Posted 17 January 2012 - 04:16 PM
Hello ladies
I was on Cymbalta throughout my pregnancy in 2007. I was so ill during my pregnancy (tore a disc in my back so in agony) that my psychiatrist had to increase the dose to 120mg (yes, one hundred and twenty) because I told him I was in so much pain that I was thinking of walking under a car. My psychiatrist is one of the top people in London. A second pyschiatrist (specialist in maternal mental health) also advised that I should stay on the drug. If the mom is not healthy and calm, the baby is not going to get a good start.
OK, the withdrawal. If you stay on Cymbalta, you need to ask if you can talk to someone senior in Special Baby Care/Neonatal BEFORE you deliver. It is better if they know there is a baby coming into their hospital who MAY have a problem at birth. Demand (nicely) to speak to a senior neonatalist doctor - in the UK, you would want to talk to the consultant but I don't know the terminology in other countries.
My daughter was born at 7lb 11oz, five weeks early. We had a shocker of a birth so tahey wanted to check up on her as she had bad bruising on her face. Then she didn't really perk up, just slept all the time, fell asleep before she ever finished a feed, very floppy. We had two weeks of trying to get them to listen about Cymbalta which is why you should have a conversation in advance and NOT when you are tired/weepy/ crazy hormones from giving birth. She spent a total of 3 weeks in special baby care and then came home to us still with a nasal feeding tube (it's really not a big deal). A week of getting attention and love and cuddles from two parents instead of just the basics from the nurses (they do a great job but they have several babies to look after and no time for cuddles) and we asked for the feeding tube to be removed as I could get her to bottle feed just fine.
When she was about 4 months old, they were still worried she was too floppy. I mentioned it to the osteopath who was treating my back and he told me to bring her in. Two sessions of 30 mins of sacro-cranial osteopathy and she was fine. The hospital said it must have been a coincidence - think he wasn't ready to believe in alternative medicine!
When she was 7 months, she had a full check by a specialist neurologist who said that there was nothing wrong with her at all.
She walked at 15 months; she talked earlier than a lot of her friends; she is bright as a button, bossy and sociable. She is 4 now and I am finally coming off Cymbalta. I don't think I would have been much of a mum if I hadn't had Cymbalta. I don't regret taking the meds for a minute. They were a miracle drug for me, lots of other ADs hadn't worked in the past. My daughter is great.
Don't forget - I was taking 120mg during my pregnancy. If I were you, I would stay on 30mg, avoid the brain zaps, and talk to your doctor about the possibility of changing to fluoxetine for the last trimester (which was my doctor's plan for any subsequent pregnancies even though he never fully believed that my daughter's problems were totally Cymbalta-related). Fluoxetine breaks down more slowly so less nasty withdrawal. Also, it has been around so long now that it is generally thought to be pretty safe even when breastfeeding.
And before I forget - CONGRATULATIONS! GREAT NEWS! BEST OF LUCK WITH HAPPY HEALTHY PREGNANCIES AND HAPPY BABIES!
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