Anyone go on anti-depressants just before baby's due?

I had to go on progesterone with each of my pg's for the first trimester and then afterwards with both my 2 kids, I had horrible PPD for at least a month or two.   With my first, I had no idea what was wrong with me and got on it 2 weeks postpartum and it took 8 days for it to kick in and for me to feel better.  NIGHT and DAY difference and what a miracle drug Zoloft was, I felt so much better!   I was frustrated because having my first baby should've been the happiest time in my life, but I was so miserable.   I had to go to the emergency room like 10 days after I had my first baby because I felt like I was going to die and go insane- it was awful!!   I had to be on the zoloft for 6 months and was fine when I got off it.  Thank goodness for drugs!

But I knew what I was in for when I got pg with my 2nd baby and what to maybe expect after I had her.  I told my doc (who was a different one from when I had my first) and he said I'd be fine to get on the meds in the hospital after I had the baby- WRONG!  I told him over and over again how bad it was after #1 and really wanted to get on it before I had the baby, but listened to him and went on it after I had her.  I started feeling like crap again a few days after I had her and it took 2 weeks for the meds to kick in and for me to be happy and function normally.   Plus, a wonderful side effect of the Zoloft was pure insomnia for a week (both times) and that's not good just after you've had a baby and need to sleep as much as you can when you are up every 2-3 hrs at night with the baby!!   I was having panic attacks, anxiety attacks, depression, crying, and all sorts of stuff (again) and was so glad when my meds kicked in.   I had my doc also prescribe Xanax while I felt this way until the zoloft started to work, but only took it when I absolutely had to.   It made me kind of sleepy, but worked like a charm and I immediately felt better when I took it (within like 10 minutes).   I only had to be on the zoloft this time for 3 months and felt fine when I went off it again.  I also felt glad that I had a Mom that took care of me both times and dropped everything to come be with me and get through it with me too!

So with this baby, I am getting on the happy pills a month before I have him AND asked my doc if I could take some progesterone supplements after I have him (just for a month or two).  Someone told me that your progesterone store for the pregnancy is in the placenta and once that is delivered, your body goes from 800 times the progesterone to zero.  A lot of women's bodies can adjust and start making it on their own and they are fine and balance out, some experience baby blues, and some go absolutely nuts for a while until their levels go back up (me for example).  

I know I can either take an oral pill (prometrium) but wonder with the malabsorption from RNY how good that would be absorbed.   Or there is a cream that I could rub on my inner arms that would work (yam cream?) and have heard good things about that, since it's all natural.   I was doing the internal suppositories for the first trimester, but that's not a good idea after you have a vaginal birth and are bleeding a ton and sore down there.

So just wondering if any of you have gone on meds before you have the baby to help avoid or lessen PPD?  Did it work and how was it afterwards for you?  Thanks for any responses.

I haven't been there but I plan to start my wellbutrin again in about 2 months ( a month before baby comes) because I have anxiety issues and don't want to take a chance!

I hope that the pre-emptive plan works for you this go round!
Liz

My Peri wouldn't let me start paxil before baby was born. She said it wasn't safe. After, I was given the choice of zoloft or paxil because they are the ones that barely go into breast milk. I chose paxil because I had taken it before, 20 years ago with no side effects. Took about two weeks to take my panic attacks away. From what I understood, the meds transfer to blood much easier than milk...and would go directly to babies blood stream. Good luck with that decision. Shari

I would like to go on something too, but I am worried about it transferring into the breast milk. Thanks for asking about this, I am curious about the responses you will get.

My OB put me on 12.5 mg of Zoloft (half a pill) at 26 weeks due to the stress of my preterm labor.  When he discharged me from the hospital two days after delivery, he told me to up it to 25 mg.  I was on the way to the NICU with my son so he also prescribed Xanax.  I didn't end up taking that though.  I think the Zoloft has made a world of difference in how I have dealt with things in the 3+ weeks of Gabriel's life.  He's been to the nicu twice, we came home to my 3 year old getting pneumonia, we had this crazy snowstorm and was with out power all weekend.  I probably would have lost my mind had I not been on the Zoloft prior to delivery. 

I can't answer your questions about which pill to take. But, I wanted you to know that Prometrium can be inserted vaginally as it absorbs more by putting it there. I take prometrium now and it is vaginally inserted. That is how my RE prescribes it.

do you mean an oral version of Prometrium that you insert vaginally (a pink pill)?   I took prometrium orally with my first pregnancy for the first trimester and did the Crinone (progesterone) suppositories along with that.  With this pregnancy, the doctor prescribed progesterone suppositories and it didn't say Crinone, so maybe a different brand or something. 

Doing suppositories during pg is fine, but afterwards can be a little tricky.   You are really sore down there from delivery (if doing a vaginal) and are bleeding for up to 6-8 weeks down there.  Kind of hard to do a suppository I think with both those factors.   So I'm trying to see if an oral form of progesterone would be better or doing the wild yam cream would help.  I only want to be on the progesterone for like 2 months after I have the baby, but we'll see what what my doc wants me to do.   Thanks for the info though.

I will tell you about the progesterone that it doesn't absorb well orally ANYWAY and add to it an RNY and you have a recipe for not very good absorption. I would definitely look into the creams if you're planning on using it cuz yeah, I could NOT use a suppository after birth. Yuck! LOL

I've never had to go on meds for PPD BEFORE a baby was born and I wouldn't. A lot of those meds can be not safe in the 3rd trimester and I personally wouldn't risk it. But if your OB ok's it, I'd say you were set to go. I've had PPD with a couple of my babies and 6 weeks of Prozac with my 1st one and getting right back on Effexor with the other one pretty much did the trick. I wasn't on Effexor for depression, but it DID help when I was crying at the greeting card commercials!! LOL That's how my PPD manifests itself......it's more like a happy, crying PPD......LOL I will be going back on my Cymbalta after this baby is born so hopefully if I do have any PPD creep up, it will be taken care of with the Cymbalta......even though I don't take THAT for depression either! LOL