Anyone taken Lexapro 20mg while pregnant?
I’m 8 weeks along and I’m still on Lexapro. They say not to take this into the 3rd trimester but I am wondering how I am going to deal with my depression if I go off of it? has anyone here experienced taking Lexapro while pregnant too? Have you stayed on it your whole pregnancy? My first prenatal appt isn’t until 2 weeks from now. Any answers from others with experience is welcome.
Thanks, T
I think I have decided that I will cut back slowly – first from 20 mg then go backward until I am down to 5mg. I’m going to talk to my doctor about this when I go see her on the 29th but I may see my regular doctor that prescribes it for me before then. Thanks for all who replied! – T
Tagged with: 20mg • Anyone • Lexapro • Pregnant • taken
Filed under: Prenatal Depression
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
I was on 20mg when I found out I was pregnant. I asked my doctor and he lowered it to only 5mg just to be safe. And even with just the 5mg I would have to stop 6-8 weeks before birth because the baby gets addicted to the lexapro. I stopped it all together and have learned to just deal with it just incase. You should ask your doctor though, you come first because if your stressed your baby will be stressed. Hope I helped a little!
You want to wean yourself off the lexapro starting now. It can cause birht defects to the heart and lungs. You will have to start buy taking 18 mg, then 16, and so on and so forth until you are off it entirely, the sooner the better. My friend who took it lost her baby due to the defects it caused for her child. As for your depression, sorry to be mean, but you will just have to deal with it until after the baby is born.
When you have your prenatal visit, let them know that you are on it. They will advise you whether or not to be on it. There are not enough of studies that have been done on it as to any effects that it might give to your child. Once you get the advise, you will need to discuss it with your partner and see what they think and then go to your doctor that prescribed it and see what your options are. There are other drugs that you could take that don’t cause any side effects or birth defects.
I am currently 23-24 weeks and it was recommended that I not take it, but the choice was up to me. I stopped taking it after 7 weeks. It all will depend on how severe your depression was. I had two lapses and lexapro was the one that worked and I was told I would have to be on it for 5 years, that was a year and a few months ago. I haven’t had any problems since, and it seems like the pregnancy has helped.
It’s all going to be your choice and what options you have and how long you’ve been on it already. With being as far as I am right now, I’ve been doing good without it. Sure there are times where I would like to be on it, but so far so good… Best wishes!
I never had depression in my life until during my first pregnancy. My OB/GYN put me on Lexapro during my 2nd trimester. I continued it through the 1st part of my 3rd trimester. I was supposed to take it through the 3rd trimester also but it made me feel like such a zombie that I just couldn’t handle feeling that way anymore.
Should have stayed on it, or something, b/c I suffered from a mild case of post pardon depression too.
I was on Lexapro and Xanax before pregnancy. My doctor informed me that there have been no studies done on pregnant women taking these drugs. Because of that, if I got pregnant while taking them, I could either stop or keep taking them in smaller doses.
She advised that it would be my risk since there are no studies to indicate whether these drugs are good, bad, or neutral for the unborn baby.
I chose to stop them right before I got pregnant. I have found ways to manage my depression naturally without using meds that have not been studied. I’d rather a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby.
But everyone’s needs are different and if your depression is constant and leads to suicidal thoughts, maybe the meds are a better risk.
Good luck and I wish you a healthy and happy pregnancy!!!
dont take it! my doctor told me to only take it if i was going to like commit suicide if i wasnt on it, i miscarried at 8 weeks cause lexapro my doctor beleives.