HealthBee

My doctor, who I absolutely love, told me she was expecting her first child. Of course, she was very excited about this. I told her I was absolutely terrified to have children for fear of falling back into depression. I assumed, of course, that one cannot take antidepressants when one is pregnant or breastfeeding.

I was wrong. She told me that it really was a decision based upon an individual evaluation. I did some reading and knew that some antidepressants were passed through the breast milk. She said yes, that was true, however, it’s better to feed a child formula and have a mother who is not depressed than it is to have a depressed mother simply because you can’t be a good mom when you’re depressed.

I did some digging, and found that indeed this is a common question with women who have been depressed. My doctor told me that the fear of falling back into the hell of depression will cause many women to forgo having children at all.

For some more really good information on the common questions regarding women’s mental health, this is a great article on the American Psychiatric Association’s web site:

An APA Expert answers Common Questions Regarding Women’s Mental Health

I think the most important take from this is that if you are thinking about having children, and have experienced depression in the past, it is vitally important to talk to your doctor about how your medication will mix with your pregnancy and breastfeeding regimen.

I am pleased to see a formation of a public education program to explain to Americans that depression is a real disease, and not just ’something in your head’ as many people believe.
The Depression Is Real public education campaign is sponsored by The American Psychiatric Foundation (a philanthropic and educational subsidiary of the American Psychiatric Association), the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the National Medical Association, the National Mental Health Association and the National Urban League and is made possible through the support of Wyeth.

Studies have shown that most people do not understand that depression is a biological disease, and instead believe that depression is a sign of ‘being weak’ or getting old. Personally, I felt the same way for many years: I believed that if I could just ‘be happy’ and ‘get over it’, I’d feel better. I learned later that I was depressed because my hormones were not in balance. When I got that straightened out, it was like night and day.

Depression, feeling anxious, or feeling like life is so hopeless you just want to die is not something you can just ‘think your way better’ with. You can’t just tell yourself ‘be happy’ and get over it: that’s like saying you can heal a broken leg just by gritting your teeth and telling yourself to ‘get better.’

More information on Depression is Real Campaign as well as resources for depression:

http://www.DepressionisReal.org

The Zoloft website lists the most common side effects as: dry mouth, insomnia, sexual side effects, diarrhea, nausea, and sleepiness. However, when I took the medication, I had horrible panic attacks. I’ve also read that other people have had issues with weight gain with this antidepressant.

I’d like to know what experiences you all have had. Please share your experience if you’ve taken Zoloft. You might help others deciding whether or not to take this antidepressant.

See also:  What is Zoloft, How does Zoloft Work?