Help with picking a safe medication while pregnant or planning to get pregnant

[allydavis5]

Hi,

I have been on OCD meds for about 7 years and had decided to take a more natural route to bypass the horrendous side effects I always have from the numerous medications I have taken. However, it just doesn't seem to cut it enough. My main issue is that I would like to have kids at some point and the meds I have taken, such as sertraline, rip my insides apart and give me horrible diarrhea and could not keep taking it. I do not know if there are any other safe meds to take while pregnant and won't shred apart my innards. Does anyone know of any solutions to help me? I really need something that works for my head but doesn't give me terrible and unbearable side effects. The only thing that has seemed to work over the years is Clomipramine, but I still have numerous annoying side effects.

[Sallyskins]

I've been on both clomipramine and sertraline - I took clomipramine for many years and it was really helpful, but made me feel dopey. I've taken sertraline for about fifteen years, and haven't had much trouble with side effects.

But these drugs affect different people in different ways. And side effects can be very unpleasant.

There is something called inositol which has proved effective in studies of OCD patients. It can be purchased over the counter in health food stores and drug stores. Large doses are needed - 18 grams a day - but it has been particularly good in really bad cases of OCD where drugs don't work. It's a naturally-occurring substance already found in the brain and spinal cord, also known as vitamin B8, and side effects are apparently few.

Another thing that can apparently help is probiotics - I'm afraid I don't know that much, so a bit of investigation may be needed as to the right ones. The side effects of sertraline you've experienced may have left your gut depleted of good bacteria - and probiotics could help to put this right. Eating the right things can also help - a good mix of fruit and vegetables with plenty of fibre.

Best to check with your doctor about taking these before trying to get pregnant. And I don't know if flour is fortified with folic acid in the States, but if it isn't, it's good to take folic acid supplements before pregnancy and in the early months of it.

I hope this is of help and good luck!

[allydavis5 in reply to Sallyskins]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it and I will definitely look into the inositol.

[Littleducky5]

Hi! I switched from Cymbalta to sertraline when I got pregnant (my daughter is now 1 1/2) but it wasn't until I started taking probiotics and beef liver pills that I noticed a HUUUUGE difference in my anxiety and OCD!!! Especially the beef liver. Some people even take it instead of a prenatal vitamin. I occasionally take inositol too like the person above me mentioned! It helps some people get pregnant too. The beef liver I take is the Perfect Supplements brand

[allydavis5 in reply to Littleducky5]

Thank you very much! I'll look into that as well

[allydavis5 in reply to Littleducky5]

Hi there! I have been taking the beef liver pills and inositol daily now for about 3 to 4 weeks and the inositol has been giving me bad diahrreah, which I'd something I don't need at all with my daily routines. It sucks because I kept hearing it only works if you take it in high doses but I don't want to poop all the time! I'm thinking about cutting back on the inositol but even with the large doses I take, which is 1 to 2 tablespoons, I still have anxiety occassionally that is very uncomfortable. Any suggestions?? I am so tired of side effects...

[Littleducky5]

Oh no!! So sorry to hear that. Do you know for sure it's from the inositol? I don't take it every day but I've never had that side effect. It sounds like you might need a good probiotic. I take Garden of Life Mood+ which has ashwaghanda in it and I swear the combination of that and the beef liver pills is what helped me more than sertraline ever did. Maybe you could try that!

Side note because I know you said you plan to get pregnant: Beef liver has a lot of vitamin A, and if you're pregnant you're not supposed to consume too much of it, BUT I think it might be the kind of vitamin A that's okay to take. There's two different kinds, but you might just want to double check with your doctor. Although a doctor would probably just tell you to take a prenatal vitamin instead, which you could also do. Make sure you take one with folate though, not folic acid. Folic acid is synthetic and doesn't work as well with the body!

Try the probiotics and see if that helps you! The gut‐brain connection is very real and you need to heal the gut in order to feel better!

[allydavis5 in reply to Littleducky5]

Yes, I'm sure it's from the Inositol. It started shortly after I started taking it. The beef liver pills do have folate, and the brand I got is from Vital Proteins. The inositol I got is from the brand Jarrow. I always take a good probiotic every morning so I'm probably just taking too much of the Inositol. I have Ashwaghanda gummies that I've taken in the past so I think I will just start taking those again and back off a little bit on the Inositol. I don't know what else it is I can really do other than talking to my doctor about it but I can't get in to see her for another month. We'll see how it goes until then.

[Littleducky5]

Yeah I would definitely try the ashwaghanda again and see if the combo with the beef liver helps!

[RHCPfan]

Are you on anything now? Sertraline is the medication that’s been most studied in pregnancy and is preferred. I also want another pregnancy and recently discussed this w my psychiatrist. I’m on sertraline with poor compliance. I went through my first two pregnancies without a diagnosis of OCD, so I wasn’t on anything. Both were rough but I didn’t have insight. I’m personally planning to come off of sertraline if I’m able to get pregnant again and just lean heavily on my therapist. My psychiatrist said many women are able to do this. Do you have a good OCD therapist?

[allydavis5 in reply to RHCPfan]

I am not on any prescriptions right now, mone seem to work good enough for me without giving me bad side effects. Sertraline always gave me wicked diahrreah, kind of like the Inositol does, but I like the latter much better because it's more natural. I like my therapist a lot, she encourages me to try whatever works for me, be it natural or prescriptions. It's just a lot of trial and error unfortunately

[RHCPfan in reply to allydavis5]

Pregnancy definitely intensifies emotional responses, but you could probably get through it without meds. Talk to your OB and therapist. It’s a personal decision. Feel free to reach out to me though if you’re struggling.

[allydavis5]

So an update on my meds: I'm back pn Sertraline but am taking it WITH food. HUGE difference. No diarrhea at all and mild side effects with itching at the moment. Not too crazy about my itching again but it's much better taking the meds with food.