Has anyone been on anti depression medication while having IVF?

Hi everyone!

So, I was really fortunate at 41 to get pregnant with our first IVF cycle. I'd suffered 2 miscarriages prior to this & have pre existing medical conditions which made my pregnancy very high risk. I had extremely bad anxiety throughout the whole pregnancy and even after my baby was born I was terrified he would get really sick etc. Fast forward to now, I've now had anxiety related to me getting ill since Lockdown began really. I've had some tests carried out which all came back clear & my condition which made my pregnancy high risk is being monitored so another pregnancy should be OK. In the past few weeks I've heard of a couple of people I know passing away. One was 38 with no known cause after the postmortem. The other had heart trouble & despite being in her early 20's it was sadly inevitable. My anxiety is through the roof again though. I'm thinking of having another cycle of IVF around Christmas time & have avoided anti depressants as apart from the health anxiety I feel pretty good. I'm now at the point where I think I need them though while waiting for counselling which is probably months away. Has anyone had IVF while on anti depression medication & what were the outcomes? Are they likely to affect the egg quality etc?

Many thanks, Angie xx

[ttcemmie]

Hi Angie. I have been on Sertraline on and off throughout going through IVF (because of going through IVF!). I also tried so hard to stay away from them, but came to a point where I needed them.

I have only been pregnant once and had a mmc, so I can't say impact on egg quality/final outcome etc., although my doctor reassured me it was safe to take. However, I would say it impacted my cycle and I have had to come off it for my period to show up again! Which was beyond stressful.

[Hidden in reply to ttcemmie]

Thank you for your reply Hun. I'm sorry that you have been struggling also. I've definitely come to the point where I don't think I can carry on without medication but your message has helped me with that decision. I'm pleased to hear your Doctor said it was safe to take. Wishing you lots of luck with everything. xx

[PixieB26]

Hi Angie, I’m 41 and I take sertraline for anxiety/ocd. I’ve done one egg collection already and two more to go. Both my dr and the fertility clinic were fine about me taking it. I’m doing mild ivf so I will produce less eggs each cycle, but from my last collection 2 out of the 4 made it to the freezer and they were both top grade.

Another friend of mine had repeat miscarriages and then went on antidepressants for her mental health issues, and she got pregnant the following month, and has a healthy 2 year old who she still breastfeeds whilst taking the meds.

I hope that helps. I feel it’s important for us to lower the amount of stress in our bodies. And if that is by taking medication then I think that’s ok.

[Hidden in reply to PixieB26]

Thanks so much for that Pixie. I'm definitely going to go on medication after reading this. You are so right about it being important to reduce the amount of stress we are under... I'd never actually looked at it that way! I wish you all the best for the future. xx

[PixieB26 in reply to Hidden]

Wishing you the best of luck!

I’m on 100mg sertraline just so you have some info in case dr puts you on same medication. 50mg is the lowest dose on sertraline, then 100 and it goes up from there.

Sending all the ‘calm’ vibes, next life I’m coming back as a chilled out hippie 🤣😉

[Sorax]

I’ve been on citalopram for years only 20mg ... my clinic was happy for me to stay on this. When I did get pregnant I went down to 10mg which is a small dose but I think I would struggle to come off it all together after being on it for so long. I’m now 21 weeks and feel fine taking it because it’s a small dose.

Don’t struggle speak to the doctors and I’m sure they will advise which is the best for you 💖

[Hidden in reply to Sorax]

Sorax thank you so much for sharing your experience with me. I really appreciate it! I'm feeling so much more positive about going on the medication now. Hopefully I'll be able to manage on a small dose too. Congratulations on your pregnancy, wishing you all the best. xx