Antidepressants

I’m a mental health therapist and took Zoloft during pregnancy & while breastfeeding and it’s been fine. I used to take hydroxyzine before pregnancy but had to stop and honestly haven’t needed it since even though I definitely have anxiety! Hydroxyzine is actually an antihistamine like Benedryl so I don’t think it’s something you can be dependent on unlike other anti anxiety medications! Zoloft and hydroxyzine are usually the best starter medications due to their lack of serious side effect & dependency concerns! Hope that helps!

@Alison in your experience, does Zoloft actually help you “feel more normal” for lack of a better term? I feel like ever since pregnancy my hormones got wonky and continued to get wonkier into postpartum and I’m on a downward spiral. I just want to feel normal again 😭

Hey! I’m actually a mental health therapist too (husband is a pharmacist) I think an important thing to remember about any SSRIs or SNRIs is it can take up to 6 weeks to really start noticing a difference. If you are dealing with postpartum stuff and looking for a short-term solution. You can ask your doctor about Zurzuvae. It’s a 2 weeks oral medication that was recently FDA approved for postpartum. You take 2 weeks worth of pills and the effects last at least 3-6 months. They did make me extremely tired and they were a little tricky to get since your doctor has to send the script directly to a specialty pharmacy. It’s technically a control so pharmacies can’t transfer the prescription. But it might be worth looking into if your concern is dependency. Though SSRIs/SNRIs aren’t typically considered addictive. Some people just really need them.

I’m assuming you’re in the US where they give out medication like it’s candy.. If you’re having very intrusive thoughts of harming yourself or baby that’s a very different matter, but what you’re describing are very normal feelings. Your hormones are going to be up & down after giving birth and will take quite a while to ‘settle‘ back down. You have gone through arguably the most transformative experience a human being can go through, so just be patient with yourself & allow yourself some grace. I know this might sound bizarre to an American, but maybe just try to eat well, get out & go for walks & lean on your support system where possible. You’re only 6 weeks post partum, allow your body some time to adjust before medicating it! x

Honestly as a therapist, everyone says their goal is to “feel normal” but what really is normal? I’d say it definitely helps having a little boost in our happiness and reward chemicals- so feel more hopeful and motivated.. but to feel normal is hard to measure! Meds along with some therapy, in specific cognitive behavioral therapy is “the gold standard”