Can You Still Take Effexor While Pregnant?

Can you still take Effexor while pregnant? Use of the antidepressant venlafaxine (brand name Effexor®) during early pregnancy

may be linked to several birth defects

, including heart defects, defects of the brain and spine, cleft lip and cleft palate, hypospadias, and gastroschisis.

Can Effexor cause miscarriage?

In one study, 33 of 161 women taking venlafaxine suffered a miscarriage

. Half of the women taking a dose greater than 150 mg daily miscarried, compared to 19 percent of those taking a smaller dose. Effexor XR’s label warns that the drug should be used by expectant mothers “only if clearly needed.”

What category is Effexor in pregnancy?

Is it hard to get pregnant on Effexor?

What Antidepressant Can you take while pregnant?

Which antidepressants are considered OK during pregnancy? Generally, these antidepressants are an option during pregnancy:

Certain selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)

. SSRIs are generally considered an option during pregnancy, including citalopram (Celexa) and sertraline (Zoloft).

Should I stop taking venlafaxine if Im pregnant?

Taking venlafaxine in the last month of pregnancy may slightly increase your risk of bleeding after delivery. However, because this side-effect is rare,

it’s not a reason to stop taking venlafaxine for most pregnant women

.

What can I take for anxiety while pregnant?

• Citalopram (Celexa)
• Escitalopram (Lexapro)
• Fluoxetine (Prozac)
• Paroxetine (Paxil)
• Sertraline (Zoloft)

Can you breastfeed on Effexor?

Some experts feel that venlafaxine is not recommended during nursing,[1] but

a safety scoring system finds venlafaxine use to be possible during breastfeeding

.

What is a good replacement for Effexor?

• Zoloft.
• Lexapro.
• Sertraline.
• Citalopram.
• Prozac.
• Wellbutrin XL.

What does pregnancy category C mean?

Previous Pregnancy-Risk Categories

Category C:

Risk cannot be ruled out

. There are no satisfactory studies in pregnant women, but animal studies demonstrated a risk to the fetus; potential benefits of the drug may outweigh the risks.

Does Effexor affect fertility?

Studies have not been done in humans to see if venlafaxine could affect fertility

or increase the chance of birth defects above the background risk. In general, exposures that fathers or sperm donors have are unlikely to increase the risks to a pregnancy.

How long should you be off antidepressants before getting pregnant?

Pregnancy and Antidepressants: What the Experts Say

Both psychiatric experts and ob-gyn experts agree that if you have mild depression and have been symptom-free for

at least six months

, you may be able to stop using antidepressants under a doctor’s supervision before getting pregnant or while you are pregnant.

Does Effexor cause weight gain?

A large proportion of patients treated with paroxetine, mirtazapine, and other antidepressants, such as venlafaxine (EFFEXOR®, EFFEXOR XR®), gain a significant amount of weight

.

How do i taper off Effexor?

An Effexor taper schedule may vary from person to person, but a general guideline is to

reduce the Effexor dose by 10 mg every two weeks, for a minimum of four weeks

. Your doctor can work with you to develop an appropriate tapering schedule that is most effective for your unique situation.

How do antidepressants affect a fetus?

It’s important for a mother and her doctor to know the risks. About 30 percent of babies whose mothers take SSRIs will experience

neonatal adaptation syndrome, which can cause increased jitteriness, irritability and respiratory distress (difficulty breathing), among other symptoms

.

Can taking antidepressants while pregnant cause problems?

There is evidence that taking SSRIs early in pregnancy

slightly increases the risk of your baby developing heart defects, spina bifida or cleft lip

. Increased risk of miscarriage and premature birth. Slightly increased risk of blood loss after childbirth.

Can venlafaxine cause false positive pregnancy test?

Conclusion:

Venlafaxine may cause a false positive Abbott AxSYM phencyclidine assay when present in very high concentrations

. Physicians should be aware of this potential reaction when interpreting urine drug immunoassays.

Does anxiety in pregnancy affect the baby?

Although less studied than depression, research suggests that

anxiety may negatively affect both the mother and the fetus

. Anxiety increases the risk for preterm birth, low birthweight, earlier gestational age, and a smaller head circumference (which is related to brain size).

Does your anxiety get worse when pregnant?

Some women experience a decrease in their symptoms during pregnancy, but

your anxiety may get worse

. After all, not everything that makes you feel anxious is under your control. Hormonal changes during pregnancy may affect the chemicals in your brain. This can cause anxiety.

Can my anxiety hurt my baby?

High levels of anxiety, during pregnancy, have adverse effect on mother and baby

(3, 9, 10). Anxiety, in early pregnancy, results in loss of fetus and in the second and the third trimester leads to a decrease in birth weight and increased activity of the Hypothalamus – Hypophysis–Adrenal axis (3, 4).

What happens if I stop taking venlafaxine?

Stopping venlafaxine abruptly may result in one or more of the following withdrawal symptoms:

irritability, nausea, feeling dizzy, vomiting, nightmares, headache, and/or paresthesias (prickling, tingling sensation on the skin)

. Depression is also a part of bipolar illness.

Can you take Xanax while pregnant?

Xanax is not safe to take during pregnancy

. It’s a pregnancy category D drug, which means it can harm your pregnancy. The effects on a pregnancy depend on when in the pregnancy you take Xanax. It can cause serious problems throughout your entire pregnancy, though, so you should avoid it during all three trimesters.

Is Effexor a strong antidepressant?

In a study on patients who suffer from major depression, the drug

Effexor was more likely than Prozac or Zoloft to result in full recovery

. Researchers suspect Effexor is more effective because it acts on two different brain chemicals that transmit messages and are thought to control mood.

Is there a better antidepressant than Effexor?

The researchers looked at 21 antidepressants (including Effexor and Zoloft) and found all antidepressants to be more effective than placebo.

Effexor was found to be one of the more effective antidepressants

, but Zoloft was better tolerated.

Is Effexor worth taking?

Worth it score: 62%

Effexor belongs to a class of medications known as serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). They can help improve symptoms of depression and anxiety by raising the levels of two chemicals (serotonin and norepinephrine) in the brain.

Which drug should be avoided in pregnancy?

What is category B in pregnancy?

Category B

Animal reproduction studies have failed to demonstrate a risk to the fetus and there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women

.

What medications are unsafe during pregnancy?

• Bismuth subsalicylate (such as Pepto-Bismol).
• Phenylephrine or pseudoephedrine, which are decongestants. …
• Cough and cold medicines that contain guaifenesin. …
• Pain medicines like aspirin and ibuprofen (such as Advil and Motrin) and naproxen (such as Aleve).

Can a baby have withdrawals from antidepressants?

Can Effexor cause permanent damage?

Effexor side effects (and this would include other antidepressants as well as Effexor)

may cause permanent brain damage

.

Does Effexor make it hard to lose weight?

Weight gain or weight loss can occur in people taking Effexor XR

. But these were not common side effects reported in studies of Effexor XR.

How much weight can you lose on Effexor?

Does your brain go back to normal after antidepressants?

“The fact that antidepressant withdrawal can be so prolonged suggests that the drug has changed the brain and that those changes are taking a very long time to return to normal and it may be the case that

sometimes they don’t go back to normal

.”

Can I stop taking Effexor 37.5 cold turkey?

It is not a good idea to stop Effexor or generic venlafaxine cold turkey

. In fact, it can be very dangerous. Like other medications for depression and anxiety, discontinuing with Effexor can cause intense withdrawal symptoms if you stop taking it abruptly.

What are brain zaps from Effexor?

Overview. Some people report experiencing “brain shivers” or “brain zaps” when they are late taking their prescribed dose of Effexor. 2 People often describe these sensations as

a very brief, repetitive electric shock-like feeling that remains confined to the brain or head

.

Can antidepressants cause miscarriage?

Conclusions:

Antidepressant use in the first trimester is associated with an increased risk of miscarriage

when compared with either nondepressed or depressed unexposed women, even after accounting for induced abortions.