Antidepressants???

[KBear]

Linda- Thank you. I talked to the nurse at my OB's office yesterday and she said that it was ok to take the Cymbalta. She told me they advise women to stay on them while they conceive, then come in immediately after they find out they are expecting. She said they then discuss whether to stay on them or not, but in most cases they stay on them. She said a good 30-40% of the expecting mothers take antidepressants (I was surprised the number was that high). She also said they do more sonograms and more detailed ones to detect any potential problems. Now I just need to lose 20 lbs and then I'm good to go.... Don't want to be overweight going into it and then gain more, so hopefully I can get it down to what I started at with my 2 other kids.

[Moni]

... because being of the meds is not an option for me. I get way depressed, can hardly get out of bed, sleep all the time and quit eating (the upside is I lose a lot of weight when I'm that depressed). The positive of the research was that why there 'may' be a link to an increase in birth defects, it is still less than 1%. On the Mayo clinic site and had a few that should not be taken and the rest (including Cymbalta) were in the consider taking. Basically, everything said to discuss with your dr and see if the benefits outweigh the risks. The other side of this is that depression left untreated during pregnancy can cause harm to the baby as well... Going to have a pity party now......[/QUOTE]

In my opinion:
I believe you have answered your own question here....."you" can't be off the meds right now and the baby you are considering "can't be on them"....
I've been down the antidepressant meds road a time or two in my 53 years and looking back at my own experiences and reading yours and Linda's posts as you deliberate pro's and cons ....one thought stands out WHEN IN DOUBT DONT.
IMO considering getting your body pregnant in this emotional, mental and physical state would be being very cruel to yourself (your posts reflect a fair amount of "mean to self" talk)
You might want to consider getting "you" healthy and stable and THEN try getting pregnant. If it takes a couple of years so be it....you will be a healthy,happy, Mommy and baby will flourish.
Right now it sounds like you are hurting pretty badly and you need to invest time in getting "you" well. Consider "yourself" as the baby for right now...take the time to get all the help you need to get yourself back to good health...physically,emotionally and mentally.
That way you can be strong and stable before you head down the road of hormonal and chemical ( not to mention physical ) changes that come with being pregnant again.
Your baby needs to have a body that will nurture it as it grows. This is my opinion only, but a bloodstream supply of vicodan and any kind of antidepressant does not sound very nourishing. With your depression issues you really don't want to take the risk of being in the 1% statistic. That would be catastrophic to Baby and you.

This probably sounds unsympathetic to your desire to have another child and I apologize if it comes across as harsh....bodies are precious gifts and babies are precious gifts.... handle with care.
All the very best.
mg