Very unexpected pregnancy - am terrified

Nicki

I think you need to stop panicking and thinking the worst. It's very unlikely the psychiatrist will tell you that the drug you are on will have a high likelihood of causing a serious birth defect. In fact a quick google suggests that this is one of the antidepressants regarded as being safe in pregnancy

http://members.optusnet.com.au/mblock/medication.html

So it's in fact more likely that if you'd been taking something else that you would have been switched to this one, rather than be told that you are doing the baby harm. That being said, now that you are pregnant, you probably need to be monitored more closely by the psychiatrist because it is a major life event, and the hormonal changes can play havoc with your mental health, so an emergency appointment is not a bad thing. Is it worth calling his secretary and asking whether he can phone you just to discuss the medication issue while you wait for an appointment to come through if this will set your mind at rest. I am sure if he got this message and considered there was any risk at all to your unborn child he'd call you immediately to tell you to stop taking the drugs.

reallydontknowwhattodo

Nicki wrote: »

I think you need to stop panicking and thinking the worst. It's very unlikely the psychiatrist will tell you that the drug you are on will have a high likelihood of causing a serious birth defect. In fact a quick google suggests that this is one of the antidepressants regarded as being safe in pregnancy

http://members.optusnet.com.au/mblock/medication.html

So it's in fact more likely that if you'd been taking something else that you would have been switched to this one, rather than be told that you are doing the baby harm. That being said, now that you are pregnant, you probably need to be monitored more closely by the psychiatrist because it is a major life event, and the hormonal changes can play havoc with your mental health, so an emergency appointment is not a bad thing. Is it worth calling his secretary and asking whether he can phone you just to discuss the medication issue while you wait for an appointment to come through if this will set your mind at rest. I am sure if he got this message and considered there was any risk at all to your unborn child he'd call you immediately to tell you to stop taking the drugs.

Thank you for your post, i have googled my tablets and pregnancy thousands of times in last few days and hadnt seen that one! i just looked at the website you quoted and it actually seems to contridict itself 1stly saying:

MAOInhibitors are effective antidepressants but are not safe to use during pregnancy so I will not discuss them further, other than to say 'don't take themduring pregnancy or if breat feeding'.

but then goes on to say that moclobemide which is a MAOI is thought to be safe:

moclobemide(Aurorix) is a reversible MAOInhibitor that is not available in the USA, but is available in Australia. Whilst there is evidence that orthodox MAOIs are teratogenic, (that is they cause birth abnormalities) there is no evidence that moclobemide is teratogenic. There are studies currently that may indicate that moclobemide may be used in breast feeding, and indeed it appears to be secreted in breast milk in lower levels than sertraline.

I think that this is the problem with the normal GP not being sure either, it seems to be a weird medication, it is a MAOI but has some differences from other drugs in that group and all the advice is conflicting.

brians_daughter

Reallydontknowwhattodo...i just couldnt stop thinking about you. So I have asked a good friend of mine who is a senior midwife at our local hospital about the drug you are taking and she looked it up in the books she had and said 'whilst not ideal, but what drug is, the risk of complications are small.' (i did lie and say it was a for a friend..didnt wanna admit it was for person off an internet forum lol)

She couldnt say anything else as she doesnt know you, your dose or history but suggested you called the person who your GP has sent the referal to yourself NOW and leave a message. She said even urgent GP ref's can take weeks where a call from you to their secretary outlining why its urgent will mean they will prob call you back same day with the info you need and will book you in to see them ASAP.

So dont wait for GP ref to go through..pick up the phone today, now and make it happen! If you dont know the name of the person you need to speak to call your GP surgery and ask them to tell you - it will be documented in your file. No one cares about your health more than you do , so get pro-active about it (i didnt mean that in a nasty way..more motivational! lol)

reallydontknowwhattodo

brians daughter - thank you so much for doing that, the fact that you'd do that for a random person off the internet is so kind - and set me off crying again (in a nice way lol!) I would thank you a million times if i could.

That has put my mind at rest a little, though obviously i understand as you said, that it mat depend upon dose, my history etc.

Actually received a call from the MH people whilst at work and theyve left a message asking me to call them back, so hopefully things are moving quite quickly. I did call them back but person i need to speak to wasnt in the office, so i left them a message to call me back, so fingers crossed they will this afternoon.

Thank you so much again for what you've done

Am feeling very 'sicky' today and actually thought i was going to be sick at work - which worries me as i work in the care industry and if we're sick we are not allowed back to work for 72 hours (to stop the spread of bugs) which in this situation is obviously not applicable as its not catching! So if/when it happens not too sure how im going to explain that one

poppy10_2

reallydontknowwhattodo wrote: »

Feel really teary and a bit down today now, as i cant help that every day that passes the tablets are potienally doing more and more harm to the baby. Me and partner have decided we would like to keep it, but at the back of my mind we know that this may not be possible - for example if the phychtrist says theres virtually a certainty of something being VERY wrong due to the tablets.

I really wouldn't worry. Moclobemide is one of the safer antidepressants for use in pregnancy. It has not been shown to produce any birth defects in animal studies or clinical use. Ideally no-one would be on any medication while pregnant, but if you have a history of serious mental health problems then the risks of coming off your meds would likely outweigh any potential risk to the developing baby.

And there's no way the psychiatrist would ever tell you to have an abortion