Adderall and pregnancy

Ladies,

I wouldn't worry about slight usage of Adderall or a couple cocktails. Most drugs are actually fairly safe, it's the repeated exposure that becomes a problem. Especially with addictive substances (opiods, benzo's). Think of it this way. If it's harmful to Mom, it's harmful to baby. That's a safe and reasonable way to look at it. I've had two very healthy children. I smoked ciggarette's and drank a couple alcoholic beverages. Probably amounted to one every two weeks. I took some RX meds during my first pregnancy and weaned off 3 RX drugs for my second. One of them a particularly dangerous one, Xanax. Both kids are FINE. Use common sense. Most likely exposure to any drug once or twice will not harm a fetus. It's REPEATED exposure that becomes harmful. I also would not trust Doctors and they're over liberal usage of anti deppressant medications during pregnancy. If you ask me, those drugs are DANGEROUS and would most likely have an effect on a child's brain or motor development more than Adderall or a cocktail would.

I stopped taking ritalin, subutex and xanax for this last pregnancy. I wanted to give my baby the best chance possible and I can function without the drugs. There's no need to expose a fetus to something if you don't truly need it yourself. Also if it's going to give you anxiety throughout your pregnancy then try stopping it. Seriously, I would be more worried about anti depressant and anti psychotic medications then any other drug. It disgusts me to see such over liberal dispensing of these medications. BUT when I went to have a tooth pulled the Dentist wouldn't even give me 1 or 2 pain pills to get through the night. That makes a lot of sense! Totally stupid

Most Doctors get women would up when they refuse to prescribe meds, and we start thinking it's because they are dangerous to the baby. They are not neccesarily dangerous to the baby, they ARE dangerous to the Doctor's pocket if in fact the 1 in a milllion chance happened that something was wrong with the baby. It's all about liability and a huge lack of research in this country. They just don't know.

Want to know something interesting that I think causes a lot of birth defects? FLOURIDE. Google it. It's in many, many prenatal vitamins and during my first pregnancy I had to buy my own from a health food store because the RX ones were loaded with it. My nurse used to laugh at me. "You smoke but your worried about flouride"? Yep. Google it. Also, next time you go to smother some sunscreen on your babies, turn that bottle over and Google the ingredients. You'll be surprised that they very ingredients in sunscreen are known cancer causing agents. ATLEAST we know Adderall is an amphetamine, it's been around for years. Women have been using amphetamines, alcohol and smoking liberally during pregnancy for quite some time. It's the other stuff that flies under the rader I'd be more afraid of.

Nope , sorry I also trusted a doctor who told me it was safe and my son was born with a brain malformation... He is 5 and may never walk or talk. My other child who I did not take any medicine with was healthy. Just because someone gets away with it does not make it safe . I also think moms who did have birth defects probably will not come out and say they did it...

Just as doctors have no way of being able to say it's safe, also have no way of contributing the brain malfornation to the fact that you tool Adderall. There are too many other variables during pregnancy.......different things you may have been exposed to during your pregnancy. Every cell in your body is semi-different. Nothing is identical. Every single sperm of your husbands are different, the methylation of DNA, there are SOOOO many different things that could most likely and more realistically contribute to that. I on the other hand have had 3 children and now having a fourth child and took the same medications you did. The biggest factor is genetics really.

Did anyone else have trouble finding out they were pregnant while on Adderall? I'm 3 weeks late (very unusual) but have taken two pregnancy tests and they were both negative. Then I read online that Adderall can cause false negatives. Did anyone have this happen to them?

No, the only thing I can think of with this is that some people get dehydrated while taking adderall or they don't drink enough. This might affect your pregnancy test. Make sure you take the test in the morning, first urination of the day is best. Stress can also cause your period to be irregular so you may just have skipped it if you are under a lot of stress right now. If you schedule a visit with your OBGYN, they may just do a quick ultrasound to confirm pregnant or not if you are concerned and have other symptoms other than just the missed period.

I, too, normally take adderall. I've taken it on and off since middle school because I had periods of time where I was ashamed for needing it. However, I work two full time jobs and one of them is a business I own and have to run alone, and I quickly found myself falling short because of my ADD tendencies. I had a daughter after being told my endometriosis would cause sterility 13 months after I got married, and I was not on the adderall at that time. I have since had two miscarriages in six months and the only common denominator in each case is my adderall. We are still trying to get pregnant, and I have since stopped taking the adderall to see if it makes a difference. Doctors do not seem to have any information accept that they "don't want you to take it" while you're pregnant. Both times I got pregnant I did not know for several weeks, so I did not know to stop my medication. The first time I miscarried at 6 weeks, and the second at 8 weeks. Like I said, despite the difficulties, I am trying to go without it as we keep trying to see if that makes a difference. If I do not have another miscarriage when I get pregnant again, I'll know for sure it was the adderall.

Please email me the outcome of your pregnancy I am currently in the same boat. Any advice would be helpful thanks!! Jessica

Are you referring to the term "dropping sugar"? I had this at my eighth month but fortunately the dr did not have to deliver my baby early, which is an issue your dr will considered. All was fine, he's 26 now, and still wonderful. Best wishes to you.

Interesting, I also had two miscarriages while on Adderall.  Then I stopped taking it and got pregnant... with twins!  So it did seem to be related, but I'll never know for sure.  That said, during my first pregnancy I was on Adderall and did not even know I was pregnant until week 6.  At that point I stopped taking it cold turkey and she turned out wonderfully of course.  She's 4 now.  I would not have dreamed of taking Adderall while pregnant, but mostly because of the heart speeding up, and of potentially not sleeping enough.  It just doesn't seem like a pregnancy safe drug to me.  My doctor agreed.

This is probably because you didn't need adderall. If you truly suffer from ADHD, Adderall does not affect you the way you're describing. For example, I have severe ADHD and if I didn't take adderall, I wouldn't sleep. It slows me down. It does not speed up my heart and it doesn't make me hyperactive or restless. It does the exact opposite for me. I'm a hyperactive person and when I take it, it calms me down. Same with cafffeine or any other "stimulant". So you probably didn't need adderall and this is why you had a miscarriage while on it. For you, it was like taking speed while pregnant. I've heard others say it makes them not hungry or they have a loss of appetite. It also, does not affect me this way.. I never lost weight while on it like a lot of people do who take it and do not need it. It's for ADHD not ADD.

I don't even feel the need to give a lengthy, educated response to this because you sound ignorant and uneducated on the topic. You know absolutely nothing about this. Not
only have you not done any research on this topic whatsoever but you make politically incorrect comments such as to call me "retarded" for using a prescription under the supervision of my doctor (whom might I add is a maternal fetal specialist at the best hospital in the state) and to compare it to someone abusing an illegal substance such as "speed". Grow up and educate yourself before you begin giving any advice to other mothers or anyone for that matter.

Okay ladies, honestly pregnancy is highly personal - I know people who drank a glass of wine a day, and others who would not even dare to take a sip. I know people on antidepressants who were a mess without their drugs but would not take them during pregnancy, and others who took Zoloft and other drugs without a second thought. No one is attacking you, they are just giving their opinions. People use Adderall for many different reasons (honestly there are many uses for the drug, even if yours is a very basic need, other people really do need it for other means of assistance), and perhaps one is more necessary than another - I'm not the expert on that. But this is a forum where people give their opinions, and it's so that the people READING these opinions, from people who have taken Adderall, can make their own assessments. I do think that there's a difference between Adderall's effect on the mother and effect on the fetus, as a fetus might not have the same needs/reaction as the mother, but I am not a doctor, and I think everyone is entitled to make their own decisions. But this is a forum where everyone can give their opinion/experience, and it's okay to write how you feel. That's how a discussion is created. No one is doubting your needs/doctor's advice. I hope everyone has happy and healthy babies, and are happy and healthy mothers.

I know how you feel. Its been a while and I am hoping you feel better now. Just think about it in a positive way.. whether its your fault or not.. God saved you and that baby so much trouble.. and took him for his own good and for your too. You have been given another chance to plan a baby right, and take care of your health before you start carrying another person inside you. Take care.. stay positive.. and listen to your heart. My heart is telling me to stop adderall before I start trying to have a baby.. just in case. Good Luck

Jj wrote:

Just so you know adderall is a class c drug during pregnancy meaning their hasn't been any study's on the drug in this situation but honestly you must be retarded to take any prescription during just so you know adderall is main drug compound is amphetamines so you could compare your self to someone taking speed during their pregnancy way to be a great mon

This punctuation-free paragraph makes you seem far from "retarded" yourself. You clearly seem to have far superior knowledge to that of these women's doctors.

Thank you for your post. I find it to be very reassuring, as I am 8 mos pregnant and started back on 10 mg of adderall xr during my 6th month and have continued to take it everyday since then. I am just still really worried that my baby will have withdrawals once he is born. I was wondering if you could shed some light from your experience with your children? Also, did you take it every single day up until delivery? What dose were you on? I hope I am not being too nosey......just curious. Thanks!!