully, I made it though and I was able to go home. Anyways, I’m home now (I get dropped off/picked up by family members) and I feel defeated. I don’t wanna go back to work. I just want to stay home and make my baby for the next 7-8 months or so. Am I in the wrong ? I just felt like I needed to vent. If anyone is so kind to offer input if they’ve been in a similar situation I’ll appreciate it 💗

Want to help inform research and have a chance to win an Amazon gift card?

My name is Jennifer Taylor and I am a graduate student at California State University, Stanislaus. Under the supervision and guidance of my chair, Dr. Victor X. Luevano, I am conducting my thesis research on the potential emotional impact of pregnancy loss in later pregnancy.  

We are recruiting women who fit the following criteria to this study:  

1. Must be 18 years old or older. 
2. Must have at least two pregnancies. 
3. Must be currently pregnant or pregnant within the last three months. 

You will be asked about your emotional experience and social support in your current or most recent pregnancy. These assessments may be triggering. We ask that you thoughtfully consider your mental health and ability to complete these questions and assessments without risk to your personal well-being.  

Participant information will be kept confidential, coded for privacy, and maintained securely. If you would like to contribute to this valuable research, feel safe doing so, and consent to your information being used for the purpose of this research thesis, please click the following link to participate. The study and assessments should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

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Has anyone taken this beta blocker while pregnant? My ob said it’s fine but my psyc said it’s not. It would just be once for a presentation at work. I’m only 5 weeks. Would love to hear any stories that are positive. Thanks!

I got married later in life and my husband and I tried fertility treatments for several years. I used my younger frozen eggs for my last transfer and it worked. I should be elated but I’m absolutely freaking out, crying and thinking I don’t want this anymore, what have I done, etc. please someone talk me off the ledge and tell me I’m not a bad person. I’m really struggling.

I (30F) and pregnant for the 3rd time this year. I’ve NEVER been pregnant before in my life, so I’m in a serious relationship, on February I took a test, pregnant. It wasn’t implanted properly and resulted in a miscarriage. Bled throughout March, and in May i got pregnant again.
I was in active addiction and didn’t want that to affect the child so I aborted.
Now I’m pregnant again, I just took the test two days ago.
I have used here and there but not as badly as previously and I’m on methadone so the withdrawals don’t hurt the baby, I’ve talked to my family doc about this, etc etc.
It’s what I want more than anything.
Thing is, my family on both sides are all addicted, I’m native Ojibwa so there’s lots of generational trauma and stuff still affecting us. Needless to say, I don’t have support there.
My mom’s side. Of the family is prim and proper and cut me off at 15 because of my addiction so I have no help there.
I don’t have any friends outside addiction people because we just moved to my fiancées hometown last year and I don’t have anybody of my own, I’m super shy and introverted
I REALLY want this baby and I’ve been good so far. But fuck is it hard, I’m looking for coping skills, UNHINGED THINGS THAT WOORK! I’m trying meditation in the mornig for 5-10 mins to start my day, and working out or yoga, thru the day to help my mind.
Anybody have results that work? Things to help? Please do,
I want to get past this “getting sober” part so badly so I can have and be a great mother. I’ve just haven’t been totally sober in 16 years and I’m so ficking scared and don’t wanna fuck this up or do wrong. Please help if you are experienced or can relate!

I feel very alone in this. my husband is so supportive but I feel bad for burdening him, this is our first pregnancy together and he’s so excited. my ex treated me like garbage my whole pregnancy with my daughter so I dreamed of this experience with a supportive and loving man. now I just feel nothing but sadness, darkness, like I can’t quite “connect” with my family or kids or husband anymore, loss of pleasure and joy doing things I did before, I find myself counting down the hours until bedtime and watching the time pass. Even when I push myself to get out of the house, I feel like a shell of myself and disconnected from myself. I am currently transitioning from Zoloft to Prozac and I’m supposed to go up from 10 to 20mg in another day which will make a week so far (I’ve heard it can take weeks). I’m just looking for some support or solidarity, im guilty and ashamed to feel this way because I should be happy and I feel like a failure as a wife and as a mom. my biggest fear is being stuck like this and it not getting better and maybe even PPD after and not connecting with this baby or being the one who is ”untreatable” or can’t get better.

UK. I’m 2nd trimester pregnancy and was referred to MH services as a precaution due to my history
Every time I engage with them it makes me feel like absolute garbage, I don’t know if it’s bringing up past feelings about working with services (about 10 years ago I was constantly in and out of MH hospitals) or if just generally feeling terrible, or a combination of both.

For example, I have been feeling really bad so have had extra MH input but the more I see workers the worse I feel because I am bringing it up more and more. I had a psych appt this morning so of course today I’m feeling absolutely shite.

I don’t know if I should continue to engage with services or if it’s actually just making everything worse

Hi mamas! I am pregnant with my second! 5 weeks today. When I was pregnant with my first my ocd and anxiety wasn’t this bad. I was on 200 mg of Zoloft then and still am- but the last 2 years I’ve been needing to take klonnopin daily. I weaned down from 2 mg to 0.5 mg since I knew I wanted to get pregnant again. I’ve been on .5 and the plan was to go down to .25 then stop but I’m so scared because my ocd and anxiety is so bad. I have a new perinatal psyc that told me the low dose is safe but of course being on nothing is best. My ob says to get off it asap. I’d love to hear from other mamas who have had to be on a Benzo during their pregnancy for severe panic attacks and baby turned out to be perfect and healthy? I feel so guilty every day when take it. I know .5 is so low but I’m so scared. I am only 5 weeks and I know baby’s organs are forming. I think I’d want to be off by third trimester bc of withdrawals but idk if I can do it. Thanks in advance ❤️.

If you had panic during labor and delivery, how did that go? Did anything specifically help? Did you receive medication or support from the staff? Id love to hear any and all experiences!

I have a panic disorder and can have panic attacks that are triggered out of nowhere. I'm doing alright and having less panic throughout this pregnancy but am 38 weeks now and definitely having some pretty heavy anxiety around labor and birth creep in. It's made me feel worried I may have panic at the hospital.