Meds And Pregnancy

[jlmahon]

I'm not pregnant yet but hope to be soon. I added florinef a few months ago and am doing much better than when I was just on midodrine alone. My pcp and gyn don't see any problems with taking both and trying to conceive. My neuro, on the other hand, thinks I am being selfish and not concerned and that I should just suck it up and go off all meds. I'm just wondering if others here have been on both meds together through a pregnancy. Thanks!

[icesktr189]

no my OB and cardiologist took me off all my meds. said they were not safe or worth the risk. I have passed out a couple times, but my baby is okay. You could try an SSRI? those are safer during pregnancy than the other two. also salt tablets and compression hoes help a bit too..

good luck! my first two trimesters were pretty good.. third has been pretty rough though

[Rachel]

I have never been on florinef during pregnancy. I did take 10mg of midodrine 3 x day throughout my most recent pregnancy. My doctors were all okay with this. Midodrine is a class C drug for use during pregnancy, but it has never been reported to have caused problems during pregnancy for people. The only studies that show problems are studies involving rats and rabbits. They were given 13 and 7 times the normal dose respectively. Plus, they didn't need the medicine in the first place. If you need midodrine (because your veins don't constrict properly) and you take the correct dose, then it is most likely going to be safe. No one has ever reported adverse effects during pregnancy with humans. As a precaution, though, my ob made sure that I had ultrasounds once a month after 20 weeks, and then weekly once I reached 36 weeks just to make sure that the baby was growing well.

I didn't take any medications when I was pregnant with my son. At that point I didn't need them as badly, and I could get by without. This last time, however, they were necessary.

I would be more comfortable taking midodrine during pregnancy than an SSRI. It is my understanding that SSRIs have been shown to cause heart defects in an unborn baby. There are times when an SSRI is necessary during pregnancy, though, so you have to carefully weigh the risks and benefits.

As Dani said, you can also use treatments such as compression and salt.

I would talk things over with your OB and share your concerns with him/her. An OB is the one who is best able to help as he/she has seen the outcomes of medications during pregnancy and will be able to help you determine the risks and benefits.

Rachel

[Aprilmarie52]

I took florinef and zoloft through both of my pregnancies with no adverse effects. I would speak with your dr and OB and see what they are comfortable with.

[MomtoGiuliana]

A high risk ob/gyn is the best person to consult on this. I think most drs will be conservative about meds and pregnancy and therefore will advise to be off all meds. while a high risk ob/gyn is specialized in this area and will be best able to help you weigh the risks and benefits.

I wasn't on any meds during my pregnancy (very sick with POTS late in preg but no diagnosis). My sister has POTS and is pregnant right now and on an SSRI. Her ob/gyn was not concerned about the low dose SSRI. A lot of the decision-making has to do with weighing risks and benefits and this can be very individual.

[ethansmom]

I took Florinef and Sectral with my first pregnancy and everything was fine...second pregnancy just took Sectral, and same with this pregnancy. I have researched them all and found that the benefits greatly outweigh the risks for me. Sectral is a pretty safe BB for pregnancy, I think it's a category B.