BlessedUnrest Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 My two children were exposed to my (25mg/day) dose of generic Prozac (Fluoxetine) during our pregnancies and through years of breastfeeding. My 8-year old daughter experiences severe mood swings and complains multiple times a day about stomach or headaches, usually in conjunction with dreaded activities like school. I found out my seratonin levels were half what they should be, and my dopamine levels twice that of normal during a urinalysis. I'm considering testing her neurotransmitter levels, and am also needing advice on how else to support her. I've taken her out of school and we are now homeschooling. So many of her symptoms/complaints were mine as a child, which makes this situation extremely difficult for me. Also, I'm worried about withdrawal symptoms when I wean my little boy. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus bubble Posted June 5, 2014 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted June 5, 2014 Hello BlessedUnrest and welcome to SA. I've been thinking about your situation but don't really know what to say. Still I've wanted to let you know that you have been heard and hope other members will be able to give more opinions. We are here helping people come off safely of antidepressants. I've noticed that we have recently had more members coming here wanting to stop medication while planning pregnancy or even being pregnant but they didn't really keep us posted with their developments. I can only say that we don't believe in chemical inbalance theory nor has measuring neurotransmitters been found to be meaningful. Psychological states are not diabetes to be measured in such way. I have a bit of my own experience with ADs and pregnancy or better to say a lack thereof. I'm 37,have been taking ADs for 14 years and have always been too scared to get pregnant while taking these drugs. While googling my drug I recently came across a site where women where discussing their experiences with ADs during pregnancy and they were quite optimistic. Still I would personally never dare to do it. Why did you start taking ADs? I very much look forward to hearing other opinions from this community. How old is your little boy? On a positive note,human brains have proved to be very resilient and they can recover provided they are not further shocked with more meds. Best, bubble Current: 9/2022 Xanax 0.08, Lexapro 2 2020 Xanax 0.26 (down from 2 mg in 2013), Lexapro 2.85 mg (down from 5 mg 2013) Amitriptyline (tricyclic AD) and clonazepam for 3 months to treat headache in 1996 1999. - present Xanax prn up to 3 mg. 2000-2005 Prozac CT twice, 2005-2010 Zoloft CT 3 times, 2010-2013 Escitalopram 10 mg went from 2.5 to zero on 7 Aug 2013, bad crash 40 days afterreinstated to 5 mg Escitalopram 4Oct 2013 and holding liquid Xanax every 5 hours 28 Jan 2014 Xanax 1.9, 18 Apr 2015 1 mg, 25 June 2015 Lex 4.8, 6 Aug Lexapro 4.6, 1 Jan 2016 0.64 Xanax 9 month hold 24 Sept 2016 4.5 Lex, 17 Oct 4.4 Lex (Nov 0.63 Xanax, Dec 0.625 Xanax), 1 Jan 2017 4.3 Lex, 24 Jan 4.2, 5 Feb 4.1, 24 Mar 4 mg, 10 Apr 3.9 mg, May 3.85, June 3.8, July 3.75, 22 July 3.7, 15 Aug 3.65, 17 Sept 3.6, 1 Jan 2018 3.55, 19 Jan 3.5, 16 Mar 3.4, 14 Apr 3.3, 23 May 3.2, 16 June 3.15, 15 Jul 3.1, 31 Jul 3, 21 Aug 2.9 26 Sept 2.85, 14 Nov Xan 0.61, 1 Dec 0.59, 19 Dec 0.58, 4 Jan 0.565, 6 Feb 0.55, 20 Feb 0.535, 1 Mar 0.505, 10 Mar 0.475, 14 Mar 0.45, 4 Apr 0.415, 13 Apr 0.37, 21 Apr 0.33, 29 Apr 0.29, 10 May 0.27, 17 May 0.25, 28 May 0.22, 19 June 0.22, 21 Jun updose to 0.24, 24 Jun updose to 0.26 Supplements: Omega 3 + Vit E, Vit C, D, magnesium, Taurine, probiotic I'm not a medical professional. Any advice I give is based on my own experience and reading. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Narcissus Posted June 6, 2014 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted June 6, 2014 Hi Blessed, I hear that you're worried and I hope you're able to find some answers. As Bubble said, many people regard those neurotransmitter tests as meaningless. I have no idea what your daughter needs in terms of support, but I hope you don't intend on putting her on any psychiatric medication. 3 Years 150 mgs Effexor 2 month taper down to zero 3 terrible weeks at zero Back up to 75 mgs 2 months at 75 6 or so months back to regular dose of 150 - was able to restabilize fine. 3 month taper back to zero 1 HORRENDOUS week at zero 2 days back up to 37.5 3 days back up to 75 One week at 150 - unable to stabilize. Back down to 75 mgs At 75 mgs (half original dose) and suffering withdrawal symptoms since October 2012. "It is a radical cure for all pessimism to become ill, to remain ill for a good while, and then grow well for a still longer period." - Nietzsche Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus mammaP Posted June 6, 2014 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted June 6, 2014 Hi Blessed, I too hope that you will not take the medication route for your daughter. The chemical imbalance thing is now proven untrue after millions of people have been medicated wrongly believing this lie that the drugs companies came up with! If you search our current events topics you will find many scientific studies that have disproved the chemical imbalance theory. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/forum/27-current-events/ You will also find topics covering the kind of testing that you are speaking of. It makes very interesting reading! You are a great mum who loves your children and wants what is best for them. I am so glad that you found us, here you will find all the best research studies and up to date information that hasn't even reached doctors yet. Are you wanting to taper your prozac? If you start to taper then your little one will be tapering with you. Here is the topic for tapering prozac http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/759-tips-for-tapering-off-prozac-fluoxetine/ I'm sorry I can't be more help, I looked for something on withdrawal on weaning but couldn't find anything, I think I will maybe have a hunt around so I can learn more about this. **I am not a medical professional, if in doubt please consult a doctor with withdrawal knowledge. Different drugs occasionally (mostly benzos) 1976 - 1981 (no problem) 1993 - 2002 in and out of hospital. every type of drug + ECT. Staring with seroxat 2002 effexor. Tapered March 2012 to March 2013, ending with 5 beads. Withdrawal April 2013 . Reinstated 5 beads reduced to 4 beads May 2013 Restarted taper Nov 2013 OFF EFFEXOR Feb 2015 Tapered atenolol and omeprazole Dec 2013 - May 2014 Tapering tramadol, Feb 2015 100mg , March 2015 50mg July 2017 30mg. May 15 2018 25mg Taking fish oil, magnesium, B12, folic acid, bilberry eyebright for eye pressure. My story http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/4199-hello-mammap-checking-in/page-33 Lesson learned, slow down taper at lower doses. Taper no more than 10% of CURRENT dose if possible Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted June 7, 2014 Administrator Share Posted June 7, 2014 Welcome, BlessedUnrest. Those urine neurotransmitter tests are meaningless for your purpose. As mammaP said, reducing Prozac will also lower the amount in your breast milk. However, the amount transmitted in your milk is small, and Prozac has a relatively long half-life of at least 2 weeks. This means if you gradually stop breastfeeding, the small amount of Prozac in your baby will gradually go down over much longer. It will be unlikely that he suffers severe withdrawal from this. Regarding your daughter, all you can do at this point is teach her to be calm and take care of her self by listening to her body and doing more of what makes her feel better and less of what makes her feel bad. Being so young, it's highly likely she will heal over time, if she has been affected by the drugs you were taking during pregnancy. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
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