Expert: Ivan Goldberg, M.D. - 12/26/2006

Question
I am 28 years old and diagnosed as bipolar 9 years ago.  Six weeks ago I found out I am pregnant. This is a surprise.  I was on 40mg of citalopram and 400mg of lamictal daily.  My OBgyn advised I go off cold turkey.  I have a doctors appointment in one week but I am having horrible mood swings and am generally miserable.  The agitation/depression/anger have been progressively getting work.  Are the medications I have been prescribed a bad idea to continue taking during my pregnancy?  I am feeling so overwhelmed and want to be happy during this time!

Answer
Hi Codie . . .

Pregnancy in a woman with a mood disorder leads to some hard decisions to make. It is well known that pregnancy in a woman who is having uncontrolled mood swings in not good for the developing fetus. There are also problems associated with taking medication during pregnancy, After weighing the pros and cons of continuing medications while pregnant, most of my patients decide to continue their meds through the pregnancy.

Best regards . . .

Ivan
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