getting pregnant while on ADD meds

[Tara]

marytom [guest]
getting pregnant while on ADD meds Posted 9-3-2002 01:55

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I am searching for any information or research about continuing ADD medications while trying to get pregnant

[Tara]

I was just reading the Section of the Book "Understanding Women with AD/HD" about pregnancy and Medication.

http://www.addforums.com/forums/show...=&threadid=188


It suggested that many AD/HD Medications only be used by pregnant women if the benefit to the mother justifies the potential Risk to the Fetus.

There have not been any cotrolled studies about ADD meds and
pregnancy. Which really isn't surprising since most of the reseach
about ADD has been done on males.

There have been studies done on amimals who were given amphetamines while pregnant and their off spring had heart problems.

They also studied women who took dexadrine while pregnant. It said that when the children were not born with heart problem but heart problems showed up when the children were about 3.

[Tara]

Here's a link too
http://www.womensmentalhealth.org/to..._lib_ADHD.html

[pidderpadder]

Tara,

What did you find out? I know that for now I am taking Zoloft for PMS mood swings. My psychiatrist says he will walk me through a pregnancy on it if need be. It is a class B. I am also taking gingko biloba. That helps when I remember to take it. He won't let me have another stimulant though. My life is chaotic. I want to get pregnant but I am so scattered. Write back if you want to talk.

[Tara]

I really haven't found too much more out. I too am trying to get pregnant. I haven't been on AD/HD meds for few years so I'm not about to start them now.

From what I have researched Omega-3 supplements may help during and after prenancy.

[Andrew]

Yes, Tara...the same warning is in the Strattera packaging as well as well as warnings if you plan on breastfeeding.

[Tara]

I have also read that the hormonal changes that women go through during pregnancy are supposed decrease the negative AD/HD symptoms.

Women also tend to lead a more healthy life style while pregnant too. So, that may also be a factor.

[karmavoodoo]

Yikes! I wish... I'm 6 months pregnant and I feel more nuts than usual. My hormones are raging and I can't take anything for the ADD so I end up venting on my husband. Sigh... maybe I'm just "lucky".

[amiegrace]

I asked my doctor about meds when trying to get pregnant -- he said that I'd have to go off of everything (Wellbutrin. Lamictal, Ritalin). I've been steadily decreasing over the last six months.

I recommend trying bright , light therapy for PMS, mood swings, depression, etc. Research indicates its effective and there's no reason not to even when pregnant that I know of. It really helps keep mood up -- as long as you don't do it so much that you get irritable.

Fish oil supplements are awesome -- for some reason ADDers "eat them up faster" in their brains. I take 5-10/day, depending on the time of the month. B vitamins are a huge help, too, especially folic acid (which as you know you MUST supplement before getting pregnant to have neural development of your baby, it's most important the first several months. Choline (a B vitamin) found in egg yolks is supposed to help baby's brain (and yours too). Also, for some reason, hydrogenated fats (in baked goods, chips, etc.) mess with your brain cells and "harden" them, making it harder to transmit messages.

Exercise really helps with the ADD too (and delivery, I hear). At least an hour a day -- moderate intensity --

Hope this helps -- additional suggestions are very very welcome --

PS is anyone else a little worried about keeping track of baby stuff?

[sred]

I am trying to get pregnant now and still taking meds. I am fairly dependent on meds to stay focused. I am looking for either someone to tell me to keep taking them when I am pregnant becuase it does not adversely impact the fetus but ... no one is telling me this

So I am looking for an alternative treatment to help me stay focused.

Can you or (anyone) tell me more about the fish oil supplements? What do you take? How much? Does it really help you focus?

thanks

[Wheel1975]

Originally posted by livingwithadd
I was just reading the Section of the Book "Understanding Women with AD/HD" about pregnancy and Medication.

http://www.addforums.com/forums/show...=&threadid=188


It suggested that many AD/HD Medications only be used by pregnant women if the benefit to the mother justifies the potential Risk to the Fetus.

They also studied women who took dexadrine while pregnant. It said that when the children were not born with heart problem but heart problems showed up when the children were about 3.

I'm wondering why you don't think this is appropriate to bring up in the threads on "should people with ADD procreate?"

It doesn't seem too unhelpful or dangerous for you to talk about here....

[Andrew]

Dont you think this has something more to do with taking meds while pregnant, versus the "procreation issue"?

Its widely known that taking many meds may be harmful to a baby in the womb. Non-ADD females may have others medical conditions that may require taking meds, perhaps while pregnant. Is it your opinion, then, that non-add women should not conceive, based on the off chance that they would have to take meds during pregnancy as well? What about women with another medical condition, other than ADD? Does your opinion apply to them as well? They shouldn't even consider procreation?

What is your opinion, wheel?

[Wheel1975]

The male spermagenesis takes about 90 days. It has been shown that certain drug use during that period can cause significant birth defects, etc., in the progeny produced.

I would strongly recommend against use of those drugs in that period.

Women are constitued significantly differently. The same step (the halving of the DNA) that occurs in the male during that 90 days, happens in females TWO MONTHS BEFORE THEY ARE THEMSELVES BORN.

Thus, the vulnerablity from that factor alone exists for MUCH longer in women.

In addition to the impact of various drugs prior to conception, many, including alcohol and smoking cigarettes can cause problems for progeny related to which phase of pregnancy the mother might be in at the time.

This difference between male and female constitutions and roles radically increases the potential restrictions on women, not only before conception, but all the way through pregnancy and potentially 4 or 5 years of nursing.

It also means that the MOTHER of a female might have a negative impact on the GRANDCHILDREN due to drugs she may take or be exposed to...

(Does anyone really think that ROGAIN and having hair on your head should be so important that a preganat woman simply picking up a ROGAIN pill could cause birth defects? That warning is on the drug!) My pill container has allsorts of dust from the pils i carry in there... what if i reach inot my ocket to get a pill, and with its dust on my fingers touch a railling at a movie, that then a pregnant woman touches, and deforms her baby? Does the societal value of hairy heads really go that far?

Not for me personally!)

I would think it unwise to take some risks, and i would think information and discusion would be the best way to explore that, not, refusing to talk about things in a thread about whether people who are ADD should reproduce, or what role society might APpropriately play.

That is my opinion and my 2 cents. Does that sound like Hitler should be mentioned in this context to you?

Thanks for asking.

[Wheel1975]

Pregnancy—Topical minoxidil has not been studied in pregnant women. However, some studies in animals have shown that Rogaine, when given by mouth, causes problems during pregnancy, although the studies have not shown that the medicine causes birth defects. Before using this medicine, make sure your doctor knows if you are pregnant or if you may become pregnant.

http://www.hairlosstruth.com/rogaine.html

Don't you just wonder what those problems are?

[amiegrace]

UMM, Guys, Males?

I don't mean to bust in on your biology-thon, and I appreciate the philosophy lessons, and I'm not trying to be rude or disrespectful, but this thread is for WOMEN who are CONTEMPLATING PREGNANCY and NEED HELP figuring out about their meds!

Perhaps there is another milieu more appropriate for you to discuss this . . . perhaps the MEN with ADD link?? Really, no ill will intended, but it bums me out when people get all "eugenics-crazy" on me, pro or con. I know a lot of us ADD people are a little on the kooky side, but a lot of us also have astronomically high IQs (you two are obviously intelligent), and the world is a better place for us. Think about all the "normals" you know -- what percentage of them do you think should have their DNA swimming in the gene pool???

ANYHOOO -- SRED -- let me answer your question. I am the natural med queen and I have taken years to perfect my vitamin/supplement regimen. The MOST HELPFUL are as follows (especially if you suffer from PMS) -- hundreds of hours of research helped me to cull out the following . . .

1) fish oil. Just take the kind that has EPA and DHA. Manic people got off of their meds and most didn't relapse in a Harvard study (they were taking I think 10-14 grams a day).

The more icky fat you eat (saturated and partially hydrogenated), the more fish oil you need. Get a decent brand like Natrol or GNC, and start by taking 3-4 capsules AT NIGHT. I stress at night because you will have fierce fish burps and perhaps icky tummy for a while. If you are wanting to get pregnant, I would shoot for anywhere from 6-10 a day. Sounds like a lot, but ALL of us are starving for Omega 3 fats -- the American diet stinks. Eat fish too. Baby will need the O 3s. Try flax seed oil, too.

2) MAGNESIUM, in a chelated form, anywhere from 250-500 mg/day. I can't stress this one enough. It relaxes muscles and helps all the other minerals to work. Take CALCIUM, too, about 1200 mg. per day. Chills you out. And a good multivitamin with iron as well.

3) Stop drinking any kind of coke, coffee, etc. I used to drink coffee like it was going out of style. I did a two-day water fast and got off of it with minimal pain. Way more relaxed, less anxious. Soda has lots of phosphorus and robs your body of vitamins. Drink decaf green tea, too. Lots of antioxidants. Brain burns a lot of sugar (glucose) and free radicals can totally gunk stuff up --

4) Vitamin C. 1000-1500 mg/day.

5) VERY IMPORTANT -- B Vitamin complex, 50 mg. Add 100 mg. B6 and 100 mg. B1 to this and . . .

6) FOLIC ACID IS A MUST, MUST, MUST. You must build it up in your system (most people are deficient) and Baby must have it as soon as you conceive. I take anywhere from 800-1600 mcg. per day (about 2 - 4 times as much as in a regular vitamin). Folic acid chills you out too. You can't overdose on B vitamins, except B6, which will numb your hands and feet if you take too much -- over maybe 250 mg. per day.

7) Drink a lot of water.

8) Watch for food sensitivities. My major one is sugar. I am a (excuse the language) *****y wreck when I get on sugar -- lots of mood changes come from blood sugar havoc. Do you love sweets? The more you do, the more you need to ixnay on the ugarshay. Plus avoid, of course, refined bread, flour, chips, junk food. You'll feel way better, think better, and look better before and after baby!

9) Watch for reactions to commonly allergenic foods -- wheat, milk, corn, chocolate, citrus fruit. Some can cause delayed reactions. Reactions can include fogbrain, meanness, restlessness, hatred of mankind in general, sleepiness, skin eruptions, etc.

10) Try to avoid food colorings and additives. I was off sugar and chemicals for a while and felt great. I made some Kool-Aid with saccharin (which I can tolerate in SMALL amounts, unlike Splenda and Nutrasweet which both make me MENTAL). Anyway, after about 10 minutes I was giggling and flipping out and hyper. I thought, what's up? It was RED DYE #20. Totally spazzed me out. Same with MSG (also called "natural flavorings"). These are excitotoxins and make your brain HAYWIRE.

11) I have found digestive enzymes extremely helpful, which have betaine HCl, pepsin, papaya, etc. Low stomach acid can cause food to be improperly digested, and also cause you not to absorb iron, vitamins, etc, very well. If you have any digestive problems at all, try this. It doesn't matter what supplements you take if you aren't absorbing them.

12) Exercise helps so very much. Moderate, daily exercise is the closest thing you can get to a chill pill in this world, and the closest thing to the fountain of youth too -- anything that works your muscles for a solid period of time will benefit just about everything, including your thinking.

All of these suggestions should be relatively inexpensive and all are safe and beneficial before, during, and after pregnancy as far as I know.

Side note -- if you had to be perfect to have a baby, the human race would have died out long ago. A lot of people take a lot of medicines, and just the foods that we eat -- with the thousands of hormones, additives, etc., should be enough to make our babies come out with eight heads. If you want a baby, go for it.
I never thought I would have kids, but God is a miracle worker and I believe one day I'll have a healthy pregnancy and a beautiful baby!!

Let me know if you need any suggestions or help at all -- I really would like to help you out.

Amie