Adderall and pregnancy

Do you really want to risk possibly causing damage to your growing fetus? the selfless thing to do is think of your baby not yourself. If the child should develop any defects in the future you will always wonder if you caused this. To have a healthy baby you will feel more fulfilled to just stop your Adderall it is only for 10 months really. I stopped mine while pregnant even though my doctor said I could continue, I think its the responsible motherly thing to do.                

http://www.obgyn.theclinics.com/article/S0889-8545(05)70361-2/abstract 

there are a lot of studies on amphetamines and pregnancy, none of them are good.

This woman uses the same spelling of "taken" opposed to the proper spelling "taking" as another woman in several other forums who shows up spewing holier-than-thou 'advice' even though she seemingly has NO experience suffering with ADD/ADHD herself (this is about pregnant women, not children with ADD/ADHD). If you come to these forums to ridicule and judge people with your bible-thumping hand primed and ready, just leave. You go out of your way to be rude and judgmental on a topic you are CLEARLY ignorant about. I could tell you a thousands things I *think* you're doing wrong in your life, but the fact is that nobody here is asking for your opinion. We're here trying to connect with others with EXPERIENCE. How you feel about it or what you think about it is not only irrelevant, but unhelpful, especially in the manner which you deliver it. Where do people find the time to look into everything they don't agree with and post on the forums?

Thank you for Setting the negative comments on this forum straight. I now feel comfortable telling my successful story. I took 30 mg a day in the first trimester then I took 60 mg a day in my second and last trimester, that's a lot I know. But it's what I needed and what I was prescribed and wasn't totally fully comfortable taking it but like I said I needed it. My baby boy came out 8 lbs. 14 oz. and is just fine.he passed all his test after he was born.his Apgar scores were 8 and 9. He's four months old now and still doing just great and everything is also okay with breast-feeding so far.I thought for a while that maybe I was just lucky but I know lots of people online that have explained their successful stories taking Adderall while pregnant and breast-feeding. So I'm not the only one.

I took adderall during the first month of my pregnacy, I stopped taking it after I found out. My son was born with two chromosone deletions he has 22q11.2 micro-deletion syndrome and 1q21.1 microdeletion syndrome. He has a lot of medical problems and already has had a lot of surgeries and will have more in the future. His first year of life he was hospitalized so many times I lost count.

The babies father and I got DNA test done, neither one of us have these deletions. The doctors said they don't know why this has happen and if we had another child together it wouldn't happen agin. I have an older son who is normal and healthy. I know my childs medical issues are caused from adderall. I wish I could make the company do something to help my child.

The inheritance of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome is considered autosomal dominant because a deletion in one copy of chromosome 22 in each cell is sufficient to cause the condition. Most cases of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome are not inherited, however. The deletion occurs most often as a random event. Affected people typically have no history of the disorder in their family, though they can pass the condition to their children. In about 10 percent of cases, a person with this condition inherits the deletion in chromosome 22 from a parent. In inherited cases, other family members may be affected as well.

I'm not a doctor, but a mother of 2 - daughter 6 1/2 and son 22 months - and one on the way 10 weeks. So, just to hopefully ease your worries, because often that's really one of the worst things to do during pregnancy, I thought I'd write you about experience, because I too worried about similar things. I'll be 37 in a couple months and I didn't have my first baby until I was 30, I too was very conserned about my age and having complications or my baby having downsyndrome. they do a couple different test though, and since it was my first, especially I still was thinking something was going to go wrong, even after all testing came back perfect. I was on an anti depressant and it was also class c, but my anxiety was so bad already and my history of depression worried my doctors about post partum depression. My dayghter is in the first grade now, she is very smart, the top reader in her class, has no physical or mental disabilities, and had no complications at birth. I had my son at 35, and had was again worried about the same things. Being 5 years older some thought that may be a little more risky, but after going through my first pregnancy worried and stressed the entire time until she came out, I didn't want miss all the excitement and enjoyment of pregnancy with this second and possibly last opportunity I had being pregnant. I gotta say, I never thought I'd ever be the type that would even like being pregnant, but that pregnancy was so different from the first, because I didn't let myself worry about all the things that could go wrong. I even got gestational diabetes and they said it could come early and could cause complications, but I just did what I was told by dr. and they hooked me up on a monitor once a week sometimes twice a week, which they do for all high risk pregnancies, but somehow those appt.'s just really were reassuring that he was doing good. And he was born with no complications, a very easy and fast delivery, and is only 22 months now, but is growing perfectly in all areas according to all of his baby check ups and also doesn't seem to have any problems because of my age or my anti depressant. I'm now pregnant again and I'll be 37 in a couple months and I couldn't be more excited. :) The moral of the story don't waste your pregnancy worrying. Go to all your prenatal appt.s and do what your dr. Advises you as long as you're comfortable, and just really enjoy this awesome time you have as your grows inside of your happy, and positive self. :)

I have never posted on a forum before but was searching for opinions and thought I could share my own story after reading some of these posts. It breaks my heart to hear women blaming themselves for miscarriages and I hope that they can find a way to move past that and know that they aren't to blame. My husband and I are both doctors and we were both working long hours and I didn't realize I was pregnant until 14 weeks when my pants wouldn't button. I know that is hard to believe but now that I am pregnant with our second child and I have spotted several times I am sure I thought I had a period and so i didn't catch it sooner. During those 14 weeks I took 10mg of adderall daily, along with pseudoephedrine PRN, ibuprofen, and also drank alcohol several times. Also I was dieting, trying to lose this extra weight coming from nowhere :) ! When we found out I was pregnant we were devastated because I was sure that there would be a problem with our babies development. Thank God she is now a perfectly healthy 14 month old who has always been ahead of her age developmentally and seems more focused than I am on a regular basis! She was born 8lbs 1oz and has only been sick 1 time! Our bodies are incredible in the way they protect our developing baby and although I would encourage moms to avoid any medication that is class C, like adderall, just know that it has not been proven to be unsafe. I would encourage anyone with concerns to talk to their OBGYN and/or family physician but please go easy on yourself! 

I am 23 weeks pregnant and stopped taking me prescribed 40mg a day adderall prescription when i found out I was pregnant at 7 weeks. At 22 weeks, I realized my life was pretty out of control- couldn't stay awake, couldn't motivate myself to exercise or cook healthy meals, dropped a semester of classes, etc. and after discussing this with my doctor, she put me back on the adderall because the benefits outweighed the potential problems. I am prescribed 10mg XR as well as a 10mg instant release daily but she told me to try to keep it down to 10mg a day if I can. It has helped and although it's only been a week, I still feel my little boy wiggle around all the time and nothing seems wrong

When I found out I was pregnant I was 9 weeks, I was drinking, occasionally smoking weed and I was taking adderal every day (25mg) plus in high stress with my physical labor job, obviously when I found out I stopped drinking and smoking and found a new higher paying non physical labor job, it requires a lot of focus and memory and patience in which case aderal helps me with, I did not stop taking it not thinking it was an issue, at 15 weeks I started doing research on if it was safe and if anyone had taken it and had healthy babies, there were mixed answers and my ultrasounds and blood work all came back normal, I'm now 21 weeks and went to my psychologist to lower my dosage so I could try and wean off of it, he told me that regardless of dosage it doesn't make a difference, he said if it were to effect the baby it would have been in the first trimester, the effects from aderal usually have to do with blood pressure in which case mine has always been normal and baby's heart is as well, we had a detailed ultrasound the other day and they said everything is normal, brain,growth, weight, everything. So I decided that I'm going to keep taking it throughout the rest of my pregnancy, i don't want to lose my job. Because it supresses hunger my advice is just to force feed yourself knowing that you still have to give baby their nutrients. Its all up to personal preference, everyone's different and has different reactions and opinions on it. So just go with your gut feeling.

Adderall Makes your blood pressure high. I fight every day not to take it anymore. It is catagory C, this means it has shown to and can cause birth defects. Is it worth the risk of giving birth to a special needs child? DONT TAKE IT

I'm currently 8 mos pregnant.  I knew I might be pregnant in the very beginning, so I took my adderall as sparingly as possible while I waited to find out for sure.  Finally a test came up positive and I chose to go off of my medication. 

Things were getting really tough for me as I have issues with emotional regulation, even while NOT pregnant. Going off my meds AND adding the crazy-making hormones of pregnancy?? in my case, VERY BAD. My stress and upset got to a tipping point and I knew in my heart that that was bad for my baby. In fact, we have more studies about the negative impacts of stres on babies than adderall- by a long shot! 

I resumed my meds at 18 weeks, 2nd trimester. I'm prescribed 15 mg/ day, but only take 10mg broken into 2 doses. My baby is measuring large.  His chromosome tests and anatomy scans are all normal.  His heart rate measures beautifully even while I'm on my medication.

I have tried to be as conservative is I can be in my choice to continue my meds.  I educated myself on the studies/conclusions currently available (lacking!!!), and feel I made as informed a decision as possible.  We should NOT be left to make medical decisions with shoddy studies, based on some subjective sense of morality.  And that's EXACTLY the case.  

Women often go undiagnosed and suffer with ADHD for years without treatment, because it's STILL thought of as a boys disorder.  You can bet your butt they know how it affects a mans ability to MAKE babies. But, if you want to talk about the medication in regards to pregnancy- well... Get ready to be judged in a way that has ZIP to do with FACTS. 

Learn the available facts, get with a doctor that's willing to help you and provide sane additional monitoring, make a decision that's right for YOU.  But don't just accept suffering. The medication saves my life every day.

It is a category C. There is not enough research to indicate either way whether or not the medication is harmful for humans. Much of the research that shows negative results is actually from drug-abusing patients, not those following doctor's orders. If your doctor continues to prescribe, then it is best for your case. Stress, on the other hand, has been shown to cause many negative side effects in pregnant women from miscarriage to preterm birth, and almost everything in between. Those who truly need their medications, as determined by their doctor, may actually do more harm to their unborn child but not following the doctor's orders (meaning that if the doctor determined you need the medication, and you don't take it). This is because having ADHD can cause individuals to have issues not only with time management and concentration but also with social situations that result from inability to control impulses. Moreover, the stress from no longer being able to perform at work, school or function properly in society can cause a myriad of issues leading to chronic stress. People who have been accurately diagnosed and placed on medications for ADHD, are on those medications because the medication leads to a better quality and function in life. Losing this ability to function, along with the regular ups and downs of pregnancy can lead to endless secondary problems that may be worse for the mother and child.
As with all medical things, do not look for advice on blogs - this is the first time I have ever written on one, and I only did because I am saddened by the mass amount of information and the number of people who are being negatively affected. Only your OBGYN and psychiatrist should be the ones helping you make a decision based on your unique case.
If you are interested in learning more about the research - look into the information and be critical about what you are reading. Is the research done retrospectively? (Meaning they ask after the events happened, sometimes years later? How many of us can accurately say that we know everything we ate and drank a day ago (down to the ounce) let alone a week, month or more. Was the research completed on those followed by a doctor or taking drugs illegally? What was the dose? What other negative lifestyle behaviors did these mothers have and were those ruled out? (drinking, smoking, poor nutrition, etc.) Also, what is the opposing research on the negative effects of stopping the medication and what happens as a result of the changes in the mother due to not being on a medication she needs? (Many women who have ADHD also suffer from depression, anxiety, etc, which can become worse again). The list goes on and on. The point being that as of now, there is not enough research to make any definitive claims, which is why the drug is a category C. 

***this post is edited by moderator *** *** web addresses not allowed*** Please read our Terms of Use

how did you stop taking it as soon as you found out?? im having a hard time coming off...

I just want to say, my heart goes out to evryone on this board.  Drinking a little, nothing excessive, WILL NOT hurt the developing baby, unless you were doing like 10 shots a night.  I am actually being perscribed Aderal, in a very low dose, to keep me from miscarrying by my fertility specialist.  I have had 5 miscarriages and i know how bad it feels, but it can really happen for a variety of reasons, most of them not because of what you drink or took in the first few weeks.  i wish everone luck in the future!