# Fluoxetine in early pregnancy?



## robbie71 (Feb 28, 2009)

Hello friendly pharmacists  

Have a question I hope I can get an answer to...

My wife suffers from quite bad bouts of depression which have all but been cleared up by taking Fluoxetine (one a day) - namely, as long as she keeps taking the tablets, she's perfectly OK. However, we also know, from experience, if she stops taking them, within 3 weeks to a month, depression, stress, paranoia etc kick in.

We were thrilled to get a long awaited positive a week ago after ICSI, but are now trying to do all we can to ensure everything goes well.

My wife went to see her doctor today, and asked about the Fluoxetine, and the doctor advised her to stop taking it immediately, but the leaflet in the pack states quite clearly "Fluoxetine is safe to take during pregnancy"

So we're confused

Do we take the doctors advice in the knowledge, within a month (and still only 7 weeks after ET) my wife will have terrible depression, paranoia, be totally stressed out, etc?

Or do we take the leaflets advice, and have her keep taking the tablets?


What will harm a baby more? A a massively stressed mother to be, or one Fluoxetine daily?


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## mazv (Jul 31, 2006)

Hi Robbie71,

Many congratualtions on your BFP  wonderful news.

Can I ask if DW was prescribed the fluoxetine by her GP or a mental health specialist? Does she have any contact or follow up appointments with anyone in relation to her depression? I would suggest that she should at least be monitored during the pregnancy because of her history.

It is relatively common for women with depression to continue with antidepressant treatment during the pregnancy so I'm not sure why Dr would have advised to stop immediatley? Fluoxetine is generally considered to be the SSRI antidepressant of choice in pregnancy and all the evidence gathered to date seems to suggest that it is safe to take throughout pregnancy. There is a national guideline for the treatment of mental health problems during and after pregnancy (NICE guideline 45, April 2007) http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/pdf/CG045NICEGuidelineCorrected.pdf Might be useful for you to have a look at this and refer Dr to it too.

I would suggest going back to see Dr again to discuss advise as the true risks and benefits need to be carefully considered as untreated depression in pregnancy can be detrimental to both mother and baby.

Hope this helps

Maz x
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## robbie71 (Feb 28, 2009)

Yeah, that's very helpful maz - thanks!


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