I have postpartum depression and need some Zoloft!

So I was chatting last night with a young woman who has a 9-month-old baby and is suffering from postpartum depression. She asked me where to go to get a "good" anti-depressant. She's been going to her OB who has prescribed Lexapro but so far the Lexapro isn't working for her. Before that, she went to her primary care physician who had her taking Paxil for a while, which also didn't work.

What amazes me here is the fact that neither of these doctors should be prescribing an anti-depressant to this woman who is obviously suffering. I mean, when you need medication for your heart, you go to a heart doctor/cardiologist. When you need medication for your brain, you go to (you guessed it) a brain doctor.

Why are so many women getting their anti-depressants from doctors like gynecologists, obstetricians, internists, etc??? Why are we messing around with our brains??? Would you go to a foot doctor if you're suffering from an ulcer? I think there are so many misconceptions about anti-depressants and it has gotten to where they are way too commonly prescribed -- and by any kind of doctor.

So I suggested that this young mother try to go see a psychiatrist so that she'll have the opportunity to get on the right anti-depressant or mood stabilizer or combination of medications, not to mention the correct dosage level for her. She'd never thought about going to see a psychiatrist or even a psychiatric nurse practitioner. None of her doctors had mentioned this option to her. I just don't understand why doctors who are obviously not specialized in the area of the brain feel that they can prescribe brain meds.

Taking a brain medication is a big deal -- not to be handled lightly.

Anti-depressants and breastfeeding

There have been several new moms visiting this blog who have shared their concern about taking anti-depressants while breastfeeding. There are so many mixed messages on this out there -- doctors saying that it's perfectly fine, that moms need to take care of themselves first in order to take care of their babies; or that there is a risk, but it's so minimal to not really count. Then there are those who say that even a minimal risk is still a risk, so why risk it?

A recent study came out from the New England Journal of Medicine that concluded that women do not increase the risk of birth defects in their babies by taking anti-depressants while pregnant or breastfeeding. And yet it also stated that "drugs such as Celexa, Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft may increase the risk for certain defects, but, even then, the absolute risk is extremely small." AND it also stated that "even if a certain drug increased rates by a factor of four, the risk of having a child affected by the problem would still be less than 1 percent."

Confused??

Bottom line, and what no one seems to be talking about, is the fact that this study was funded by a few pharmaceutical companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Paxil.

Hmmmm.... what does that tell you?

In any case, when I was pregnant, I would never have entertained the thought of having even a single glass of wine, much less a drug that hasn't been completely tested in children, let alone infants. I don't know, but it seems like common sense to avoid anti-depressants while pregnant and breastfeeding.

What do you think? I'd love to hear about your own experience with or without medication.