Friday, October 15, 2010

meds and pregnancy

The whole medication and pregnancy thing is a little but weighing on me.  Taking them can increase the risk of miscarriage, and quite possibly some of the most disturbing birth defects EVER: an imperforate anus? internal organs on the outside of the abdomen? Absence of a brain? Gahhh!
And yet, NOT being on medications has risks too: low birth weight, lower APGAR, lower IQ, and increased risk of miscarriage and stillbirth.  Blech.
Doctors suggest that you should stop taking them "unless you absolutely need them".  That may be the single most useless piece of advice I have ever heard from doctors.  As if there is a whole population that only use anti-depressants socially. Okay, I know there actually are college students and the like who use Aderrall and Wellbutrin, but it seems unlikely these people are looking for pregnancy advice, and an underground ring of housewives getting their highs from recreational Zoloft use somehow doesn't really ring true for me.
I am MISERABLE when I am not on medication, as are the people in my immediate area.  Additionally, I just don't think that counseling is a good substitute for me.  I know that some people need a little montoring, some behavioral guidance, and they are good to go, but I am sure that my depression is 100% biological.  I feel like treating my depression with counseling would be like trying to teach me to be a little taller.  I am just not ure talk is going to cut it.
But then again, it may be worth trying.  This miscarriage was horrible, and if it could lower my risk of suffering through another, maybe I could try it for the first nine weeks.

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