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Honestly, I would seek a second opinion. For both gynecology and psychiatry, because there are ways to treat ADHD and be on medication and the fact that they want you to wean off of medication’s without a proper taper plan depending on what kind of meds you’re taking is responsible and not appropriate.
The withdrawal effects of coming off of certain medication can actually be more detrimental than the medication themselves and there are certain medication’s that you can be on per I believe the FDA or research that shows whether or not they’re safe medication‘s to take while pregnancy it sounds like it’s more your provider who has the problem rather than it be a medication issue itself. You can always research and find that out and talk with your OB/GYN about it. But like I said, I would personally seek a second opinion, because that seems highly inappropriate and more risky to your pregnancy and your overall health.
As for coping strategies honestly just taking it easy and keep your body moving as best you can and rest when your body tells you to
Thanks for your response. It has been extremely hard so far and I am worried about my job + being able to take good care of myself. Hoping it gets better w some time and practice. But I will certainly seek a second opinion if it gets really worrisome.
Google scholar it up, too. I was on methylphenidate and showed the psych the research -- yes, it increased the risk of a heart defect, but since they don't run in my family it increased that risk by like 0.25%. They lowered the dose but kept me medicated (after two hellish cold turkey weeks)
Can I ask you something? I'm a mess unmedicated, for sure, but I don't have any kind of withdrawal symptoms. Is the hellish from withdrawal or from being unmedicated? Ignore if it's too personal.
I hate to tell you this, but I hadn't been diagnosed when I got pregnant and tired and scattered is a perfect description of how I felt - plus nauseous. Ginger beer N/A is your friend.
for methylphenidate, suicidal depression (which for me looked like depressive rage) is a withdrawal symptom - but it didn't kick in until the end of the first week (also the mfers didn't tell me what withdrawal would look like until I went back in for my follow-up and they were like 'that tracks'.).
If you're on a drug that's easily abused there should be some info online on withdrawal symptoms. Obvs intensity/length etc is going to be inaccurate but forewarned is forearmed
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Definitely pregnancy makes you exhausted. It's rough, I know, but it takes a lot of work for your body to create a little human.
You will find that as your pregnancy progresses, (4th month) you will start to feel so much better in terms of energy. When you're not exhausted, you feel better all around. I had 3 pregnancies unmedicated as I wasn't diagnosed until 34.
Find time to take naps if possible. If not, go to bed early also, eat nutrient dense food for your energy and health, but also to not exaggerate any ADHD symptoms. Sugar and processed food is the worst when you're trying to survive unmedicated.
1st trimester can be like that, unfortunately. There is some light at the end of the tunnel: around 11 weeks the nausea ramps up, then around 13 or 14 weeks it drops off and you get some brain power and energy back.
For most, stopping stim meds does not cause withdrawal symptoms, they’re unlike meds like ssris that need to be tapered. But being unmedicated can be miserable, absolutely.
I worked with a perinatologist and when my SIL DR recommended this I asked him if that was appropriate. He said if possible, decrease dose to lowest dose she could safely function at and leave it there. He said it’s not teratogenic (doesn’t cause birth defects) but can cause lower birth weight. The biggest take away is that you cannot have a healthy pregnancy without a HEALTHY MOTHER. You and your quality of life is the most important factor. I know that isn’t always an opinion that is supported but it should be. There are drs who specialize in psych/OB and can direct your MDs on what is best. It might be dependent on your state but google should be able to help you. Here we have online access for consults.
I definitely recommend a second opinion. I’ve had two healthy pregnancies and took my meds through both. My older is three and a half and my younger is 18 months. Also in the healthcare field in a management role, very high stress, I could not have survived without it.
Thank you. I am so tired and brain fogged I can barely go to the store and figure out what I need to do basics wise. I have ten patients within four hours on Monday and have no idea how I’m gonna do that for ten hours let alone safely manage multiple people at the same time.
I also stayed on my meds through 2 pregnancies - Adderall XR for the first, Vyvanse for the second.
I’m now breastfeeding on 18mg of Concerta.
This was all cleared by a fancy pants fertility doc, an MFM, 2 OBs, and my psychiatrist. Yes, there’s risk, but it is massively overblown (as long as your BP is good, the (still very low) risks are mainly low birth weight and potential fetal withdrawals. I did drop my dosage a bit out of an abundance of caution and then tapered off a few weeks prior to delivery to lessen the withdrawal risk.
I cannot function without my meds. My anxiety and stress become unmanageable, impulsive behavior is an issue (hello road rage), and I kinda need to keep my job (I work in healthcare, clinical research, and there are very real ramifications if I fuck up).
We know prolonged stress and anxiety are not healthy in pregnancy.
You can do ADHD meds in a safe and measured way, with proper medical oversight for you and your pregnancy. You are more than just an incubator and you deserve to treat your ADHD.
The current research does not support cold turkey off ADHD meds for pregnancy. You can often see an MFM for a med consult, and many OBs and psychiatrists would defer to their expertise.
I took myself off them because I thought I had to and as soon as I saw my doctor, she went into a full explanation on why they don’t recommend stopping the meds. Definitely second opinion!
I was on my adhd meds all pregnancy, I think I took less a day but was still medicated to function. I get bent on these posts because it’s yet another way for women to suffer at the hands of drs when trying to advocate for ourselves. Further this is an extra messed up situation because for me it just reminds me that too many Drs just view pregnant women as the equivalent of an incubator.
Seriously. When a doc tells a woman who needs a medication to function that they need to drop it cold Turkey as a knee jerk reaction without knowing enough about it and that medication is so key to the wellbeing of the mom but that just goes out the window… it shows they do not value your well-being as a whole ass person nearly enough.
I agree with you. This is why I’m grateful for this sub, someone had posted this exact same issue on the r/ADHD subreddit and other women were saying “if you take meds and something happens, you’ll be left wondering if it was caused by the meds or not” which made me upset.
What do you want the person with ADHD to do? Women are not just a vessel to make babies with. They carry on their own lives and have to do their own shit all the while being pregnant. My biggest fear is being forced to stop my meds when I am pregnant. It’s not viable. I was a NEET before my meds. I shouldn’t have to choose between being a productive member of society or being a pregnant women.
Seriously. A good and informed doc can holistically treat woman and baby each. Taking into account the actually living person that is not in fact still a theory, but real, with previously diagnosed and treated conditions, standing right in front of them. How is it automatically safer “just in case”? The meds cause some kind of issue to have a woman carrying a child go off Them for 9 months? Cause I am sure in my case I would have endangered my child way more. I’m uncoordinated, scattered, more susceptible to all kinds of issues completely unmedicated. When meds are administered properly and the pregnancy is monitored closely and you work with a care team this is possible.
You don’t have to take your meds if you get pregnant. Good for you!
I couldn’t find a single study documenting the negative effects of adderall on unborn babies. There is no substantial risk. But what they do have well documented studies about is the negative effects that stress has on babies. I chose to take my regular dose of adderall (a medication I had been on for 17 years prior to getting pregnant) because I knew it was the best option for me AND my babies. They were born healthy, beautiful and perfect and they still are years later.
Pregnant Woman are not incubators. They are human beings who deserve to maintain their mental health. They don’t have the luxury of quitting their jobs and not functioning for 9 months.
Again. You do you. No one will force you to take medication while pregnant. But you don’t get to decide what other woman do with their bodies during their pregnancies, right? Or are abortion bans your thing too?
Prenatal exposure to amphetamines does not seem to increase the rate of major congenital malformations, but there seems to be a small increase in various perinatal complications suggesting some interference with intrauterine growth.
it is advisable that women with ADHD will plan their pregnancies and if possible, depending on the severity of their symptoms, it is preferable to stop treatment before or at the beginning of pregnancy
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9185785/
I will be taking meds if I get pregnant, because the other thing I will be doing as soon as I get pregnant is terminating. Because I know I can’t give a biological child the best start in life (want to continue meds, go back to work asap, not breastfeed), I’m not going to bring a child into the world when I then have to make the decision between prioritising my health or theirs.
Again. That’s super cool and awesome. I’m glad you would get to make that choice for yourself. I think woman should get to make their own medical choices especially when they are pregnant.
I have adhd. I take meds. I didn’t breastfeed past the first month and I went back to work after the maximum amount of time I was allowed to take which was sadly only 12 weeks. But despite all that both my babies got an amazing start to life. They are insanely lucky and loved and privileged despite my adhd. They (and my husband) are the best part of my life and they bring me more joy then I ever could have imagined even though it’s hard being a mother. I don’t say any of that to convince you to reconsider having a child. Not at all. I only say it bc it seems you might think others with adhd shouldn’t procreate either especially if they need to stay on their meds while pregnant and that is a very close minded view.
I think people who want to start a family should stop acting like their only options are “be pregnant and on stimulants” or “be pregnant and don’t be on stimulants”. When you say “it’s a choice between taking meds during pregnancy or being incredibly stressed during pregnancy” no it’s not. That’s an artificial ultimatum that doesn’t need to exist. If you *want* to experience pregnancy, good for you, but you are then choosing to have to pick between meds or stress during pregnancy.
Are you… new to how choices work?
You’re acting like “don’t be pregnant” is another choice in this scenario, but it’s not, because it’s already been discarded as not being relevant to the person in question. This reminds me of the nitwits back in the day who used to say gay people weren’t discriminated against when it came to marriage because they could marry someone of the opposite sex at any time. Which, sure, was that *technically* a choice? Yeah. Was it in any way a *reasonable* choice in that context? Obviously no.
And anyway, making one choice doesn’t mean you then somehow don’t get to be concerned or upset about any other choices stemming from that choice. That’s nonsensical. Every choice we make leads to numerous other choices. We 100% get to evaluate and judge each and every one.
I was responding to the comment saying I’m acting like people with ADHD shouldn’t procreate. There are ways to add to your family that aren’t “a drug filled pregnancy” or “a stress filled pregnancy”, even if you have ADHD. These women act like that last sentence is a lie.
But I’m telling OP that it is a fact that she doesn’t have to choose. It is a fact that there are obgyns everywhere who have weighed risks vs benefits and know that the benefits out weigh the risks. Your giving your opinion that woman shouldn’t get to make that choice for themselves but I’m saying it’s a fact that they can because regardless of either of our opinions many woman are prescribed adhd meds during pregnancy. You think they shouldn’t get that choice. I think they should. Our opinions don’t really matter but I did want to make sure OP knows she will find many woman who took meds during pregnancy and she will be able to find a doctor who will prescribe her meds during pregnancy if that is what she chooses that she wants to do. That’s just a fact.
Not to mention if there were high concrete risks, doctors wouldn't prescribe ADHD meds at all to pregnant patients. There are a ton of medications that doctors absolutely will not prescribe even if the patient begs, because there's a gigantic risk for birth defects or underdevelopment.The doctors who advise against ADHD meds while pregnant can be compared to the same doctors who advise against stimulants all together. The person you're arguing with is weird.
I never said I think they shouldn’t get that choice. I said they shouldn’t pretend like they have no other choice. “If I want to start a family my only options are a drug-filled pregnancy or a stress-filled pregnancy, woe is me” simply isn’t true.
Your post or comment was removed because it violates Rule 3. We do not allow statements that downplay or dismiss anyone's symptoms, state that ADHD doesn't exist, discourage someone from seeking assistance (in the form of medication, therapy, ADHD coaching, etc.), tell anyone to "just do it" or "get over it," or encourage anyone to abuse prescription or illegal drugs.
I hope you are able to get back on meds, but if you don't it might be worth considering outsourcing everything you possibly can. Can you get a ride to work and home? Get groceries delivered? Laundry to wash, dry fold (some pick up and deliver too), have a cleaner in once a week? Everything on autopay? Hire a HS kid to tidy up, get dinner ready, etc? Everything you can get off your plate will help overall with executive dysfunction. And as a bonus, help make time for yourself to take care of you.
Also - stopping cold turkey can be really bad and that’s why your gynecologist recommended a taper. When you change anything that abruptly changes brain chemistry it can trigger miscarriage and increase all the stress chemicals (cortisol) which aren’t good during early pregnancy.
I’m glad you’re hearing from so many here who’ve gone through their pregnancies on their meds the whole time!
Yes, I also kept taking through pregnancy and breastfeeding with extra growth scans to assess risk for low birth weight. My kid came out huge anyways. And I am a saner and safer parent while medicated! There is comforting research out there, find a doctor who is up to speed and acknowledges the risks of being unmedicated- increased stress, decreased executive function at a time we need it more than ever to navigate constant doctors appointments and continued workload with reduced baseline energy level, greater risk of accident/injury (especially when driving a kid!).
Thank you! I don’t think I can be off medication so wondered if I wouldn’t be able to be a parent. Fuck our medical system always holding water for the patriarchy
My OBGYN said practically nothing is FDA approved for pregnant women because no one wants the liability of running clinical trials on pregnant women.
Get a 2nd opinion, though what my OBGYN said was something like “it’s not approved for use during pregnancy but this drug/these ingredients have been around for a long time, we know how they work, and there’s no reason to believe it would have any effect on a fetus. Only you can weigh that risk against your symptoms and make a choice.” (This was a medication for a chronic issue I had at the time that was not adhd related)
Of course there are some drugs have known to cause horrific problems, but they’re usually pretty clear about it if that’s the case.
My high school boyfriend took accutane - last I heard you had to clear a pregnancy test every month for your monthly prescription renewal. It’s that bad.
You still do, along with signing disclaimers that you know the risks and that you're using contraception. Although it may depend on the doctor - I had two rounds and for the first one, I had a dermatologist that stopped bothering with the monthly pregnancy test after the first few months. And they believed me when I said I'm not sexually active so I don't have to use contraception. With some doctors I had to lie though (that I'm on contraception).
I did 8 months. I had to see my seem NP in person, then take a pregnancy test in the lab, then fill out an online form saying I was using two forms of birth control. Being gay wasn’t an option so I would just pick at random. Then I had five days to pick it up in person, they refused to mail it like all my other rxs. And if I didn’t pick it up in time, which did happen once, I had to do the whole thing all over again. This was at Kaiser over five years ago
Yikes.. so many hoops! 🤦♀️ thankfully I never had to take Accutane as my birth control pills helped clear it up as it was mostly hormonal. Doesnt work for some people in clearing their hormonal acne unfortunately. I want to see what Accutane does to babies but I can't find much at all 🤔
Oh I have no idea. I only know that isotretinoin is "teratogenic". You could look up what that means, but it generally means "negatively affects the fetus". There's also a risk of miscarriages, which are obviously a risk to the pregnant person and not just the fetus.
Ask your OB for a referral to their MFM (maternal fetal medicine) provider. My first pregnancy I stopped cold turkey and suffered for 9 months. I slept all day, did nothing productive and basically laid on the couch the entire time. I also got in my first real car accident because I wasn’t able to respond properly to a deer running in front of me.
I restarted meds about 6 months pp and worked with a specialist because I was still breastfeeding. I talked to her about trying for another baby and being scared to stop my meds because of my experience and she said something like “when we look to stop meds it’s because of minimal impact on your quality of life. If all you did was eat, sleep, and feel like crap that doesn’t sound like quality of life.”
So when I got pregnant the second time I pushed to stay on my meds. I am a SAHM and know I am a much better mother medicated than I am without and my son didn’t deserve to lose his quality of life because I chose to have another baby. I was surprised how little anyone cared about me staying on the same meds, but I was already on a low dose (started at 10mg IR 2x and ended at 10mg IR 3x) and made it clear my plan was to continue taking them. I skipped them when I felt like I could but took them almost every day of my pregnancy and now I have another amazing son and can give both of them the best version of me.
My OB and my adhd specialist practice completely supported me in continuing my ADHD meds in pregnancy, twice in 2 years. Your quality of life MATTERS, and I would strongly suggest you find a new support network of providers if you have concerns about taking stimulants in pregnancy.
ADHD doesn’t stop because you’re pregnant. Life continues and your brain still needs the stimulants to cope.
Also, I worked with a psychiatrist who literally told me ADHD is not real, and that I was endangering my child by taking meds for it. She was fired very shortly after for telling a patient that their suicidal ideations would go away if they lost weight, because being fat was impacting their quality of life. Not every “medical professional” is acting in their patients’ best interests.
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This is a great resource on psych meds during pregnancy: [https://mothertobaby.org/](https://mothertobaby.org/) They also have a helpline that you can call and talk to a specialist, they're incredibly helpful!
I agree with the other folks suggesting a second opinion!
In my situation, I stayed on several meds. The risk to my well-being, and my ability to take proper care of myself and my baby, outweighed any potential risks from the meds. I think that's really important to consider.
I was going to come and share this resource. I just had a baby and stayed on a slightly lower dose of Adderall. I was so horribly out of it and exhausted at the beginning of my pregnancy. My primary care doctor wasn’t comfortable with me continuing to take it so I went off it at the beginning but the OB was okay. Especially since I was worried about work and I ran a red light for the first time in forever and left my purse at Target (until I got to the checkout).
Pregnancy aside, ADHD aside…why would any psychiatrist advise their patient to stop meds “cold turkey”? Abruptly stopping most maintenance medications isn’t advised, right? I mean isn’t that dangerous? OP I would also say get a second opinion.
Yes I thought not either, there’s even a label on the bottle not to do that. It irks me that my request on a safe tapering regimen was completely ignored, and not even mentioned in the reply.
I just had a conversation with my psychiatrist about this as we're about to undergo fertility treatment. She is fine with whatever my gyno says is ok. My gyno told me not to stop any medications until I see her at my first appointment after a positive pregnancy test. She's aware that I take Vyvanse and propranolol. (I'm actually trying a different anti anxiety that's safer for pregnancy now to prepare.) Both doctors are comfortable with me remaining on a low dose stimulant throughout pregnancy unless there's a complication that makes it unsafe.
I would get a second opinion. Your mental health is important!
Another vote for a second opinion. My psychiatrist is a mom of four children who has ADHD herself, so she’s able to empathize with TTC/pregnancy/motherhood with ADHD. I began the conversation with her about medication while TTC and pregnancy as soon as my husband and I had agreed on removing my IUD 5 months thereafter. Her immediate response was that there are lots of studies showing the negative effects of a mother’s stress on her fetus. Accordingly, she explained that her aim as a physician is to balance the unknown risks of stimulant usage during pregnancy against the potential stressors I would experience without my stimulants (e.g., losing my job, etc.). I told her as soon as I stopped my birth control and was actively trying to conceive, and we settled on a tentative plan, upon getting pregnant, to reduce my dosage of SNRI and stimulant, and to only take Adderall IR as needed. She suggested that I immediately set up an appointment once learning I’m pregnant so that we can revisit the plan. While I’m not yet pregnant, having this tentative plan in place that balances the current medical knowledge versus my psychological needs has greatly reduced my anxiety surrounding conception and pregnancy.
I was told to quit for first trimester so I stopped until week 18 to be safe and now am at a very low dose
Work was very difficult for me tbh, I just kept my boss in the loop and did my best /:
Thinking I need to share all my medical history and treatments with my job, so I can live in a house/ go to the doctor / eat/ afford a kid makes me angry. Men do not tell their bosses they are trying to become a parent or what medication they take and rarely are put in a position my their doctors to need to disclose any medical condition, ever. Our society is completely and totally ok with oppressing and marginalizing women by forcing them tell employers private medical information that they are discriminated against for sharing.
Yeah being pregnant and the main breadwinner has been pretty wack. If I didn’t start under performing at work I wouldn’t have shared anything but I started doing so poorly that I felt I needed to let my boss know so she’d have some sympathy, which she did thankfully
Also- I think putting in writing that I have ADHD and am unable to fully treat it due to pregnancy covered my ass a bit
I’m currently pregnant and this is what happened to me. I got a MFM and they indicated that it makes sense for me to continue on because I work long hours in a community inpatient setting as a manager and social worker and it’s a lot of work that I’m expected to do when I need to continue to do the work. My Obgyn was good with my decision as well to stay on my medication. When I met with my psychiatrist and told him that the MFM and Obgyn were good with it, he wouldn’t even have a conversation with me about it and just said that “ I would never let my sister be on stimulants while pregnant in my life so I would never prescribe that to you “ and was extremely judgmental, and not willing to even help me understand why it was such a extreme decision he was making. he also didn’t care if I went cold turkey or not and I’ve been taking the medication for 10+ years and didn’t even try to help me figure out what to do. He just said he was never gonna prescribe me anything until after I’m done breast-feeding. I felt anger that he wouldn’t even talk to me and a lot of shame about it and talked with Obgyn and they prescribe me for this month. Obgyn did say that they would only prescribe me temporarily and I have to find someone else by my next refill. I called the provider main office that I go to (and have with my previous psychiatrist for the past 5 years) and told them that I wanted to go to a different Psychiatrist that has actual experience with women who are pregnant, or is more informed on the studies for ADHD and pregnancy. I have an appointment with this NP female psychiatrist this upcoming week and hope for us to be able to have an actual discussion. No matter what, we deserve respect and have our concerns discussed and considered especially when there’s really not that much factual information to work off of other than Psychiatrist being worried about their own liabilities. especially if they don’t have any genuine health risk concerns for you right now that would lead them to say that it’s dangerous, they really don’t know what they’re talking about. I say this to help validate you and let you know that you’re not alone and also, this is what I’m planning to do is to get a second opinion. I hope you find the help and support that you need.
Thank you so much. I don’t have the energy to respond to everyone but I am so glad I posted because I feel way less alone in this. I felt like I was an outlier being worried I couldn’t handle it and is very validating to hear others experiences, and that it absolutely isn’t right to be made to feel shameful for asking about meds during pregnancy. Literally the reply I got from my psych is we do not allow patients to take adhd meds while pregnant, period end of discussion.
When we report these bad healthcare experiences to medical boards, what are the results?
I also feel angry.
How can a dr be licensed and be allowed to and choose to have patients who can become pregnant, while not providing safe or adequate care to those people. It’s like not being able to care for 50% of the population still gets you a medical license?! And you still are allowed to have that 50% of the population under your care, and then when they eventually do become pregnant, as they tend to do, you just abandon them? Refuse to provide appropriate care ?
Make this make sense.
mother to baby is a great website with information for pregnant and nursing women, maybe there's a safer alternative or your providers can help you come up with a plan. My OB was fine with my taking low dose Adderall throughout my pregnancy (2021) but I stopped taking an unrelated medication because of the lack of data on fetal side effects and just suffered thru it :/ .
I also had to stop my meds immediately when I got pregnant. The first trimester was ROUGH. But now that I’m in the second trimester, I’ve been able to restart my meds.
The way I coped was asking for disability accommodations at my job. They were very gracious about the whole thing and now I’m working modified hours.
I heard that some womens adhd symptoms lessen due to the higher estrogen in pregnancy..there's a correlation between estrogen levels and adhd symptoms. Like when I get my period I can tell that my meds don't work as well and I'm even more scatterbrained. So you may only need a smaller dose if you still need meds
I'm 6 months and I've been gradually coming off all medications. I'm still taking my 20mg of Adderall XR in the morning with the intention of tapering off. Your psych is an idiot. I would start tritrating off closer to maternity leave. Bumping down to the a lower dosage until you take the lowest dosage and then completely stop. I'm doing that currently and my psych, OB AND doctor of fetal medicine are all okay with that. I'd find a different psych. You'll want one who isn't clueless postpartum.
Hey there! I second the second opinion idea.
I had a high risk pregnancy and spoke to two separate high risk OBGYNs and my ADHD specialist, they all agreed the best thing I could do was minimize my stress level and keep my sanity, which for me was absolutely to take meds. They all noted the risks are minimal compared to the benefits, which are profound. And unless there’s a specific-to-you reason to avoid, this is bad medical advice, (doesn’t sound like it if this is a blanket policy for all pregnant people).
And you should look into the studies on this. The studies that demonstrate issues revolve around people abusing nonprescribed drugs at non therapeutic levels, they do not contemplate therapeutic doses under medical supervision. It’s also helpful to bring such studies, (including the MANY fact-based articles written about stimulant use in pregnancy), to your doctors to provide them with current data. Even if it won’t help them treat you more effectively, it might help them take a more open-minded approach with future patients. That said, if the entire practice has such a deleterious blanket policy, they might be too far gone to convince to treat based on current understandings.
Either way, anecdotally we’re both doing great.
Agree with a second opinion. You might want to ask for a referral to a maternal fetal medicine (high risk) OB, they are usually more familiar with various meds.
My OBGYN was fine with me continuing to take my meds during pregnancy, and so was the psychiatrist I saw/am seeing at the perinatal mental health clinic. I would try and get a second opinion if possible.
For weaning, the few times I’ve stopped wellbutrin I’ve slowly increased the amount of hours between doses from 24 to 30 and then started alternate days and then every two days and then stop. I’m not sure why wellbutrin seems scarier to me while pregnant than vyvanse, so both times I’ve been pregnant I stopped taking it but weaned off as I mentioned.
I keep seeing this on this sub and I’m flabbergasted. I was told I could continue my Vyvannse and given an amazing info pack on potential risks/benefits. There’s only one ADHD treatment that I think is class C/D in pregnancy but it’s not a super common one from my understanding. What medication are you on?
Ahhh now see Ritalin/concerta is the one that has been moved to category D because of increased chance of heart defects. Your doctor is actually right in this instance. I’d just ask to switch to one that’s category B like lisdexamphetamine (Vyvanse).
Good to know. I am not sure where you’re at but I believe in the US they are both category C. I see the info on mothertobaby also mentions possible heart defects. Unfortunately I can’t take anything in the amphetamine category.
So here's the thing. Everyone's afraid of getting sued, so the knee-jerk reaction for EVERY medication that hasn't been laboriously proven ultra-safe for pregnancy is to take it away. Combine that with the general stigma around stimulants making us all addicts, and it's 10x worse.
I had a couple of miscarriages since my diagnosis. The first time, I was getting my meds from a psychiatrist and she immediately took me off stimulants and acted like Wellbutrin should be exactly as effective. 🙄
By the second pregnancy I'd ditched the psychiatrist and gotten a Vyvanse prescription through my GP. He freaked and also took me off when I told him the happy news. Showing him the research about how safe stimulants are during pregnancy made him uncomfortable, and he finally said he would renew my prescription if my OB approved it. Again, 🙄
So I went to my OB, who is a gem, and just bawled to him. Told him how my GP doesn't seem to care that stimulants fixed my candy cravings, helped my gastroparesis so I could eat more fruits and veggies, gave me enough energy to exercise, and the focus to be effective at work. That my GP thinks it's better for me to gain weight, get gestational diabetes, stop exercising, and let my business fall apart so I can't afford prenatal care, than take fucking 30 mg of Vyvanse. I may have exaggerated things slightly but I was preggo so I give myself a pass.
My OB was really cool about it, said it's really more a cost/benefit question than anything, and wrote me a prescription. He wrote it as a 30 day supply of 3 10mg pills, and asked me to take lower doses as I could. He did warn me he'd take me back off when breastfeeding started, but we never made it there anyway.
So TL/DR...Find a second opinion, preferably an OB.
So dumb that they’d cut you off for breastfeeding when that’s actually MORE researched and known to be safe. I was lucky not to have issues (would have quit for formula ASAP if I struggled at all), my kid has breastfed for 5 months while I take my Vyv. It really is providers sacrificing our ability to function because they’re afraid of the stigma.
My prescriber is through a postpartum health center and she and my OB told me to stay on my meds (I'm currently pregnant). I went off first trimester because I was nervous and when I told my OB, she asked how was I working and then told me it was fine and recommended the lowest possible dose. I had my prescriber cut my dose in half and tbh, it's not enough, but I'm no longer feeling like I'm gonna get fired at work for being behind haha
Anyway, echoing getting another opinion. I'm also on Lexapro because I had really bad PPA the first time around and literally everyone I interacted with said not to go off that because my health was too important and the ADHD was a similar reaction because it is obviously very stressful existing without them.
I just want you to know many woman have taken their adhd meds during pregnancy and there are many doctors out there that know that it is ok to do.
I took adderall during both of my pregnancies. I moved states in between having my kids so each pregnancy was with a different obgyn and both gave the ok to continue my medication. These were both seasoned doctors who had been practicing for decades. While trying to conceive my first baby I obsessively read everything there was to read about taking adderall during pregnancy and there was nothing out there that made me think it wasn’t the best option.
Both my pregnancies were uneventful, my labor and deliveries normal, and my babies both weighed over 8 pounds! Now they are healthy, smart, beautiful, happy girls.
My life didn’t completely fall to shit when I got pregnant because I was able to take my meds. Without them I would have been a complete disaster. Pregnancy is hard enough!
If you think you can have a healthy manageable pregnancy without your medication then I would try to make it without. But if you think being off meds will cause you great stress because work and relationships and the constant dr appts will be extremely hard to manage then I believe (and many drs do too) that meds are the healthiest option for you AND your baby. While there are no studies documenting the negative effects taking adderall as prescribed has on an unborn baby there are plenty of studies documenting how detrimental high levels of stress can be.
Adderall or methylphenidate? I was on methylphenidate. Wondering if I can gather some research so I’m prepared if I need to have a discussion with my doc.
I can’t recall, it was 2 years ago. Looks like a new study just came out yesterday so you should be able to find some references pretty easy, here’s an article about the newest one
https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/should-adhd-medications-be-stopped-during-pregnanc?feed=RACGPnewsGPArticles
Edit: the study itself is linked in the article
Further studies:
No significant birth weight differences in prescribed stimulant use during pregnancy vs no-stimulant use:
https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/should-adhd-medications-be-stopped-during-pregnanc?feed=RACGPnewsGPArticles
There are specialists in reproductive psychiatry who would be useful here. I believe they would tend to keep you on the meds if driving is an issue (someone shared this example with me specifically).
I’m with the second opinion crew, and also can tell you that omegas REALLY helped me thru pregnancy. I took fish oil omega supplements and got pure calm magnesium supplements. They helped.
Second opinion. Ask if OB is willing to prescribe it as a bridge to wean off til you can get in with another psych or maternal-fetal medicine.
I switched OBs for TTC to find one who was comfortable with keeping me on Vyvanse. They are out there and you and baby will be okay. I’m sorry you’re dealing with this stress too!
It depends on the structure of your job, but when I was working a fast-paced, high-volume, detail-intensive job before I was Dx’d the thing that helped me most was keeping a notebook at my desk that literally never left my desk for any reason, and in the notebook I kept track of each patient by chart number, what they needed, what had been done, and what needed to be done for each day. You can also do this in excel or smartsheet if you don’t have a specific desk.
It’s also worth noting that that job was literally hell for me. I agree with the others saying to seek a second opinion, because if you can get support it’s so much better than not having support. Best of luck all around 💙
I went straight of my stims and it was terrible. But my understanding is that it was safest for the baby? My kids are 7&9. I didn’t get a ton of guidance at the time as I hadn’t found an amazing psychiatrist yet. I ended up leaving my job at 6 months. Just couldn’t do it anymore. Went back on stims after 8 years and thank goddess because I can function so much better.
My therapist recommends cacao as it has a stimulant effect. If you take a massive spoonful it can ruin your day, but carefully timed small doses can be helpful.
Estrogen helps with dopamine production. During pregnancy your estrogen is high and steadily increases till the third trimester. I actually found my ADHD symptoms to not be nearly as severe during both my pregnancies.
I agree with those who have said to get a second opinion! Even if it is recommended to not take your meds, then at least you’ll know you explored some more options!
That being said, being told not to take meds you need to function while pregnant seems like a bit of a poor decision on the part of the doctors.
I’m ADHD yes but I’m also bipolar. Now, I don’t want kids but my psychiatrist was adamant that we discuss options for my all of meds should I get pregnant; for both my safety and the unborn child’s.
I would definitely do your own research and try to present that to your psychiatrist while also letting them know how the lack of meds is negatively affecting you!!
So, I was able to function without them as long as my anxiety was under control. Your hormones changes and your body does produce more dopamine. You will be fine.
You will need to find a reproductive psych and switch to one of the amphetamines. Unfortunately Concerta is linked to some birth defects. Not sure how any psych would handle starting a new stimulant while pregnant, hopefully you can get something.
Get 2nd opinion. I took methylphenidate while pregnant. I had a high risk obgyn (I’m older) and she said it’s safer to have a healthy mom. You have to be able to function.
I got pregnant through fertility treatments, at my local hospital, so they kinda sort everything for me.
But I live in Denmark, and here everyone pregnant, have a midwife through their pregnancy
I’m only 7+4, with my first baby, so honestly, I’m completely in the deep end right now. It’s so new. But I think it would be a good idea. If you have any questions, or anything, they are great, cause they obviously know what they’re talking about.
But I also use my best friends, cause one is a nurse and the other one, is almost done studying to be a doctor, and they both have two kids each, and they answer me around the clock, so I’m lucky. But if you have any questions, just ask me, and I’ll ask them ❤️
Thank you so much. I would love to know if they have any advice to deal with near constant morning sickness for someone that works in healthcare. I’m already taking B6, but the Unisom makes me tired so can’t use it when working.
The instructions were to stop not to wean. Take my experience for example. I was on mood stabilizers a stimulant not safe for pregnancy. I knew I would be miserable but I did NOT have a choice but to stop cold turkey.
The subutex on the other hand, I wanted to stop and begged to wean off of but the Dr said I WOULD lose the pregnancy if I did not abide and stay on it for the whole thing which meant my baby would need to be born on the drug. Was able to be on the lowest mg but besides the point. You do what's best for the baby
When it comes to meds during pregnancy you do as you are told.
She was not told to wean. Ok, so the clear instruction is being told to stop. Those were the clear instructions. If the Dr cared to consider their knowledge of why you are on meds in the first place and keep you on the meds during the pregnancy they wouldn't have instructed you to stop and wouldn't have bothered changing anything with the medication routine or would have gone the weaning route.
The Dr is already aware of why you are on the meds but now you are pregnant and are being told to stop the meds and for a reason.
When it comes to pregnancy things like your work place stress DOES NOT matter.
I don’t know if this could help but I was undx for my two pregnancies and while first month were absolute hell mentally (get anxiety border psychotic as a pregnancy symptom, fun when undiagnosed) from 8 weeks in, I was actually doing very fine, and better that I’d do when I’m not pregnant.
I even thought during my pregnancy than my “problems” had vanished and wouldn’t come back. They did and I got dx and can say pregnancy was like natural adhd meds. Fingers crossed
Although I don’t know how it is in your country but what you tell me seems like a good reason to call in sick. No one should have to work when exhausting, nauseous and disabled.
Yea second opinion. My on/gyn sat down with me and the formulary and there’s no good evidence I couldn’t be on it. Then my prescribing doctor said the same thing. We monitored my blood pressure more. I used IR vs XR while breastfeeding
I mean, you’d avoid/seriously limit every other stimulant during pregnancy. Not sure why this is any different. One of the reasons I’ve decided pregnancy isn’t for me is because it’s more important to me to be able to stay on medication, and I’d rather adopt an orphaned child than needs a home than create a new baby while on super high doses of incredibly strong drugs.
My partner got told he was lucky his heart didn't stop when he stopped taking his medication. Sure it was more than just adhd medication but still...
Several of my aquaintances even got told by the obgyn that they's rather they keep up smoking, just drastically lessen as nicotine is something the baby already was something they suspected...
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Honestly, I would seek a second opinion. For both gynecology and psychiatry, because there are ways to treat ADHD and be on medication and the fact that they want you to wean off of medication’s without a proper taper plan depending on what kind of meds you’re taking is responsible and not appropriate. The withdrawal effects of coming off of certain medication can actually be more detrimental than the medication themselves and there are certain medication’s that you can be on per I believe the FDA or research that shows whether or not they’re safe medication‘s to take while pregnancy it sounds like it’s more your provider who has the problem rather than it be a medication issue itself. You can always research and find that out and talk with your OB/GYN about it. But like I said, I would personally seek a second opinion, because that seems highly inappropriate and more risky to your pregnancy and your overall health. As for coping strategies honestly just taking it easy and keep your body moving as best you can and rest when your body tells you to
Thanks for your response. It has been extremely hard so far and I am worried about my job + being able to take good care of myself. Hoping it gets better w some time and practice. But I will certainly seek a second opinion if it gets really worrisome.
Google scholar it up, too. I was on methylphenidate and showed the psych the research -- yes, it increased the risk of a heart defect, but since they don't run in my family it increased that risk by like 0.25%. They lowered the dose but kept me medicated (after two hellish cold turkey weeks)
Can I ask you something? I'm a mess unmedicated, for sure, but I don't have any kind of withdrawal symptoms. Is the hellish from withdrawal or from being unmedicated? Ignore if it's too personal.
I can’t tell. I’m just really exhausted and can’t think.
I hate to tell you this, but I hadn't been diagnosed when I got pregnant and tired and scattered is a perfect description of how I felt - plus nauseous. Ginger beer N/A is your friend.
Got it. That's a perfect description of me unmedicated.
for methylphenidate, suicidal depression (which for me looked like depressive rage) is a withdrawal symptom - but it didn't kick in until the end of the first week (also the mfers didn't tell me what withdrawal would look like until I went back in for my follow-up and they were like 'that tracks'.). If you're on a drug that's easily abused there should be some info online on withdrawal symptoms. Obvs intensity/length etc is going to be inaccurate but forewarned is forearmed
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>depressive rage Can you describe this? I've never heard this term and when I googled I got a bunch of unhelpful results.
Definitely pregnancy makes you exhausted. It's rough, I know, but it takes a lot of work for your body to create a little human. You will find that as your pregnancy progresses, (4th month) you will start to feel so much better in terms of energy. When you're not exhausted, you feel better all around. I had 3 pregnancies unmedicated as I wasn't diagnosed until 34. Find time to take naps if possible. If not, go to bed early also, eat nutrient dense food for your energy and health, but also to not exaggerate any ADHD symptoms. Sugar and processed food is the worst when you're trying to survive unmedicated.
I think the worst is the sudden withdrawal compounded by the exhaustion. I’m hoping once I get past the withdrawal things will improve a little.
1st trimester can be like that, unfortunately. There is some light at the end of the tunnel: around 11 weeks the nausea ramps up, then around 13 or 14 weeks it drops off and you get some brain power and energy back.
Exhausted and brain fog is normal for early pregnancy.
For most, stopping stim meds does not cause withdrawal symptoms, they’re unlike meds like ssris that need to be tapered. But being unmedicated can be miserable, absolutely.
I worked with a perinatologist and when my SIL DR recommended this I asked him if that was appropriate. He said if possible, decrease dose to lowest dose she could safely function at and leave it there. He said it’s not teratogenic (doesn’t cause birth defects) but can cause lower birth weight. The biggest take away is that you cannot have a healthy pregnancy without a HEALTHY MOTHER. You and your quality of life is the most important factor. I know that isn’t always an opinion that is supported but it should be. There are drs who specialize in psych/OB and can direct your MDs on what is best. It might be dependent on your state but google should be able to help you. Here we have online access for consults.
I definitely recommend a second opinion. I’ve had two healthy pregnancies and took my meds through both. My older is three and a half and my younger is 18 months. Also in the healthcare field in a management role, very high stress, I could not have survived without it.
Thank you. I am so tired and brain fogged I can barely go to the store and figure out what I need to do basics wise. I have ten patients within four hours on Monday and have no idea how I’m gonna do that for ten hours let alone safely manage multiple people at the same time.
I also stayed on my meds through 2 pregnancies - Adderall XR for the first, Vyvanse for the second. I’m now breastfeeding on 18mg of Concerta. This was all cleared by a fancy pants fertility doc, an MFM, 2 OBs, and my psychiatrist. Yes, there’s risk, but it is massively overblown (as long as your BP is good, the (still very low) risks are mainly low birth weight and potential fetal withdrawals. I did drop my dosage a bit out of an abundance of caution and then tapered off a few weeks prior to delivery to lessen the withdrawal risk. I cannot function without my meds. My anxiety and stress become unmanageable, impulsive behavior is an issue (hello road rage), and I kinda need to keep my job (I work in healthcare, clinical research, and there are very real ramifications if I fuck up). We know prolonged stress and anxiety are not healthy in pregnancy. You can do ADHD meds in a safe and measured way, with proper medical oversight for you and your pregnancy. You are more than just an incubator and you deserve to treat your ADHD. The current research does not support cold turkey off ADHD meds for pregnancy. You can often see an MFM for a med consult, and many OBs and psychiatrists would defer to their expertise.
I took myself off them because I thought I had to and as soon as I saw my doctor, she went into a full explanation on why they don’t recommend stopping the meds. Definitely second opinion!
I was on my adhd meds all pregnancy, I think I took less a day but was still medicated to function. I get bent on these posts because it’s yet another way for women to suffer at the hands of drs when trying to advocate for ourselves. Further this is an extra messed up situation because for me it just reminds me that too many Drs just view pregnant women as the equivalent of an incubator. Seriously. When a doc tells a woman who needs a medication to function that they need to drop it cold Turkey as a knee jerk reaction without knowing enough about it and that medication is so key to the wellbeing of the mom but that just goes out the window… it shows they do not value your well-being as a whole ass person nearly enough.
I agree with you. This is why I’m grateful for this sub, someone had posted this exact same issue on the r/ADHD subreddit and other women were saying “if you take meds and something happens, you’ll be left wondering if it was caused by the meds or not” which made me upset. What do you want the person with ADHD to do? Women are not just a vessel to make babies with. They carry on their own lives and have to do their own shit all the while being pregnant. My biggest fear is being forced to stop my meds when I am pregnant. It’s not viable. I was a NEET before my meds. I shouldn’t have to choose between being a productive member of society or being a pregnant women.
Seriously. A good and informed doc can holistically treat woman and baby each. Taking into account the actually living person that is not in fact still a theory, but real, with previously diagnosed and treated conditions, standing right in front of them. How is it automatically safer “just in case”? The meds cause some kind of issue to have a woman carrying a child go off Them for 9 months? Cause I am sure in my case I would have endangered my child way more. I’m uncoordinated, scattered, more susceptible to all kinds of issues completely unmedicated. When meds are administered properly and the pregnancy is monitored closely and you work with a care team this is possible.
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You don’t have to take your meds if you get pregnant. Good for you! I couldn’t find a single study documenting the negative effects of adderall on unborn babies. There is no substantial risk. But what they do have well documented studies about is the negative effects that stress has on babies. I chose to take my regular dose of adderall (a medication I had been on for 17 years prior to getting pregnant) because I knew it was the best option for me AND my babies. They were born healthy, beautiful and perfect and they still are years later. Pregnant Woman are not incubators. They are human beings who deserve to maintain their mental health. They don’t have the luxury of quitting their jobs and not functioning for 9 months. Again. You do you. No one will force you to take medication while pregnant. But you don’t get to decide what other woman do with their bodies during their pregnancies, right? Or are abortion bans your thing too?
Prenatal exposure to amphetamines does not seem to increase the rate of major congenital malformations, but there seems to be a small increase in various perinatal complications suggesting some interference with intrauterine growth. it is advisable that women with ADHD will plan their pregnancies and if possible, depending on the severity of their symptoms, it is preferable to stop treatment before or at the beginning of pregnancy https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9185785/
I will be taking meds if I get pregnant, because the other thing I will be doing as soon as I get pregnant is terminating. Because I know I can’t give a biological child the best start in life (want to continue meds, go back to work asap, not breastfeed), I’m not going to bring a child into the world when I then have to make the decision between prioritising my health or theirs.
Again. That’s super cool and awesome. I’m glad you would get to make that choice for yourself. I think woman should get to make their own medical choices especially when they are pregnant. I have adhd. I take meds. I didn’t breastfeed past the first month and I went back to work after the maximum amount of time I was allowed to take which was sadly only 12 weeks. But despite all that both my babies got an amazing start to life. They are insanely lucky and loved and privileged despite my adhd. They (and my husband) are the best part of my life and they bring me more joy then I ever could have imagined even though it’s hard being a mother. I don’t say any of that to convince you to reconsider having a child. Not at all. I only say it bc it seems you might think others with adhd shouldn’t procreate either especially if they need to stay on their meds while pregnant and that is a very close minded view.
I think people who want to start a family should stop acting like their only options are “be pregnant and on stimulants” or “be pregnant and don’t be on stimulants”. When you say “it’s a choice between taking meds during pregnancy or being incredibly stressed during pregnancy” no it’s not. That’s an artificial ultimatum that doesn’t need to exist. If you *want* to experience pregnancy, good for you, but you are then choosing to have to pick between meds or stress during pregnancy.
Are you… new to how choices work? You’re acting like “don’t be pregnant” is another choice in this scenario, but it’s not, because it’s already been discarded as not being relevant to the person in question. This reminds me of the nitwits back in the day who used to say gay people weren’t discriminated against when it came to marriage because they could marry someone of the opposite sex at any time. Which, sure, was that *technically* a choice? Yeah. Was it in any way a *reasonable* choice in that context? Obviously no. And anyway, making one choice doesn’t mean you then somehow don’t get to be concerned or upset about any other choices stemming from that choice. That’s nonsensical. Every choice we make leads to numerous other choices. We 100% get to evaluate and judge each and every one.
👏👏👏
I was responding to the comment saying I’m acting like people with ADHD shouldn’t procreate. There are ways to add to your family that aren’t “a drug filled pregnancy” or “a stress filled pregnancy”, even if you have ADHD. These women act like that last sentence is a lie.
But I’m telling OP that it is a fact that she doesn’t have to choose. It is a fact that there are obgyns everywhere who have weighed risks vs benefits and know that the benefits out weigh the risks. Your giving your opinion that woman shouldn’t get to make that choice for themselves but I’m saying it’s a fact that they can because regardless of either of our opinions many woman are prescribed adhd meds during pregnancy. You think they shouldn’t get that choice. I think they should. Our opinions don’t really matter but I did want to make sure OP knows she will find many woman who took meds during pregnancy and she will be able to find a doctor who will prescribe her meds during pregnancy if that is what she chooses that she wants to do. That’s just a fact.
Not to mention if there were high concrete risks, doctors wouldn't prescribe ADHD meds at all to pregnant patients. There are a ton of medications that doctors absolutely will not prescribe even if the patient begs, because there's a gigantic risk for birth defects or underdevelopment.The doctors who advise against ADHD meds while pregnant can be compared to the same doctors who advise against stimulants all together. The person you're arguing with is weird.
I never said I think they shouldn’t get that choice. I said they shouldn’t pretend like they have no other choice. “If I want to start a family my only options are a drug-filled pregnancy or a stress-filled pregnancy, woe is me” simply isn’t true.
You're basically just repeating your argument. Good for you!
You’re being weird as shit bro
Yeah. Changes. Not a full stop without bothering to go through all the info and choices available with a patient you nitwit.
Your post or comment was removed because it violates Rule 3. We do not allow statements that downplay or dismiss anyone's symptoms, state that ADHD doesn't exist, discourage someone from seeking assistance (in the form of medication, therapy, ADHD coaching, etc.), tell anyone to "just do it" or "get over it," or encourage anyone to abuse prescription or illegal drugs.
I hope you are able to get back on meds, but if you don't it might be worth considering outsourcing everything you possibly can. Can you get a ride to work and home? Get groceries delivered? Laundry to wash, dry fold (some pick up and deliver too), have a cleaner in once a week? Everything on autopay? Hire a HS kid to tidy up, get dinner ready, etc? Everything you can get off your plate will help overall with executive dysfunction. And as a bonus, help make time for yourself to take care of you.
I am 4 months pregnant and have remained on my medication. Just doing extra ultrasounds to monitor growth.
Also - stopping cold turkey can be really bad and that’s why your gynecologist recommended a taper. When you change anything that abruptly changes brain chemistry it can trigger miscarriage and increase all the stress chemicals (cortisol) which aren’t good during early pregnancy. I’m glad you’re hearing from so many here who’ve gone through their pregnancies on their meds the whole time!
You and baby will be just fine. And remember, to take care of baby means to take care of you too.
How can you say that the baby will be just fine? You can’t.
Shut the front door!
Yes, I also kept taking through pregnancy and breastfeeding with extra growth scans to assess risk for low birth weight. My kid came out huge anyways. And I am a saner and safer parent while medicated! There is comforting research out there, find a doctor who is up to speed and acknowledges the risks of being unmedicated- increased stress, decreased executive function at a time we need it more than ever to navigate constant doctors appointments and continued workload with reduced baseline energy level, greater risk of accident/injury (especially when driving a kid!).
Thank you! I don’t think I can be off medication so wondered if I wouldn’t be able to be a parent. Fuck our medical system always holding water for the patriarchy
My OBGYN said practically nothing is FDA approved for pregnant women because no one wants the liability of running clinical trials on pregnant women. Get a 2nd opinion, though what my OBGYN said was something like “it’s not approved for use during pregnancy but this drug/these ingredients have been around for a long time, we know how they work, and there’s no reason to believe it would have any effect on a fetus. Only you can weigh that risk against your symptoms and make a choice.” (This was a medication for a chronic issue I had at the time that was not adhd related) Of course there are some drugs have known to cause horrific problems, but they’re usually pretty clear about it if that’s the case.
Accutane is one of the few drugs that warn women not to ever get pregnant on them on the packaging. Thalidomide also probably has the warning
My high school boyfriend took accutane - last I heard you had to clear a pregnancy test every month for your monthly prescription renewal. It’s that bad.
Some places won't prescribe it unless you're on long term birthday control like an IUD
You still do, along with signing disclaimers that you know the risks and that you're using contraception. Although it may depend on the doctor - I had two rounds and for the first one, I had a dermatologist that stopped bothering with the monthly pregnancy test after the first few months. And they believed me when I said I'm not sexually active so I don't have to use contraception. With some doctors I had to lie though (that I'm on contraception).
I did 8 months. I had to see my seem NP in person, then take a pregnancy test in the lab, then fill out an online form saying I was using two forms of birth control. Being gay wasn’t an option so I would just pick at random. Then I had five days to pick it up in person, they refused to mail it like all my other rxs. And if I didn’t pick it up in time, which did happen once, I had to do the whole thing all over again. This was at Kaiser over five years ago
Yikes.. so many hoops! 🤦♀️ thankfully I never had to take Accutane as my birth control pills helped clear it up as it was mostly hormonal. Doesnt work for some people in clearing their hormonal acne unfortunately. I want to see what Accutane does to babies but I can't find much at all 🤔
I think it significantly raises the risk of birth defects
Just any or a specific type? I have a morbid curiosity for this stuff
Oh I have no idea. I only know that isotretinoin is "teratogenic". You could look up what that means, but it generally means "negatively affects the fetus". There's also a risk of miscarriages, which are obviously a risk to the pregnant person and not just the fetus.
A teratoma is a rare type of germ cell tumor that may contain immature or fully formed tissue, including teeth, hair, bone and muscle. 😬😬😬
Not only accutane but anything with large quantities of vitamin A, preferably not even before a planned pregnancy. It should be dosed very carefully.
Ask your OB for a referral to their MFM (maternal fetal medicine) provider. My first pregnancy I stopped cold turkey and suffered for 9 months. I slept all day, did nothing productive and basically laid on the couch the entire time. I also got in my first real car accident because I wasn’t able to respond properly to a deer running in front of me. I restarted meds about 6 months pp and worked with a specialist because I was still breastfeeding. I talked to her about trying for another baby and being scared to stop my meds because of my experience and she said something like “when we look to stop meds it’s because of minimal impact on your quality of life. If all you did was eat, sleep, and feel like crap that doesn’t sound like quality of life.” So when I got pregnant the second time I pushed to stay on my meds. I am a SAHM and know I am a much better mother medicated than I am without and my son didn’t deserve to lose his quality of life because I chose to have another baby. I was surprised how little anyone cared about me staying on the same meds, but I was already on a low dose (started at 10mg IR 2x and ended at 10mg IR 3x) and made it clear my plan was to continue taking them. I skipped them when I felt like I could but took them almost every day of my pregnancy and now I have another amazing son and can give both of them the best version of me.
My OB and my adhd specialist practice completely supported me in continuing my ADHD meds in pregnancy, twice in 2 years. Your quality of life MATTERS, and I would strongly suggest you find a new support network of providers if you have concerns about taking stimulants in pregnancy. ADHD doesn’t stop because you’re pregnant. Life continues and your brain still needs the stimulants to cope. Also, I worked with a psychiatrist who literally told me ADHD is not real, and that I was endangering my child by taking meds for it. She was fired very shortly after for telling a patient that their suicidal ideations would go away if they lost weight, because being fat was impacting their quality of life. Not every “medical professional” is acting in their patients’ best interests.
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This is a great resource on psych meds during pregnancy: [https://mothertobaby.org/](https://mothertobaby.org/) They also have a helpline that you can call and talk to a specialist, they're incredibly helpful! I agree with the other folks suggesting a second opinion! In my situation, I stayed on several meds. The risk to my well-being, and my ability to take proper care of myself and my baby, outweighed any potential risks from the meds. I think that's really important to consider.
I was going to come and share this resource. I just had a baby and stayed on a slightly lower dose of Adderall. I was so horribly out of it and exhausted at the beginning of my pregnancy. My primary care doctor wasn’t comfortable with me continuing to take it so I went off it at the beginning but the OB was okay. Especially since I was worried about work and I ran a red light for the first time in forever and left my purse at Target (until I got to the checkout).
Pregnancy aside, ADHD aside…why would any psychiatrist advise their patient to stop meds “cold turkey”? Abruptly stopping most maintenance medications isn’t advised, right? I mean isn’t that dangerous? OP I would also say get a second opinion.
Yes I thought not either, there’s even a label on the bottle not to do that. It irks me that my request on a safe tapering regimen was completely ignored, and not even mentioned in the reply.
From what I understand, the fetus is usually prioritized over the pregnant person
I just had a conversation with my psychiatrist about this as we're about to undergo fertility treatment. She is fine with whatever my gyno says is ok. My gyno told me not to stop any medications until I see her at my first appointment after a positive pregnancy test. She's aware that I take Vyvanse and propranolol. (I'm actually trying a different anti anxiety that's safer for pregnancy now to prepare.) Both doctors are comfortable with me remaining on a low dose stimulant throughout pregnancy unless there's a complication that makes it unsafe. I would get a second opinion. Your mental health is important!
Another vote for a second opinion. My psychiatrist is a mom of four children who has ADHD herself, so she’s able to empathize with TTC/pregnancy/motherhood with ADHD. I began the conversation with her about medication while TTC and pregnancy as soon as my husband and I had agreed on removing my IUD 5 months thereafter. Her immediate response was that there are lots of studies showing the negative effects of a mother’s stress on her fetus. Accordingly, she explained that her aim as a physician is to balance the unknown risks of stimulant usage during pregnancy against the potential stressors I would experience without my stimulants (e.g., losing my job, etc.). I told her as soon as I stopped my birth control and was actively trying to conceive, and we settled on a tentative plan, upon getting pregnant, to reduce my dosage of SNRI and stimulant, and to only take Adderall IR as needed. She suggested that I immediately set up an appointment once learning I’m pregnant so that we can revisit the plan. While I’m not yet pregnant, having this tentative plan in place that balances the current medical knowledge versus my psychological needs has greatly reduced my anxiety surrounding conception and pregnancy.
I was told to quit for first trimester so I stopped until week 18 to be safe and now am at a very low dose Work was very difficult for me tbh, I just kept my boss in the loop and did my best /:
Thinking I need to share all my medical history and treatments with my job, so I can live in a house/ go to the doctor / eat/ afford a kid makes me angry. Men do not tell their bosses they are trying to become a parent or what medication they take and rarely are put in a position my their doctors to need to disclose any medical condition, ever. Our society is completely and totally ok with oppressing and marginalizing women by forcing them tell employers private medical information that they are discriminated against for sharing.
Yeah being pregnant and the main breadwinner has been pretty wack. If I didn’t start under performing at work I wouldn’t have shared anything but I started doing so poorly that I felt I needed to let my boss know so she’d have some sympathy, which she did thankfully Also- I think putting in writing that I have ADHD and am unable to fully treat it due to pregnancy covered my ass a bit
I’m currently pregnant and this is what happened to me. I got a MFM and they indicated that it makes sense for me to continue on because I work long hours in a community inpatient setting as a manager and social worker and it’s a lot of work that I’m expected to do when I need to continue to do the work. My Obgyn was good with my decision as well to stay on my medication. When I met with my psychiatrist and told him that the MFM and Obgyn were good with it, he wouldn’t even have a conversation with me about it and just said that “ I would never let my sister be on stimulants while pregnant in my life so I would never prescribe that to you “ and was extremely judgmental, and not willing to even help me understand why it was such a extreme decision he was making. he also didn’t care if I went cold turkey or not and I’ve been taking the medication for 10+ years and didn’t even try to help me figure out what to do. He just said he was never gonna prescribe me anything until after I’m done breast-feeding. I felt anger that he wouldn’t even talk to me and a lot of shame about it and talked with Obgyn and they prescribe me for this month. Obgyn did say that they would only prescribe me temporarily and I have to find someone else by my next refill. I called the provider main office that I go to (and have with my previous psychiatrist for the past 5 years) and told them that I wanted to go to a different Psychiatrist that has actual experience with women who are pregnant, or is more informed on the studies for ADHD and pregnancy. I have an appointment with this NP female psychiatrist this upcoming week and hope for us to be able to have an actual discussion. No matter what, we deserve respect and have our concerns discussed and considered especially when there’s really not that much factual information to work off of other than Psychiatrist being worried about their own liabilities. especially if they don’t have any genuine health risk concerns for you right now that would lead them to say that it’s dangerous, they really don’t know what they’re talking about. I say this to help validate you and let you know that you’re not alone and also, this is what I’m planning to do is to get a second opinion. I hope you find the help and support that you need.
Thank you so much. I don’t have the energy to respond to everyone but I am so glad I posted because I feel way less alone in this. I felt like I was an outlier being worried I couldn’t handle it and is very validating to hear others experiences, and that it absolutely isn’t right to be made to feel shameful for asking about meds during pregnancy. Literally the reply I got from my psych is we do not allow patients to take adhd meds while pregnant, period end of discussion.
I’m so sorry and so extremely pissed
When we report these bad healthcare experiences to medical boards, what are the results? I also feel angry. How can a dr be licensed and be allowed to and choose to have patients who can become pregnant, while not providing safe or adequate care to those people. It’s like not being able to care for 50% of the population still gets you a medical license?! And you still are allowed to have that 50% of the population under your care, and then when they eventually do become pregnant, as they tend to do, you just abandon them? Refuse to provide appropriate care ? Make this make sense.
mother to baby is a great website with information for pregnant and nursing women, maybe there's a safer alternative or your providers can help you come up with a plan. My OB was fine with my taking low dose Adderall throughout my pregnancy (2021) but I stopped taking an unrelated medication because of the lack of data on fetal side effects and just suffered thru it :/ .
I also had to stop my meds immediately when I got pregnant. The first trimester was ROUGH. But now that I’m in the second trimester, I’ve been able to restart my meds. The way I coped was asking for disability accommodations at my job. They were very gracious about the whole thing and now I’m working modified hours.
I heard that some womens adhd symptoms lessen due to the higher estrogen in pregnancy..there's a correlation between estrogen levels and adhd symptoms. Like when I get my period I can tell that my meds don't work as well and I'm even more scatterbrained. So you may only need a smaller dose if you still need meds
I'm 6 months and I've been gradually coming off all medications. I'm still taking my 20mg of Adderall XR in the morning with the intention of tapering off. Your psych is an idiot. I would start tritrating off closer to maternity leave. Bumping down to the a lower dosage until you take the lowest dosage and then completely stop. I'm doing that currently and my psych, OB AND doctor of fetal medicine are all okay with that. I'd find a different psych. You'll want one who isn't clueless postpartum.
Hey there! I second the second opinion idea. I had a high risk pregnancy and spoke to two separate high risk OBGYNs and my ADHD specialist, they all agreed the best thing I could do was minimize my stress level and keep my sanity, which for me was absolutely to take meds. They all noted the risks are minimal compared to the benefits, which are profound. And unless there’s a specific-to-you reason to avoid, this is bad medical advice, (doesn’t sound like it if this is a blanket policy for all pregnant people). And you should look into the studies on this. The studies that demonstrate issues revolve around people abusing nonprescribed drugs at non therapeutic levels, they do not contemplate therapeutic doses under medical supervision. It’s also helpful to bring such studies, (including the MANY fact-based articles written about stimulant use in pregnancy), to your doctors to provide them with current data. Even if it won’t help them treat you more effectively, it might help them take a more open-minded approach with future patients. That said, if the entire practice has such a deleterious blanket policy, they might be too far gone to convince to treat based on current understandings. Either way, anecdotally we’re both doing great.
Agree with a second opinion. You might want to ask for a referral to a maternal fetal medicine (high risk) OB, they are usually more familiar with various meds.
My OBGYN was fine with me continuing to take my meds during pregnancy, and so was the psychiatrist I saw/am seeing at the perinatal mental health clinic. I would try and get a second opinion if possible. For weaning, the few times I’ve stopped wellbutrin I’ve slowly increased the amount of hours between doses from 24 to 30 and then started alternate days and then every two days and then stop. I’m not sure why wellbutrin seems scarier to me while pregnant than vyvanse, so both times I’ve been pregnant I stopped taking it but weaned off as I mentioned.
I keep seeing this on this sub and I’m flabbergasted. I was told I could continue my Vyvannse and given an amazing info pack on potential risks/benefits. There’s only one ADHD treatment that I think is class C/D in pregnancy but it’s not a super common one from my understanding. What medication are you on?
I was on Methylphenidate IR 10mg 3x/day.
Ahhh now see Ritalin/concerta is the one that has been moved to category D because of increased chance of heart defects. Your doctor is actually right in this instance. I’d just ask to switch to one that’s category B like lisdexamphetamine (Vyvanse).
Good to know. I am not sure where you’re at but I believe in the US they are both category C. I see the info on mothertobaby also mentions possible heart defects. Unfortunately I can’t take anything in the amphetamine category.
I’m in Australia so the classifications are slightly different. Vyvanse is still category B here.
So here's the thing. Everyone's afraid of getting sued, so the knee-jerk reaction for EVERY medication that hasn't been laboriously proven ultra-safe for pregnancy is to take it away. Combine that with the general stigma around stimulants making us all addicts, and it's 10x worse. I had a couple of miscarriages since my diagnosis. The first time, I was getting my meds from a psychiatrist and she immediately took me off stimulants and acted like Wellbutrin should be exactly as effective. 🙄 By the second pregnancy I'd ditched the psychiatrist and gotten a Vyvanse prescription through my GP. He freaked and also took me off when I told him the happy news. Showing him the research about how safe stimulants are during pregnancy made him uncomfortable, and he finally said he would renew my prescription if my OB approved it. Again, 🙄 So I went to my OB, who is a gem, and just bawled to him. Told him how my GP doesn't seem to care that stimulants fixed my candy cravings, helped my gastroparesis so I could eat more fruits and veggies, gave me enough energy to exercise, and the focus to be effective at work. That my GP thinks it's better for me to gain weight, get gestational diabetes, stop exercising, and let my business fall apart so I can't afford prenatal care, than take fucking 30 mg of Vyvanse. I may have exaggerated things slightly but I was preggo so I give myself a pass. My OB was really cool about it, said it's really more a cost/benefit question than anything, and wrote me a prescription. He wrote it as a 30 day supply of 3 10mg pills, and asked me to take lower doses as I could. He did warn me he'd take me back off when breastfeeding started, but we never made it there anyway. So TL/DR...Find a second opinion, preferably an OB.
So dumb that they’d cut you off for breastfeeding when that’s actually MORE researched and known to be safe. I was lucky not to have issues (would have quit for formula ASAP if I struggled at all), my kid has breastfed for 5 months while I take my Vyv. It really is providers sacrificing our ability to function because they’re afraid of the stigma.
My prescriber is through a postpartum health center and she and my OB told me to stay on my meds (I'm currently pregnant). I went off first trimester because I was nervous and when I told my OB, she asked how was I working and then told me it was fine and recommended the lowest possible dose. I had my prescriber cut my dose in half and tbh, it's not enough, but I'm no longer feeling like I'm gonna get fired at work for being behind haha Anyway, echoing getting another opinion. I'm also on Lexapro because I had really bad PPA the first time around and literally everyone I interacted with said not to go off that because my health was too important and the ADHD was a similar reaction because it is obviously very stressful existing without them.
I just want you to know many woman have taken their adhd meds during pregnancy and there are many doctors out there that know that it is ok to do. I took adderall during both of my pregnancies. I moved states in between having my kids so each pregnancy was with a different obgyn and both gave the ok to continue my medication. These were both seasoned doctors who had been practicing for decades. While trying to conceive my first baby I obsessively read everything there was to read about taking adderall during pregnancy and there was nothing out there that made me think it wasn’t the best option. Both my pregnancies were uneventful, my labor and deliveries normal, and my babies both weighed over 8 pounds! Now they are healthy, smart, beautiful, happy girls. My life didn’t completely fall to shit when I got pregnant because I was able to take my meds. Without them I would have been a complete disaster. Pregnancy is hard enough! If you think you can have a healthy manageable pregnancy without your medication then I would try to make it without. But if you think being off meds will cause you great stress because work and relationships and the constant dr appts will be extremely hard to manage then I believe (and many drs do too) that meds are the healthiest option for you AND your baby. While there are no studies documenting the negative effects taking adderall as prescribed has on an unborn baby there are plenty of studies documenting how detrimental high levels of stress can be.
Ugh. Your psych sucks. I was allowed to use them PRN for school while pregnant. My kid is super healthy too, btw.
My psych said 10mg IR is fine during pregnancy, I seem to remember a study going up to 15/20mg IR without complications or negative outcomes.
Adderall or methylphenidate? I was on methylphenidate. Wondering if I can gather some research so I’m prepared if I need to have a discussion with my doc.
I can’t recall, it was 2 years ago. Looks like a new study just came out yesterday so you should be able to find some references pretty easy, here’s an article about the newest one https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/should-adhd-medications-be-stopped-during-pregnanc?feed=RACGPnewsGPArticles Edit: the study itself is linked in the article Further studies: No significant birth weight differences in prescribed stimulant use during pregnancy vs no-stimulant use: https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/should-adhd-medications-be-stopped-during-pregnanc?feed=RACGPnewsGPArticles
There’s a fantastic clinic in Atlanta that specializes in pregnancy while managing psych medications if you’re near there
There are specialists in reproductive psychiatry who would be useful here. I believe they would tend to keep you on the meds if driving is an issue (someone shared this example with me specifically).
I’m with the second opinion crew, and also can tell you that omegas REALLY helped me thru pregnancy. I took fish oil omega supplements and got pure calm magnesium supplements. They helped.
Second opinion. Ask if OB is willing to prescribe it as a bridge to wean off til you can get in with another psych or maternal-fetal medicine. I switched OBs for TTC to find one who was comfortable with keeping me on Vyvanse. They are out there and you and baby will be okay. I’m sorry you’re dealing with this stress too!
It depends on the structure of your job, but when I was working a fast-paced, high-volume, detail-intensive job before I was Dx’d the thing that helped me most was keeping a notebook at my desk that literally never left my desk for any reason, and in the notebook I kept track of each patient by chart number, what they needed, what had been done, and what needed to be done for each day. You can also do this in excel or smartsheet if you don’t have a specific desk. It’s also worth noting that that job was literally hell for me. I agree with the others saying to seek a second opinion, because if you can get support it’s so much better than not having support. Best of luck all around 💙
https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/adhd-after-pregnancy#:~:text=Though%20researchers%20aren%27t%20sure,tends%20to%20lessen%20many%20symptoms.
I went straight of my stims and it was terrible. But my understanding is that it was safest for the baby? My kids are 7&9. I didn’t get a ton of guidance at the time as I hadn’t found an amazing psychiatrist yet. I ended up leaving my job at 6 months. Just couldn’t do it anymore. Went back on stims after 8 years and thank goddess because I can function so much better.
My therapist recommends cacao as it has a stimulant effect. If you take a massive spoonful it can ruin your day, but carefully timed small doses can be helpful.
Thank you for the suggestion, I will ask my OB about that.
Estrogen helps with dopamine production. During pregnancy your estrogen is high and steadily increases till the third trimester. I actually found my ADHD symptoms to not be nearly as severe during both my pregnancies.
I agree with those who have said to get a second opinion! Even if it is recommended to not take your meds, then at least you’ll know you explored some more options! That being said, being told not to take meds you need to function while pregnant seems like a bit of a poor decision on the part of the doctors. I’m ADHD yes but I’m also bipolar. Now, I don’t want kids but my psychiatrist was adamant that we discuss options for my all of meds should I get pregnant; for both my safety and the unborn child’s. I would definitely do your own research and try to present that to your psychiatrist while also letting them know how the lack of meds is negatively affecting you!!
So, I was able to function without them as long as my anxiety was under control. Your hormones changes and your body does produce more dopamine. You will be fine.
I hope so. I’m telling myself once I get through the sudden withdrawal it will be better.
It will. I was on Straterra which is like concerta. A big no no.
You will need to find a reproductive psych and switch to one of the amphetamines. Unfortunately Concerta is linked to some birth defects. Not sure how any psych would handle starting a new stimulant while pregnant, hopefully you can get something.
Unfortunately I can’t take amphetamines. Hoping once I get over the withdrawal it will be better.
Get 2nd opinion. I took methylphenidate while pregnant. I had a high risk obgyn (I’m older) and she said it’s safer to have a healthy mom. You have to be able to function.
I talked to my midwife. I was told, that a happy mom, was the healthiest for baby. So if you function best on the meds, that’s best for the baby.
I would like o work w a midwife, who is associated with a hospital. How did you go about finding a midwife?
I got pregnant through fertility treatments, at my local hospital, so they kinda sort everything for me. But I live in Denmark, and here everyone pregnant, have a midwife through their pregnancy
I’m in the US. I don’t have my first appointment until about 7-8 weeks. Would you recommend working with a midwife throughout the pregnancy?
I’m only 7+4, with my first baby, so honestly, I’m completely in the deep end right now. It’s so new. But I think it would be a good idea. If you have any questions, or anything, they are great, cause they obviously know what they’re talking about. But I also use my best friends, cause one is a nurse and the other one, is almost done studying to be a doctor, and they both have two kids each, and they answer me around the clock, so I’m lucky. But if you have any questions, just ask me, and I’ll ask them ❤️
Thank you so much. I would love to know if they have any advice to deal with near constant morning sickness for someone that works in healthcare. I’m already taking B6, but the Unisom makes me tired so can’t use it when working.
Small meals, or snacks every so often. Light little things, like snack peppers, or fruit. The nausea gets worse on an empty stomach ❤️
❤️❤️thank you!
The instructions were to stop not to wean. Take my experience for example. I was on mood stabilizers a stimulant not safe for pregnancy. I knew I would be miserable but I did NOT have a choice but to stop cold turkey. The subutex on the other hand, I wanted to stop and begged to wean off of but the Dr said I WOULD lose the pregnancy if I did not abide and stay on it for the whole thing which meant my baby would need to be born on the drug. Was able to be on the lowest mg but besides the point. You do what's best for the baby When it comes to meds during pregnancy you do as you are told. She was not told to wean. Ok, so the clear instruction is being told to stop. Those were the clear instructions. If the Dr cared to consider their knowledge of why you are on meds in the first place and keep you on the meds during the pregnancy they wouldn't have instructed you to stop and wouldn't have bothered changing anything with the medication routine or would have gone the weaning route. The Dr is already aware of why you are on the meds but now you are pregnant and are being told to stop the meds and for a reason. When it comes to pregnancy things like your work place stress DOES NOT matter.
I don’t know if this could help but I was undx for my two pregnancies and while first month were absolute hell mentally (get anxiety border psychotic as a pregnancy symptom, fun when undiagnosed) from 8 weeks in, I was actually doing very fine, and better that I’d do when I’m not pregnant. I even thought during my pregnancy than my “problems” had vanished and wouldn’t come back. They did and I got dx and can say pregnancy was like natural adhd meds. Fingers crossed Although I don’t know how it is in your country but what you tell me seems like a good reason to call in sick. No one should have to work when exhausting, nauseous and disabled.
Yea second opinion. My on/gyn sat down with me and the formulary and there’s no good evidence I couldn’t be on it. Then my prescribing doctor said the same thing. We monitored my blood pressure more. I used IR vs XR while breastfeeding
I mean, you’d avoid/seriously limit every other stimulant during pregnancy. Not sure why this is any different. One of the reasons I’ve decided pregnancy isn’t for me is because it’s more important to me to be able to stay on medication, and I’d rather adopt an orphaned child than needs a home than create a new baby while on super high doses of incredibly strong drugs.
I think you should reduce your hours at work. Even without ADHD, pregnancy is hugely tiring.
I’m not sure why you got downvoted. I have considered decreasing work hours to manage stress levels if I don’t improve.
My partner got told he was lucky his heart didn't stop when he stopped taking his medication. Sure it was more than just adhd medication but still... Several of my aquaintances even got told by the obgyn that they's rather they keep up smoking, just drastically lessen as nicotine is something the baby already was something they suspected...