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Avatar universal

Antidepressants,Zanex, smoking before I knew

I have been on Tofronil aka Imipramine 150 mg (level d) for a decade, Zanex 3mg's a day (since my uncle committed suicide about two and a half months ago), birth control & smoking like a chimney. I just found out Im two months pregnant! I stopped the tofronil as soon as I found I was pregnant from home test. The Dr (OBGYN) put me on 50 mg zoloft (which is approved but not helping) and I quit smoking. However Im embarrassed to say Ive been so depressed and stressed since finding out  I smoked a few cigarettes but have swore not to again. I'm guessing all of this may cause me to miscarry and to be honest Im so scared I will not miscarry and the baby will be really messed up and suffer from me using these things. I know a girl who smoked, drank & took drugs all through her two pregnancies & both her children now 7 & 9 are fine. Im just looking for hope. I know God can perform miracles and either way he will carry us through this. I know some women have to stay on Tofronil their entire pregnancy, but I just can not do it seeing how bad it is for the baby. Has anyone done these things and their babies been ok? What about taking level D antidepressants. My psychiatrist thinks I need to get back on the tofronil knowing the effects of it due to my mental health.
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377493 tn?1356502149
I can understand why you would be so worried.  The thing is, most of the time everything turns out just fine.  I do not advise you to do any quitting or tapering on your own. That can be dangerous and no Dr. would ever recommend that.  If this were me, i would sit down with my Dr. and make a plan, as well as gather all the information you can.  You will find all kinds of scary stories by googling, so don't do that.  Talk to your Dr.  To get off of what you can, and find safe dosages or perhaps alternatives for what you must have.  It's not good for you to be stressed either.    Leave the smoking for last. No, it's not good to smoke while pregnant, but i suspect the stress of everything else combined, along with quitting a very addictive habit, might be too much all at once.  But the best place to start is your Dr.

He/she is also the best person to determine if there are any long term effects where the baby is concerned.  I would bet that is not the case, but I can understand your fear.

Don't beat yourself up.  You did not know, and the fact that you are seeking help say's that you care about this child.  Just make sure you are taking care of you too.

Good luck.
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Avatar universal
Oh yeah I also had already weaned myself down on the xanex to about one a day, but did that on my own while pregnant. I was just trying to not need them so I was on 3mn at the beginning but had weened down a bunch. Still the stress might be worse than taking .05 need to call both drs. I have just been slowly crashing and felt I was a bad "Mom" to take anything. My boyfriend I guess is right that the stress is worse.
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Avatar universal
Sorry I stopped all meds Xanex included when I took the home test. The psychiatrist said it would be very uncomfortable. Ha! That is an understatement. Thanks so much for all the comments. I did have to break down and buy a pack of cigarettes. I'm having withdrawals from everything and the other meds (zoloft) have not kicked in. The obgyn didnt mention withdrawal. I just told her I had stopped everything the night I found out. I saw my psychiatrist the next day and said for the health of the baby I was going to just stop. He had me make an emergency appt with the obgyn and she didnt mention being worried. I think I still had the med in my blood system though because I was happy when I saw her. The babys father is the one who said no she is going to need something she stresses out...hence the zoloft. I have been crying tonight and stressed all day. Im fighting not taking any Xanax. The obgyn said benedryl would help but again HA! so far reading your replies have helped the most. And no I am not "ready" to have a baby hence the birth control but we are happy about it. For me I do not have a choice. Im happy but scared! I guess I need to loosen up a little and call the obgyn again. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! xoxo
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Avatar universal
The fact your dr knows about this is a great start - you, and your baby, can get the appropriate monitoring.  Class D medications are medications that have shown to cause harm to the fetus but that doesnt mean that will happen - just a higher chance than would occur without the medication.

3mg a day of Xanax is a LOT.  What did your dr  say about this?  Did he mention any alternatives such as Vistaril?  I am surprised your dr put you on such an incredibly high dosage to begin with.  Based on the amount you are taking you may not be able to wean completely off this during pregnancy (if this is recommended) as, at this dosage, there is a high probably you have developed physical dependence and it will take months to taper in order to prevent withdrawal phenomena.  Im sure you already know this but you must NEVER stop taking Xanax cold turkey or try to taper on your own.  It would be very dangerous to do so.
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Avatar universal
I know a woman, who at 36,  became pregnant and was partying heavy, probably using some drugs before she found out she was pregnant, and she delivered healthy baby who is now  almost 4. But I think she got lucky as there are numerous babies born with birth defects due to poor prenatal health and drug or alcohol use and are in the foster system sue to being medically fragile or special needs. Smoking like a chimney and the fact that youre trying to quit is smart but you need to think about your baby's health. Stopping cold turkey is not recommended but you need to taper off, and I would think a couple cigarettes a day will probably not be harmful. There is a young woman at my job who is PG, and smoking and this irks me. Her OB told her stopping cold turkey may have an effect on the fetus (withdrawals) but he advised her to cut back and she seems to be developing nornally. As far as the anti-depressants, again, you need to take something that has been proven to be pregnancy safe and make sure your OB approves it. Xanax, especially 3 mg a day,  is not safe during pregnancy and I was taking only .5 mg of that too, along with Lamictal and I have stopped Xanax all together.  You also need to ask yourself if you are ready to be pregnant and be a mom-it sounds like you have alot on your plate and your fetus' health needs to be a priority and it sounds like it's not. Sorry.
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Avatar universal
Obviously you are right to be concerned sweetie, but don't do anything with the meds unless you doctor okay's it.  It can be very bad to come off of antidepressants without weaning yourself off of them.  From what my doctor told me, in regards to antidepressants they worry mostly about the affects during the third trimester.  I am sure that the baby will be just fine. My first child was an "oops" while taking birth control when I was 18.  I did a lot of things I shouldn't have done before I knew I was pregnant and he is perfectly healthy and now 17 years old.  Being stressed and depressed is just as dangerous for the baby as anything else.  The most important thing is to relax.
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1508347 tn?1309948534
HEY THERE MY DARLING IM 12 WEEKS PREGNANT NOW AND TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH IF I WAS YOU START BY SLOWING DOWN BECAUSE IF YOU ARE GOING TO START FEELING DEPRESSED ITS NOT GOING TO HELP YOUR BABY, ALSO TRY NOT TO THINK OF MIS MY SISTER SMOKED THROUGH HER PREGNANCY, ME I AM SMOKING AND I AM TRYING TO CUT DOWN BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY IM NOT GOING TO STRESS MY SELF OVER, IF PEOPLE ARE TELLING YOU HOW HARMFULL AND ALL THIS STUFF IGNORE IT. YOU DO WHAT YOU THINK IS RIGHT, BUT DONT AND I MEAN DONT STRESS YOUR SELF OVER IT, RELAX CUT DOWN GIVE YOUR SELF HOURS LIKE I WILL HAVE A CIG IN TWO HOURS, THAT SORTA STUFF, BUT YA IM NOT STRESSING OVER IT. BUT LIKE I SAY DONT STRESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I THINK THAT IS WORST!
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