Posted by Racer on August 10, 2004, at 11:20:52
In reply to HELP-may be pregnant need to stop Effexor XR use, posted by Koukla on August 9, 2004, at 22:55:30
Most of the anti-depressants are catagory C in pregnancy, meaning that there's no definitive answer about whether they are harmful or not. That said, the usual recommendation is, if you can handle stopping them, do; otherwise, stay on them and monitor everything carefully. The main reason they're catagory C is that no one in her right mind would want to be a guinea pig for the studies, in case the drugs are detrimental. And, of course, most doctors wouldn't find it ethically comfortable to ask a woman to take that chance.
That said, there are some animal studies done on most of these drugs in pregnancy. That's no sort of guarantee that anything learned there carries over to humans, by the way. (Thalidomide was studied pretty extensively in rabbits during pregnancy and deemed safe, for example.)
In your case, my heart goes out to you. I have a history of early miscarriage, and it's heartbreaking. In your position, I'd do anything I could to minimize the risks, including stopping all meds. Now for the bad news: the withdrawal from Effexor may also be a problem in pregnancy -- it is stressful. You've been at such a low dose that it shouldn't be all that hard for you, which is good, but cold turkey is probably too much stress for you or a developing fetus. Your doctor is probably balancing that risk against the risk of the drug in suggesting that you taper down. And that's what I'd try to do, too, if I were to (miraculously, at this point) get pregnant.
Here's my advice: relax, hope for the best, recognize that there are conflicting stressors to balance, and taper as quickly as you can without trying to tough it out through withdrawal syndrome. It may take a week for each stage of your taper, it may take more. Take the time needed for you to do it as smoothly as you can. My own taper, from a much higher dose for several years, took a lot of "225mg one day, 150mg the next, then 225mg the following day" sorts of stair steps; but at 75mgs, you probably won't have to do that. You might also discuss with your doctor the thought of a dose or two of Prozac to speed the process. The reason Effexor has such a wicked withdrawal is it's short half life. Prozac's halflife in the body is the longest of the SSRIs, so it can ease a lot of that withdrawal. But I don't know what Prozac can do to a fetus, anymore than I can really say what Effexor does.
Best luck to you, and best luck for the rabbit test to come back positive -- in every sense.
poster:Racer
thread:375827
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040805/msgs/376005.html