Posted by SLS on May 3, 2001, at 10:14:54
In reply to Re: Anyone's exp. on discontinued meds » SLS, posted by judy1 on May 2, 2001, at 11:42:05
Hi Judy.
> My pdoc said 15% of people with bipolar disorder are treatment resistant to any med regime, that was sobering.
I think my doctor would disagree with the 15% number. He seems to be much more optimistic. I never bothered to ask about percentages. Perhaps I am afraid of to hear the answer. It really doesn't matter anyway. Right? I don't think I have any better choice than to keep trying, despite the statistics. (growl)
> There isn't a whole lot out there in terms of women and reproductive health and psychotropics (except maybe ssri's).
You are right. It is deplorable and without redemption. As often seems to be the case, woman are neglected by the men conducting medical research, except, of course, when they are horny.
Tricyclics have proven themselves safe for pregnancy. They have been around 20 years longer than Prozac.
> I guess it's too dangerous to do research on that population.
Probably the best way to retrieve information is to do retrospective studies through interview and medical records or set out to follow a cohort longitudinally.
From what I recall, it is generally advised that any suspect drug be discontinued during the first semester and later restarted if necessary. Also, with regard to Prozac, I believe I read (several years ago) that the only statistic to show any significant deviation from the norm was an increase in the rate of premature births. Most of the AEDs (anticonvulstants) and lithium can cause birth defects, particularly if taken during the first trimester.
The tricyclics (with the exception of doxepin) and sertraline (Zoloft) do not accumulate to any significant degree in breast milk. Prozac does appear in breast milk, and can lead to a reduced rate of weight increase for the infant, and perhaps an increase in colic.
***************************************************************One *extremely* important issue that I do not see mentioned very often is that the infant can experience a medication withdrawal syndrome after birth. I believe this is especially true of the SSRIs. As is the case with adults, it seems that Paxil is particularly liable to cause the SSRI withdrawal. My guess is that Effexor would carry a high risk as well. SSRI withdrawal symptoms occuring in newborns is documented.
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I really like your 10-20-30 rule. :-)
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:61245
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010424/msgs/61505.html