easliger Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 Hello everyone! My sister (MomtoGiuliana) has encouraged me to join in, so I'm finally here. I was diagnosed with POTS in 2004 and was put on atenolol and Zoloft. I responded very well to these drugs and stayed on them until last December when my husband and I began trying to get pregnant. I seemed to be doing well off them, but was suffering from anxiety and the occasional rapid heartbeat. Last month I seemed to have a flare up and I began taking my meds again and then 3 weeks later found out I was finally pregnant! I've decided to stay on the meds and the OB and Cardiologist agree. I was hoping that I may hear from any of you who have been pregnant with POTS and stayed on meds. I guess I'm looking to be reassured. I would like to hear your success stories, but I guess realistically I should hear the bad stuff, too. I'm pretty anxious about things taking a turn for the worse, so the more positive things the better!Thanks so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheba Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 Even though I only took it once but my GYN prescibed me Paxil when I was 7 months . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Hi Erika,Welcome! I'm glad you decided to join us!Congratulations on the soon-to-arrive baby. I hope that your pregnancy goes well for you.I went off of my meds when I was pregnant. I didn't have any meds at that time that were helping me enough to make it worth staying on them. All things considered, I did very well while pregnant and my health even improved a little for the time I was pregnant. Rachel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat57 Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Hi there , welcome and congratulations! I have NCS and OH. (neurocardiogenic syncope and orthostatic hypotension) I did have both , but had no symptoms during my last pregnancy.I was not yet on meds for it I needed to start meds about 2 years after she was born. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajw4790 Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Welcome!!! And congratulations! Sorry, I don't have any words of wisdom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth27 Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 HI erika,I have ncs and am on 25 mg of zoloft... my gyn says i can keep taking it if preg and i was wondering what other people have done too.. what mg are u on? and what did the gyn say about it? Especially i was worried about 3rd trimester because the bottle says dont take it then... but the gyn didnt seem concerned.. what did urs say about 3rd tri? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoGiuliana Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Hi ErikaGlad you are here! beth27: The only thing I was told about taking an SSRI in the 3rd trimester is that the baby is going to experience withdrawal symptoms when born. This will likely translate to more irritability, restlessness, according to my ob/gyn, that will last for the first days to week of life. My ob/gyn also indicated it is ok to take SSRIs during an entire pregnancy, if clearly warranted for the mother?s health. There is no strong evidence linking SSRI?s with problems in the fetus. Prozac has the longest track record and for that reason I think I would personally choose that over some of the newer SSRI?s if a choice is possible. But probably all are safe. Anyway, talk to your doctor about your concerns about the 3rd trimester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corina Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 no words of wisdom here, just a congratulations from me!!! i hope your pregnancy will go smoothly and wish you and your baby all the health you need!!corina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masumeh Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Welcome to the forum! There are so many helpful people here, your sister included. I'm sure you'll find lots of support and good advice. I was pregnant twice while sick with POTS. My second pregnancy went all the way (first miscarried). I never took POTS medication during either, however, because I was not yet diagnosed. I did take blood thinners. That is because my liver was not producing the proper balance of protiens, therefore blood was clotting too much. That was probably POTS related, although we didn't know I had this at the time. I also took Zofran through 7 months. Baby was fine and healthy, thank God. She is now 5 years old (in August) and still going strong. Good luck for a smooth pregnancy and happy, healthy baby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aprilmarie52 Posted July 18, 2008 Report Share Posted July 18, 2008 I took florinef and zoloft with both of my pregnancies with no complications. My cardio felt that the benefits of taking the medicine far outweighed the risks involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoGiuliana Posted October 6, 2008 Report Share Posted October 6, 2008 Just thought I'd update for my sis--she recently found out she is having a boy! Everything is going well for her! She's still on the meds she was on at the start of the pregnancy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoGiuliana Posted December 12, 2008 Report Share Posted December 12, 2008 My sister was diagnosed with gestational diabetes this week. I don't think I've seen anything about a relationship of this to POTS, but I am thinking perhaps I have seen some discussion about beta blockers and blood sugar...? Is there any issue there? She is still on the POTS meds. Otherwise, everything is going well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calypso Posted December 20, 2008 Report Share Posted December 20, 2008 Hi Erika,I went off my meds for my second pregnancy (and didn't have POTS until after the first one). I was told a beta blocker would be OK in small doses (25 mg or less per day for metoprolol). However, I had a feeling I would do better with my heart rate and symptoms during the pregnancy, and I did do better, so I managed to survive without them.Sorry to hear about the GD diagnosis. I don't know if there's a connection, Katherine. GD is getting to be fairly common (I think the figure is about 5 percent or so of pregnancies, but I would suspect it's higher b/c some women don't get prenatal care). Not to freak you out, but I would be on the lookout for preeclampsia, because it seems to have happened to many here on the POTS site, and GD can increase the risk of preeclampsia as well. High blood pressure readings, unusual swelling of hands or face, sudden weight gain, headaches and a general not-well feeling are common symptoms.Good luck to you.Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoGiuliana Posted December 20, 2008 Report Share Posted December 20, 2008 Thanks Amy. Yes, GD does seem fairly common. I have two friends in the past year who had it. Both fortunately did ok with no further complications. I had a lot of swelling late in pregnancy and my bp did rise, but I was never diagnosed with preeclampsia. My grandmother had such severe preeclampsia she was advised not to attempt another pregnancy (this was in the 30's--these days it seems rare for pregnancy to be recommended against--seems doctors are willing to manage nearly anything if the patient is willing to take the risks). However, b/c of this experience/family history, I do worry a little about my sister developing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heiferly Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 There is an article on the list on DINET about pregnancy with POTS:Pregnancy in postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. Glatter KA, Tuteja D, Chiamvimonvat N, Hamdan M, Park JK. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol. 2005 Jun;28(6):591-3. PubMedMight be worth looking into if you're looking for more information. Congratulations, and I hope everything continues to go well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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