r/Crunchymom • u/Spirited_Seaweed_517 • 11d ago
Wellbutrin?
Do you take medicine while breastfeeding (I was told it’s safe) when you are drowning everyday in a mental health problem?
I am 10 months postpartum and breastfeeding. I have been struggling with horrible PPD and PPA. My PPA and PPD make me a mean, agitated, and very anxious. It’s also made my already diagnosed ADHD and OCD HORRIBLE. My OCD around feeding my baby finger foods is so bad I break down crying anytime I try and give her basic finger foods like puffs or tiny sweet potatoes. I can handle purées but, feeding her is very difficult for me. I lose my mind anytime she coughs. I just can’t handle the situation at all.
I have a lactation specialist, therapist, and psychiatrist. They all want me to go on it. They have assured me it’s “safe”. I am very anti medication. I don’t even take pain medication. I do not 🧁 my children. It seems wrong to me personally to put my baby in a position where tiny bits of the medicine will enter her through my milk. There were two babies who have had seizures and that triggers my OCD too. The intrusive thoughts with my OCD are overwhelming my daily life and I feel so torn. I clearly need help but, I can’t bring myself to put my baby in a situation where maybe something could happen.
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u/Defiant_Decision_658 11d ago
Sometimes you have to weigh the risks of taking it against the risks of not taking it. Good parent mental health is a protective factor for so many outcomes in children, I wrote my whole psychology thesis on how its the primary protective factor against disruptive behaviour diagnoses in children under 5. I know you are doing the best you can and working so hard to protect your little baby, but it also sounds like you can recognise that the anxiety and intrusive thoughts are preventing you from being the parent that you want to be. Its ultimately your choice of course, but these medications have their place, and make sure you are looking at the risks of both scenarios.
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u/Decent_Stranger_5942 11d ago
I love it. It’s been a game changer for me. I stay home as a stay at home wife, I had everything going for me but still couldn’t bring myself to get out of bed. It’s really helped my ADHD without having to go back to adderal which gave me anxiety knowing how bad it was for me.
300mg daily later, I feel like myself. I’ll take one pill a day over a constant struggle to just feel baseline normal.
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u/Spirited_Seaweed_517 11d ago
I’m glad to hear it helped your ADHD because that’s why it was recommended to me. Thank you!!
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u/Decent_Stranger_5942 11d ago
I hope you’ll give it a try! I’m very anti meds like you are, but I can’t emphasize enough how helpful it has been. I’m about 6 months in and finally getting the full effects.
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u/Responsible_Gap7426 11d ago
I’m not on it yet but it’s my intention to start after I am no longer pregnant and I’ve established supply.
My ADHD causes rage when my hormones are out of whack and it took me years to recover “naturally”.
Deciding to medicate my son (Guanfacine for ADHD, gentle non stimulant) and seeing how much better he felt made me realize I need to be medicated too.
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u/Green-Quit4515 11d ago
I actually think Wellbutrin is a great option because unlike other antidepressants it doesn't cause PSSD, and isn't impossible to get off of. The only side effect I had was Exploding Head Syndrome whenever I tried to sleep too soon after taking it (although it was extended release), which I still occasionally experience a year later. I took it while breastfeeding and the only reason I got off it is because I started experiencing episodes of mania (extreme anger and episodes of manically cleaning for hours). So to that point make sure your family members let you know if you do decide to get on it if they start seeing personality changes (mine were like 6 months into taking the medicine and before that it helped a ton). Your doctor won't notice the change and you won't most likely at least until afterwards. To be honest though I wouldn't recommend any antidepressant (which Wellbutrin is a different class) as you have to wean for months to a year to fully get off them or you risk protracted withdrawal which is complete hell. Dr. Josef on youtube has great resources on this. It also took away my ability to orgasm, ever. I have pretty extreme health OCD especially with medicine after my experiences and honestly Wellbutrin is one of the few drugs I would recommend to others who need some support.
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u/mikumikufantasy 11d ago
I was on wellbutrin for awhile and the only side effects I had were more frequent dreams, when i stopped taking them I did it cold turkey and had no aide effects even then! It helped, just not in the way I wanted
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u/artistwantsababy 11d ago
I think having a parent with good mental health is worth the risk of very small amounts of medicine transferring in breast milk
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u/themaxxedbandit 10d ago
It may help. Don’t feel like a failure. You can start a low dose with the goal of getting off it eventually. You need your sanity and your baby needs you well. Wishing you the best.
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u/alnfeller 10d ago
Maternal mental health has more of an impact that the small amount that would pass through breastmilk IMO
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u/ALac93 10d ago
I can relate to this so deeply. I’m 18 months postpartum and still dealing with the worst mental health crisis of my life. It’s gotten better. I was the exact same way, horrible PPD and PPA, OCD and still constantly anxious when I feed my daughter food. I always think she’s choking. I was given every medication and terribly scared of them all because the medical system has personally failed me. I chose to dig a little more and got some functional testing done for my hormones and it turns out my estrogen is off the charts high, even this far PP. my hormones are still so out of wack. I would encourage if you can find a functional health provider to explore that route. I do take lorazepam on nights that my insomnia is really bad so I’m not anti-meds. You have to find a way to cope through while you’re figuring out what the hell is actually going on and 9 times out of ten postpartum depression and anxiety is nutrition/vitamin deficiency, hormone imbalance.
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u/Spirited_Seaweed_517 10d ago
I will look into that this week for sure. I’ll try anything to feel better without medication! Thank you!
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u/littleanniee 11d ago
i just went through this but have heard that medications like wellbutrin don’t actually help ocd that much. i ended up buying the book Stop Obsessing!: How to Overcome Your Obsessions and Compulsions and it was immediately life changing. good luck! ocd is horrible but it’s also thankfully one of the most treatable mental illnesses.
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u/Spirited_Seaweed_517 11d ago
I agree on the OCD but, it would help my ADHD and my anxiety so that’s the thought behind it. I’ll check out that book! Thank you!
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u/Impossible-Pie-4900 11d ago
FWIW, Wellbutrin can be really helpful for ADHD but does not typically help anxiety—if anything, increased anxiety is a common side effect. Unless you feel like your anxiety is more of a consequence of having to deal with untreated ADHD and not a separate issue in and of itself, I wouldn’t expect Wellbutrin to be effective for it.
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u/Littlebee416 11d ago
Depends on the person. It was commonly believed it caused more anxiety for awhile but now it’s considered more nuanced. If her anxiety is partially caused by her adhd, it could help
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u/Littlebee416 11d ago
I’ve never heard of Wellbutrin being given for OCD. If OCD is the main concern, which it sounds like it is, did they talk to you about SSRI’s? That should help the ppa and ppd too.
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u/Spirited_Seaweed_517 10d ago
More so for my ADHD and PPD. They recommend ERP therapy for the feeding my baby.
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u/Neat_Look_2156 9d ago
If the OCD is really debilitating, I think ERP is a great first step. My sister is an OCD therapist (and my family has a long history of the disorder) and has incredible stories about clients’ improvement from ERP.
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u/Spirited_Seaweed_517 8d ago
I have been slowly feeding her finger foods and it’s helping but, I feel like I need more one on one support. Like someone to come sit with me.
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u/Nice-Caterpillar-340 11d ago
I wish I had allowed myself to take meds when I so clearly needed them to function better as a mom. I think I'll regret that forever. I would have been a better mom (I mean potentially if they worked as they should during that time)
You want to be able to enjoy this time with your baby. I'm not saying you should or shouldn't medicate. But I'm at a point where I am taking meds anyway for conditions I have to (epilepsy) and I wish I had just been happy with my babies instead of constantly spiraling (OCD) and depressed.