Posted by ms. b. on January 30, 2001, at 12:21:04
In reply to PMDD:So many questions!, posted by Jules726 on January 27, 2001, at 19:14:46
Hi Jules,
Run, do not walk, to the nearest bookstore (or hop on Amazon.com) and buy the recent book by Valerie Davis Raskin, MD, called:
When Words are not Enough: the Women's Prescription for Depression and Anxiety. (New York: Broadway Books, a division of Bantam/Doubleday/Dell, 1997)
From the blurb on the back: "Valerie Davis Raskin is one of the nation's leading experts on the impact of psychiatric drugs on women. A Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Chicago, she is the co-author of This Isn't What I Expected, a guide to postpartum depression..."
Specifically for you, Jules, is Ch. 11, "I want to have a baby: guidelines for medication use during pregnancy." Her main points are that: you shouldn't assume you have to choose between alleviating your illness and having a baby, that many medications for depression and anxiety (also used for what you have - PMDD) do not appear to increase the baseline risk of physical birth defects, that studies have neither proven nor disproven the possibility of harmful effects of medications on the developing fetal brain, etc.
She recommends that each woman's situation be considered on a case by case basis, balancing untreated illness with the so-far theoretical risks of taking medication while pregnant. She says also that cultural biases against women with emotional illnesses becoming mothers makes women wait far too long to report problems to their doctors in the first place. And then they don't get the treatment they should because doctors tell them to hold out for as long as they can against medication...
So Jules, you're doing really well to find out all you can beforehand and make the best decision for you and your family. In my personal opinion, and please don't take this the wrong way, it's not fair either to your husband or for your new baby to have a wife or mother who's at her wit's end for 3 weeks out of 4. Heck, it's not fair to you! And if you feel so out of control that you feel you can't drive safely, it's a very REAL risk to yourself and your infant. That would be enough for me to get the medication necessary. Your OB/GYN should be able to refer you to a good psychiatrist or psychopharmacologist who can answer your questions and prescribe you something, if you choose that route.
My own depression developed while I was pregnant, and Raskin talks about this in detail, too. Amazing how our bodies and chemistries are all so varied!
All the best, and let us know how it turns out for you in your search for some answers...
B.
> Hi. This is my first time posting a message anywhere on the internet but I really need some answers.
> I am 28 years old and have been suffering these terrible symptoms since I was about 12.
> I'll never forget how one day I woke up and all of a sudden had no self confidence, began having panic attacks, couldn't control my temper and overall was just not a happy person.
> I guess I should start on how I found this message board.
> My husband and I just had our first child in June of 2000 (which since I was pregnant I have had none of those feelings).
> We would like to start trying to have another so I went to the doctor to see if there was any way to tell whether or not I was ovulating(I've been breast feeding exclusively until about a month ago--now only twice a day).
> I still have not menstruated since I got pregnant but those awful feelings are back and surprise, surprise, yesterday I got my period.
> While I was at the doctors I described the awful emotional turmoil I go through every month due to my period (my husband jokes that he only gets one good week out of me a month because I begin acting crazy two weeks before and the week of).
> He didn't come out and say that he thought it was PMDD but he gave me some samples of Celexa to try.
> I wanted to do some research before I began taking them because my doctor said there wasn't enough literature out to say whether or not it's safe to take while trying to get pregnant (but there are no studies showing negative effects).
> Reading through some other message boards I became extremely scared due to all the awful side effects that people were experiencing.
> I am a Masters student in exercise physiology so I know the benefits of exercise and eating healthy.
> However, I know there is some chemical imbalance within me (and I have always known but everyone told me I was just sensitive)and exercise and diet alone is just not enough.
> The past 17 months have been wonderful due to not having to deal with this but these past couple weeks have been brutal(on myself and on my husband).
> Could someone please tell me what they know of the available drugs out there that may not interfere with me getting pregnant or while being pregnant(I feel if I do not do something that I will not be able to become pregnant just due to stress)?
> I do have to say that I feel so much better finally knowing that this has been something that I couldn't control and that there ared others who are dealing with these issues as well.
> It is amazing how disruptive it can be to your life and relationships.
> On one of the boards someone was talking about that they even need to be driven around by someone else when this happens.
> And it's funny because I told my husband yesterday that I should not have been in the car because I was out of control.
> Well I'll be looking forward to hearing some news.
> Thank you.
> Jules
> Hi. This is my first time posting a message anywhere on the internet but I really need some answers.
> I am 28 years old and have been suffering these terrible symptoms since I was about 12.
> I'll never forget how one day I woke up and all of a sudden had no self confidence, began having panic attacks, couldn't control my temper and overall was just not a happy person.
> I guess I should start on how I found this message board.
> My husband and I just had our first child in June of 2000 (which since I was pregnant I have had none of those feelings).
> We would like to start trying to have another so I went to the doctor to see if there was any way to tell whether or not I was ovulating(I've been breast feeding exclusively until about a month ago--now only twice a day).
> I still have not menstruated since I got pregnant but those awful feelings are back and surprise, surprise, yesterday I got my period.
> While I was at the doctors I described the awful emotional turmoil I go through every month due to my period (my husband jokes that he only gets one good week out of me a month because I begin acting crazy two weeks before and the week of).
> He didn't come out and say that he thought it was PMDD but he gave me some samples of Celexa to try.
> I wanted to do some research before I began taking them because my doctor said there wasn't enough literature out to say whether or not it's safe to take while trying to get pregnant (but there are no studies showing negative effects).
> Reading through some other message boards I became extremely scared due to all the awful side effects that people were experiencing.
> I am a Masters student in exercise physiology so I know the benefits of exercise and eating healthy.
> However, I know there is some chemical imbalance within me (and I have always known but everyone told me I was just sensitive)and exercise and diet alone is just not enough.
> The past 17 months have been wonderful due to not having to deal with this but these past couple weeks have been brutal(on myself and on my husband).
> Could someone please tell me what they know of the available drugs out there that may not interfere with me getting pregnant or while being pregnant(I feel if I do not do something that I will not be able to become pregnant just due to stress)?
> I do have to say that I feel so much better finally knowing that this has been something that I couldn't control and that there ared others who are dealing with these issues as well.
> It is amazing how disruptive it can be to your life and relationships.
> On one of the boards someone was talking about that they even need to be driven around by someone else when this happens.
> And it's funny because I told my husband yesterday that I should not have been in the car because I was out of control.
> Well I'll be looking forward to hearing some news.
> Thank you.
> Jules
poster:ms. b.
thread:3315
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010122/msgs/52957.html