I dont know the answer, but Im kind of scared of being pregnant right now too, and I don't know what I will do if I am. Because im pretty sure the meds i am on now i cant take if im pregnant. Maybe talk to the doctor..idk. Its pretty scary!

I got pregnant before I was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. I remember that it was one of the most calm times in my life. There were probably two times that I flipped out when I was pregnant. I have no idea why. After I had my daughter all hell broke loose.

I have heard of some people taking up yoga during pregnancy. Maybe that could help? Writing and visual journaling work for me.

i was real stable until the post partum period and then that was emotional hell. you just get through like you always get through. just do the best you can and ther eis no 'guilt' to feel because you are ill. i have had friends with cancer while pregnant, lupus while pregnant, diabetic while pregnant etc etc. you're not alone and it will be okay. just have faith, take good care of yourself and sleep well, eat right, exercise and stay as calm and peaceful as possible. do yoga or meditate or whatever you have to do to get through this with minimal meds. and you hang in there.

I was pregnant once for 9 months with my daughter, which was one of the best times of my life, then I delivered, and went insane (probably manic -> mixed). Then I got pregnant again, for six months, I lost that pregnancy, and went manic in a bad way again. Now I know I cannot be sane and functional while pregnant, even less post-partum, and it scares the shit out of me. I'm trying to make a contingency plan, as in which drugs will I accept taking while pregnant. I'm also changing the philosophical outlook. In my first pregnancy, I wouldn't take anything on the off chance that the drugs interfere with the brain development. Now I'm like, I suffer enough, so what if my kids are not 100% mentally sane (because of the drugs I might take), at least they will be here with me. I'm more than mildly insane, and I still love my life. I don't know if I helped any. But I'm sure you know that many, many women have been pregnant on drugs, and the kids turn out fine.

I was not on any meds when I was pregnant. I was honestly ok until the last month or so and the post partum period. I just dealt with it since I wasn't seeing a pdoc then.

I feel like I would be able to deal with being pregnant off meds, though maybe not working too. I am 100% sure I'm going to need something through post-partum. I DO NOT want to got manic again, I need my wits about me to be able to care for the baby.

I am currently trying to conceive (battling w/fert. issues) and am not taking any of my meds. I have some of the worst days. Some times I think what am I doing? Just get back on them and it will at least help me somewhat. I have the biggest fear of takn them though while I was/will be prego. I know they say this or this med is ok to take while your preg but, they come out all the time w/med problems and pregnancy. Birth defects, ect. and I worry about long term affects they may not know about yet! I'm sure I just worry too much....
I like the posts from the other women here. They have really given me a positive and hopefull out look on things if I ever do become pregnant.. I'm sorry smr127 I hope I did'nt make you worry more...I don't mean to be a downer :( :)

I'm hoping to get pregnant sometime this year, so I've been looking into these kinds of issues for myself. It seems that doctors are very concerned about the mental well being of the mother these days. I'm trying to adopt an attitude like cb72's. I don't want there to be any risk to my possible future child, but I don't want to be in the hospital either. I think you just have to evaluate the risk of the particular drugs and what term you are in against your state of mind. It sounds like it's critical to be back on meds right after delivery to avoid major depression and or mania. I feel very bitter about this because I want to breastfeed, but I guess that my sanity is probably more important.

I took medication for the entire length of my second pregnancy.It was the best thing I even did because it kept me relatively fine for the pregnancy and postpartum period. I took 300mg of seroquel daily to control mania and 150mg of dothiepin for the depression. My pyschiatrist and obstetrician agreed that it was in both mine and the babies best interests to take the meds. I couldnt breastfeed however because the drowsiness would have been pasted on to the baby through my milk. When she was born she was observed for 48 hours to check for withdrawl symptoms ie. they did OBS on her hourly (which would have been excessive sleepiness and/or tremor) but she exhibited none of these signs and was a healthy, perfectly developed baby and now a normal 10mth old with no developmental or physical problems. There are meds you can take when U R pregnant, you need to find an obstetrician and psychiatrist who are nice and willing to work together to get you through and who have experience with bipolar pregnancies. I am lucky enough that I live close to a tertiary care maternity hospital that also had a mother/baby psych unit in it so I had alot of support and help. Goodluck I hope you find what you need and have a beautiful baby!

I just want to second the importance of getting on medication right after delivery. I didn't do it after my daughter was born, cause I didn't know I should, and cause I really, really, really, really, really, etc. wanted to nurse. It like defined my motherhood, femininity or whatever. I was totally manic. Well, 9 months of valiant semi-successful efforts later, my life, work, energy and sanity were wiped, as were my husband's. The scary part is that I see myself doing it again if I'm not on drugs.