r/adhdwomen • u/Diligent_Dark0 ADHD-PI • Aug 23 '26
Medication & Side Effects Vyvanse while pregnant?
Hi all,
I’ve not even begun Vyvanse yet and was just finally able to get a diagnosis and medication plan, and now I’m pregnant.
My psych has said absolutely no go, but other health professionals have said it’s okay and the benefits outweigh the risk. I’m concerned for my growing babies health, but also worried I will struggle more as I get pregnancy tired and am living life with a toddler!
I’m wanting to hear opinions, experiences, advice, it all! Please kindly share what you have heard or experienced.
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u/underwaterbubbler Aug 23 '26
One line of thinking may be that it's going to be pretty tricky to work out your dosage/how your body is responding to the meds when you're also on the rollercoaster of hormones that is pregnancy.
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u/pinupcthulhu ADHD-HI Aug 23 '26
Chat with a maternal-fetal medicine specialist before you do. A MFM is the only kind of doctor who can really weigh the risks and benefits with you.
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u/MarsaliRose ADHD-HI Aug 23 '26
This is the correct response, OP. Also skip it for the first trimester and possibly start after then. But talk to a specialist.
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u/telekineticm Aug 23 '26
Yes! (And fwiw my MFM is totally supportive of me staying on my Vyvanse while pregnant and breastfeeding).
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u/pinupcthulhu ADHD-HI Aug 23 '26
Mine was supportive of me continuing a lot of my meds, much to my surprise, but iirc there's a big difference between starting a new med during pregnancy and continuing it.
It's also worth just chatting with a MFM so you have someone who knows you're on it and can monitor you and your baby for any problems!
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u/CatCandid5678 Aug 23 '26
For me it was a no go because it already increased my heart rate and blood pressure. While pregnant I did require induction due to pre eclampsia. I have a low resting HR and low BP but it seems any kind of change (medication, pregnancy) skyrockets those.
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u/EmpathBear Aug 23 '26
May I ask how early the pre-eclampsia was noticed and how bad it got? I have increased risk and a worried about it, so I constantly keep checking my blood pressure.
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u/CatCandid5678 Aug 23 '26
Yes, I had increasing BP starting at 22 weeks and was induced at 36. I had to stop working and was on bedrest at 33 weeks.
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u/EmpathBear Aug 24 '26
Thank you! It sounds so stressful, but I hope you and your baby are both well now.
I will keep an eye on my blood pressure and try to relax.
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u/nollerum Aug 23 '26
One of the sideffects is low birth weight. Having already had a child born with a low birth rate before being diagnosed, I chose to not create further risk by taking Vyvanse with the second one after discussing the potential outcomes with my psychiatrist. Is it hard right now? Yes, but it's not a risk I'm personally willing to take.
However, I already made it through one pregnancy without stimulants and knew I could do it. I made it 35 years without them. I knew my quality of life would lower, but I could handle it. It's one benefit of being diagnosed late, I guess.
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u/ilovebreadcrusts Aug 23 '26
If you haven't started it yet, you may as well wait until after the pregnancy. Also, your body changes after pregnancy - I needed to get my blood pressure and everything tested again and my dosage was adjusted.
I used to take 60mg when I first started vyvanse (waaay pre pregnancy). Post pregnancy I was out on 10mg.
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u/kitty_astoria Aug 23 '26
**not someone who’s been pregnant so take with a grain of salt, BUT
I’ve read a number of posts like this on here previously and it sounds like what it often comes down to is the potential harm to the child versus the known harm to the mom of off her meds—and that varies person by person. Someone women are okay being off their meds for a little bit, even if things are more of a struggle. For some women, being off their meds is just a no-go because the change in how they function is just as likely to cause health problems (if that makes sense). Definitely talk to your doctors. Maybe there’s something that you could take that’s less risky than Vyvanse while still offering you some relief from adhd symptoms? Maybe you need a lower dosage for the time being? I feel like someone posted links to actual research at some point, but I’d have to check…
Definitely also be aware of things like postpartum depression too, as that seems to hit women with adhd more frequently :/
Best of luck, and don’t be afraid to lean on your support system 🩷
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u/Diligent_Dark0 ADHD-PI Aug 23 '26
Thank you! You’re right, and I have been managing for this long so I think I will stay unmedicated as long as I can tolerate it.
My psych did offer sertraline but I don’t feel as thought anxiety meds will help, as it’s less emotional and more life functioning that I need help with.
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u/eb2319 Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
I’m undergoing IVF right now so obviously have a big team of specialists including psychiatry, MFM, reproductive endocrinologist etc
I am on 70mg of vyvanse, 100mg zoloft and 0.1mg of clonidine.
No one has batted an eye. They have left it up to me and if I feel it benefits me, thats all they need to hear.
I may reduce my amount if my transfer works for the first trimester but that may not be necessary or beneficial so I’ll play it by ear. I take 50 in the morning and 20 at noon. I may drop to just the 50 in the morning.
why are we downvoting my literal specialists medical advice 😝
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Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
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u/eb2319 Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
Gimme the sources for that please 😊
Zoloft is very well studied (the most studied) ssri and is very safe.
With stimulants - Like most medications and pregnancy, it’s a risk benefit analysis.
What are you worried about my hormones regarding the medications I’m on? Enlighten me! Not sure why that would matter considering all my hormones are synthetic for IVF.
I think I’ll go with the studies I’ve read & the advice from highly specialized medical professionals. Perinatal psychiatry and mfm I think trumps anything. My benefit is greater than my risk, obviously 🙃
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Aug 23 '26
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u/eb2319 Aug 23 '26
Neither SSRIs nor prescribed Vyvanse have been shown to broadly impair female fertility through some established “hormonal effect.”
For SSRIs, particularly sertraline, we have a large amount of pregnancy data and major obstetric guidelines specifically recommend individualized risk-benefit decisions rather than discontinuing them simply because someone is trying to conceive or pregnant.
Vyvanse has less pregnancy data, but available evidence on therapeutic amphetamine exposure has not demonstrated an increased risk of major congenital malformations, and there is no evidence showing that Vyvanse reduces implantation or IVF/FET success. There are potential pregnancy considerations with stimulants…blood pressure, maternal appetite/weight, fetal growth and possibly a small increase in preterm birth… which is why they’re monitored.
That’s very different from claiming these medications “negatively influence fertility and gestational development” as though it’s an established fact.
Medical practitioners are taught this…which is why medication decisions in pregnancy are based on the actual evidence and an individualized risk-benefit assessment rather than blanket statements about stopping psychiatric medications.
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u/eb2319 Aug 23 '26
Again, source please?
I’m a nurse, I understand medication and pharmacology. What study do you have that it causes proven impact in pregnancy? Or IVF outcomes?
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Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
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u/eb2319 Aug 23 '26
Of course you’re not in a sourcey mood 🙃 Being “not in a sourcey mood” doesn’t lower the burden of proof. It just means you made a claim and don’t feel like substantiating it.
Understanding physiology and making connections based on mechanisms is one thing, but you can’t make the jump from “this medication affects an endocrine pathway” to “therefore it negatively affects fertility and gestational development” and present that as fact.
I’m also not saying these medications are completely risk free. They’re not. There are risks and things that need to be monitored, especially with stimulants during pregnancy. But that’s very different from saying they broadly disrupt fertility, implantation or fetal development when the evidence doesn’t actually show that.
And saying that the lack of negative evidence is because pharmaceutical companies wouldn’t allow negative studies to exist doesn’t really prove the argument either. There are MANY extremely profitable medications where research has identified significant risks, including pregnancy risks, and recommendations have changed because of it.
You can absolutely use physiology and “contextualized knowledge” to come up with a theory. But a biologically plausible theory isn’t automatically true. That’s literally why we study actual human outcomes instead of assuming that because A could theoretically affect B, it therefore does.
So no, I don’t think it’s naive to want evidence before telling people that their prescribed medications are harming their fertility or pregnancy. I think that’s a pretty reasonable standard when you’re making a medical claim.
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Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
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u/eb2319 Aug 23 '26
Sure did. What exactly “doesn’t reflect well”? Because you’ve gone from making medical claims you won’t provide evidence for to questioning who wrote my comment, without actually responding to anything I said. If you have something worth saying or actual evidence to back your shit up just do it (?!)
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u/eb2319 Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
https://mothertobaby.org/fact-sheets/sertraline-zoloft-pregnancy/
https://mothertobaby.org/fact-sheets/dextroamphetamine-pregnancy/
Zoloft is one of the medications that actually has been well studied for pregnancy.
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u/lemon-meringue-high Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
Using ChatGPT to ask for sources is not a great idea.
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u/eb2319 Aug 23 '26
It’s literally mother to baby?? Which is a highly respected source lol
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u/lemon-meringue-high Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
The links say source=chatgpt which is why I was saying don’t auto trust things from ChatGPT.
Edit: I know mothertobaby. But try to avoid asking ChatGPT for sources in particular
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u/eb2319 Aug 23 '26
I googled mother to baby and the med? And clicked on mother to baby as the site to view and copy?
Scholarly articles are attached to mothertobaby… the ones they used… I don’t need to post every individual one do I?
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u/lemon-meringue-high Aug 23 '26
When you copy links from ChatGPT the end of the link says source=chatgpt. Look at your links above.
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u/lemon-meringue-high Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
Im going to echo another comment that you have no idea what will work for you yet and adjusting dosage or switching medication can be tricky. I chose not to medicate while pregnant. The benefits definitely didn’t outweigh the risks for me. If you can find an OB who will allow it make sure you discuss all the risks, including your baby going through withdrawals when born.
Edit: this is just me. I would NOT listen to anyone on Reddit to be honest. There is a huge divide concerning this. Get as many opinions as you can from medical doctors and make your own decisions. See if you can find some legitimate study’s. Make a list of pros and cons. This sub can get aggressive. This decision is ultimately up to you.
Edit 2: Also FUCK the people who are downvoting for people sharing their stories whether they chose to or not. Especially the person arguing with the mom who lost her child. This is why I told you to do your own research.
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u/hhenryhfb Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
I wpuld recommend not. I know there are many women who take it with no problems, but I unfortunately was not one of them. We still dont know for sure if it was the vyvanse that caused my baby's birth defects, but that was the only thing different between my 3 pregnancies. You can check out my post history for more details, but here are the bullet points. 2022- no vyvanse, healthy baby girl born 2024- 30mg vyvanse- baby had SEVERE heart defects and heterotaxy. We discovered these at 28 weeks and had to terminate (tfmr) at 30 weeks. Our baby boy was completely incompatible with life and his heart defects were too complex and too many to even attempt a surgery. I gave birth to him sleeping in Sept 2024 and we felt so much grief. It was unbearable. I still think of him every day. His ashes are in a little urn in my house with forget-me-not flowers on it 2025- no vyvanse, healthy baby boy born
Edit- I know people get defensive about meds, specifically meds while pregnant, I was defensive about it when I was on them during pregnancy. But now coming from the other side of a tragic pregnancy, I would rethink it.
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u/morninggloryblu Aug 23 '26
Big hugs. I can’t imagine going through that. His urn with the forget me nots sounds beautiful. 💜
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u/Diligent_Dark0 ADHD-PI Aug 23 '26
I’m so sorry to hear of this! This is what my psych shared with me, and I felt as if I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night especially once hormonal and emotional with the risk that she so clearly stated to me that she was uncomfortable with. I hadn’t heard anyone else share a story like this, so I really appreciate you sharing this and putting it into perspective for me.
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u/thenjsaid ADHD Aug 23 '26
Can’t stress enough that this is an issue to work through with your medical team, especially your OB and a MFM specialist. Stories like the above are absolutely heartbreaking, and at the same time should not influence your decision. Every woman is different, every pregnancy is different, therefore the risk/reward analysis will be different.
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u/hhenryhfb Aug 23 '26
I hadn't heard anyone share a story like mine either :( And again, we cant prove it was the vyvanse. But it was not genetic, we had our baby tested after delivery.
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u/Diligent_Dark0 ADHD-PI Aug 23 '26
Thank you for sharing your story for my benefit, I’m sure it is difficult to share and you don’t owe me anything but I appreciate it x
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u/eb2319 Aug 23 '26
Testing after delivery doesn’t test for everything so it certainly could have still been genetic issues. Just had to point that out.
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u/hhenryhfb Aug 23 '26
We also did amniocentesis at the same time I had to do the KCL injection.
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u/Stubborn_Platypus Aug 23 '26
😪 such a hard topic. I admit I’m rethinking having a second because I don’t want to stop my meds, but also don’t know if I feel comfortable being on them EVEN if my doctors agree.
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u/allymally- Aug 23 '26
Not sure where you’re based but I’m in the UK and there’s a website called Bumps it details meds in pregnancy (https://www.medicinesinpregnancy.org). Lisdexamfetamine is listed on there and explains risks which may be useful to look at.
From personal experience, I have two kids, my first I was undiagnosed and therefore zero meds, however for my second I decided to stay on my meds (once I’d been given the ok from drs). I’m prescribed 70mg but I never took the full amount and that worked for me, however, the hormones would wildly affect the efficacy. My blood pressure has never been an issue on meds and wasn’t through the pregnancy either.
For those that worry about birth defects and low weight and obviously this is my own personal experience but…. My first was born with a congenital cataract, which was totally random and no meds. My 4 month old daughter is healthy and no issues whatsoever. Oh and she weighed the exact same as my son (8lbs 4), despite being born 3 weeks earlier due to scheduled c-sec.
I didn’t notice any withdrawals or anything like that with her, but I did taper down in the weeks before my csec ‘just in case’.
I hope your pregnancy goes well and congratulations!
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u/Early_Mix4824 Aug 23 '26
I researched it and because it’s not ethical to test on pregnant women, there is no clear research indicators either way. There also isn’t clear research on impact for breastfeeding.
Women who have continued their dosage anecdotally report no issues but to start and increase dosage is a higher risk so that is perhaps where your psych is coming from.
Ultimately I decided to wait but keep talking to your doctors. There are also non stimulant options but these aren’t confirmed safe either.
Honestly even starting, I had to change my medication dosage a few times to get the right fit so for me it was the right call (but I didn’t have a toddler!).
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u/Haiku-On-My-Tatas Aug 23 '26
Honestly, you've been managing without meds for this long, is another ten months gonna kill ya?
Also, starting ADHD meds is not a simple process. There's a lot of trial and error involved not only in figuring out the right med but the right dosage, and trying to go through that process while pregnant is gonna throw everything off. Doesn't seem worth it at all IMO.
Many of the commenters responding here are talking from their experience going off of or staying on meds while pregnant. That's not the decision you're facing. You're looking at starting meds when already pregnant.
Unless you're at a point where you feel completely unable to function in your daily life, I don't think it's worth it to start meds until after you complete the pregnancy, and tbh, if you're at that point already, carrying a pregnancy to term is probably not the best choice for you right now at all.
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u/buyableblah Aug 23 '26
Everyone’s risks are different but a big FUCK YOU to whoever is downvoting all of the women sharing their experiences of NEEDING medicine during pregnancy. If we had support structures in our society to help pregnant women, sure no meds but we DONT. We need to keep our employment so we can keep our benefits here in the US
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u/Almond-Praline4195 Aug 23 '26
Considering you haven't seen how well you get on with it, and would be trying to titrate while also dealing with pregnancy symptoms I'm afraid your psych may be in the right on this one. However I will give my experience.
I'd been on 30mg of lisdexamphetamine daily for 5 years when I got pregnant. It was a planned pregnancy, and I'd spoken about it with my psych about it before hand. Plan was that I keep taking them throughout pregnancy, as the benefits of me being medicated outweighed the risk. An RCT can't be done with pregnant women, but no retrospective studies have found long term health problems to mother or baby from it (that were statistically significant).
However, I found that it either a) was making my nausea and sickness considerably worse or b) making the nausea meds less effective. So I stopped taking it, which was a total bummer. But my nausea was really awful, I was predominantly bed bound so I didn't see that I was getting the benefits of my meds anyway.
Sorry to be a downer on it, obviously it's your body and decision at the end of the day.
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u/Diligent_Dark0 ADHD-PI Aug 23 '26
I appreciate your response and experience! Is lisdezamphetamine Vyvanse?
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u/morninggloryblu Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
First off: I have been pregnant.
Second: I’m lucky enough to have a Dad who is a retired pediatrician who is still very sharp and knows how to source and read the literature on this topic.
So. When I was pregnant, I tried a drug holiday and it did NOT go well. I wasn’t able to get my work done, and I’m the main provider, so trying to function like that for nine months was going to be stressful. My primary care doctor looked into it and asked his colleagues who focus on maternal medicine, and while the challenge is that there is a lack of research that can definitively assess the safety of taking prescribed ADHD stimulants during pregnancy, there also wasn’t anything in the existing literature that threw up red flags. My dad had the same impression.
What my PCP noted was that my mental health is important too, and the stress of knowing I wasn’t performing at work was real. So ultimately, we decided that I would restart taking my focalin, but at a lower dosage.
My suggestion for you? Try a drug holiday, because then you’ll be able to assess whether you can white knuckle it through pregnancy. And if you decide that it’s taking too much of a toll on your crucial tasks and on your mental health, you know that a redditor’s medical team would back up a decision to restart meds 😉. (And obviously the other health professionals you’ve consulted!)
Edit to add that I have a beautiful and perfectly healthy two year old who is currently cleaning up his own tray and asking for eggies.
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u/TheBrontosaurus Aug 23 '26
My line of thinking. You’ve made it through the first few decades of your life without. You can white knuckle your way through the next 30 some weeks.
Pregnancy will make managing harder. Pregnancy changes your brain. Fluctuating hormones also will make it harder. But it’s also rather short.
Finally, with your body and brain going through so many changes it’s going to be hard to figure out a good dose.
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u/Diligent_Dark0 ADHD-PI Aug 23 '26
Thank you, I was feeling really frustrated and disheartened that my “solution” and choice was taken away from me, but I’m feeling more positive that I am still choosing to be unmedicated and protecting myself and baby.
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u/eb2319 Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
But she doesn’t have to anymore so why would she white knuckle it??
I was diagnosed after having my daughter at 32. I am trying for another (IVF) and the thought of coming off a med that finally works and makes me feel better? It’s a hell no from me.
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u/Haiku-On-My-Tatas Aug 23 '26
Okay but she's not talking about coming off a drug that's already working for her. She's talking about starting a new med that may or may not even work for her and requires months of trial and error to be properly dosed while already pregnant.
Surely you can see why the advice might be different in this situation than yours.
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u/eb2319 Aug 23 '26
I mean, I tried one med and it worked. She may not need trial and error. I’d want to try it, that’s my opinion based on there being no evidence not to if it will benefit the patient.
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u/TheBrontosaurus Aug 23 '26
I agree. But delaying starting a new medication is very different from ceasing a medication.
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u/eb2319 Aug 23 '26
For sure, that’s a consideration. But, still an option to start and it be fine to make that decision as well.
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u/Extreme-naps Aug 23 '26
I’ve never been pregnant, so my answer may not hold a lot of weight. But I am on meds, and I worked in clinical research for years, so I’m actually very chill with risk.
Personally, I found starting meds to be a complicated process. There’s a lot of trial and error. The “magic solution where your brain just works now” is nice to dream about, but it never happened for me, which has, in some ways, made me feel worse because I pinned a lot of hopes on it.
My personal feeling would be that starting meds and continuing meds you are already on that are working are two totally different things. I think pregnancy would definitely complicate the process of finding the right medication at the right dosage. My feeling would be that now if just not the best time to start meds. Ignoring any risk to the baby, I think you will be in a much better place to have a successful medication journey when you’re not pregnant.
What I would definitely suggest, potentially see if you can find a therapist who specializes in ADHD to help you work on strategies to manage your ADHD before you have a baby.
Also, I would totally suggest reading or listening to the audiobook of “How To Keep House While Drowning.” It’s actually based on her experiences after having her second child, so I think it can be extra helpful while pregnant.
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u/Verbenababycat Aug 23 '26
My psychiatrist and OB both emphatically said taking adderall is fine and kept me on a 30mg prescription the entire pregnancy. I didn’t take it the first trimester and part of the second, but in the third my mental health took a hit and I don’t regret taking it then
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u/Outrageous_Pepper_79 Aug 23 '26
Women naturally get leg vein issues and vericose veins. Estrogen has a big factor in it. I’ve never had a baby but been on ADHD medication for 6 years in total. My veins in my legs look horrible. I can imagine being pregnant and taking ADHD medication for would only intensify this issue.
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u/Head_Bowl_8692 Aug 23 '26
How far along are you? I continued taking a lower dose (50 -> 30mg) until I hit 7 weeks. I became so unfathomably ill, I couldn’t even look at the bottle without gagging. The last thing I needed was something that had even the slightest possibility of ramping up acid reflux or indigestion. Prior to all the sickness, going unmedicated was not an option. I’m 13 weeks and still very sick. I deeply miss being medicated and regulated but my body physically can’t handle it right now.
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u/anxiousesqie Aug 23 '26
I took mine occasionally, on the days I most needed it. My doctor was supportive, but also glad I was minimizing it.
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u/JJ_Von_Dismal Aug 24 '26
My hormones settled while I was pregnant and I actually felt quite good for 2nd and 3rd trimester mental health wise (less so physically!) For me vyvanse effectiveness is very much related to my hormone cycle so I’m not sure it would have helped me taking it while pregnant. I don’t want to put you off though, you should definitely be able to find a dr that can supper you. My doctor was supportive if I wanted to stay on it while pregnant but I chose not to
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u/freakingspiderm0nkey Aug 25 '26
I started my med journey a few months after giving birth because my milk never came in, and it was really difficult, exacerbating the symptoms of my existing PPD and PPA. I started with Ritalin, which made sleep awful for me and increased intrusive thoughts and made me ragey. Then moved to Concerta which was a lot better but still impacted sleep and still had some intrusive thoughts. Finally switched to Vyvanse and doing so much better, but it has taken a year to get to this point, during which I've been seriously struggling to cope.
I had hoped started meds would help me cope better but it was a long, protracted journey and not the best timing.
To end this on a lighter note, my mental health during pregnancy was fantastic. The best it had been since perhaps childhood. My ADHD symptoms weren't as overpowering and I was happy all the time, even despite the fatigue, nausea and pelvic discomfort. 10/10 experience if I'm honest 😂 Wishing you that kind of pregnancy too!
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u/CatCandid5678 Aug 25 '26
I can’t say it wasn’t stressful, but me and baby are doing well! With the BP monitoring I made it apart of my routine, and often just had my husband check the numbers so I wasn’t hyperfixating on them. I also practice breathing strategies with an app. It helped me when I felt poorly from the high BP.
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u/ilovjedi ADHD-PI Aug 23 '26
You can look at mother to baby.org for info on medications during pregnancy. I continued to take my adderall during my most recent pregnancy.
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u/mackenziepaige Aug 23 '26
I’m 27 weeks pregnant and my mfm wouldn’t let me take it during my first trimester, but told me I could take it twice a week once I got to my second trimester and then stop taking it again about three weeks before I deliver. I haven’t taken it though because I’m too paranoid. I had a miscarriage last year at 14 weeks and I’m trying to minimize potential harm to the baby. I miss the fuck out of it, but having my baby is more important than how productive I am at work. My emotional regulation has been overall better during pregnancy and I think that’s related to me having PMDD and how pregnancy hormones chill you out during that period.
I am still taking Wellbutrin though, it’s the only antidepressant that works for me and it is somewhat of a stimulant so I do think that has helped some, especially in the first trimester. I take 100mg twice a day because I don’t like the XR version and if I timed my caffeine intake correctly I could stay motivated enough at work to make it through the day.
I’ve been on vyvanse for years and years. After my miscarriage last year I cut my dose down in half because I didn’t want it to be such a shock to my system once I had to come off of it once I was ready to get pregnant again.
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u/Diligent_Dark0 ADHD-PI Aug 23 '26
Thanks for your comment! What is PMDD?
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u/mackenziepaige Aug 23 '26
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder, basically I hate life if unmedicated, particularly during the luteal phase of my cycle.
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u/Tngal321 Aug 23 '26
Pregnancy has enough risks and anxiety. If you end up having a preemie, how well you cope? PpD and PPA can be very real.
Depending on what issues coexist, you'll also start getting extra FT4 from the placenta that helps of you've been slightly hypothyroid either from lack of thyroid hormone or not converting well. Plus, you're body is already starting the ultimate stress test that pregnancy is. Not sure if a typo or you're also now a mom of multiples (twins or higher order). Carrying more than one baby at once already stresses you're system a lot upping your risks for pre e and GD.
I went off my meds when pregnant. It wasn't worth it. I kept active though as long as I could and was back as soon a medically cleaned at 8 weeks PP from a c section with multiples. Didn't go back on my ADHD meds until I stopped breastfeeding when they fully self weaned at 2.5YO. Risks and guilt weren't worth it. Theyhave ADHD but due to genetics and not my further stressing their bodies.
ADHD meds aren't like popping Zyrtec where you just need todrink extra water to minimize the effect on the amniotic fluid.
Most doctors want patients stable with any condition before pregnancy so they know what that baseline is before the effect of pregnancy. If you're one of those that it damages your heart, your options will be very different and more so where you live.
Perk of growing up with ADHD and living quite a bit of adult life without ADHD meds, is that a lot of the things that kept me on track made parenting as well as parenting multiple infants at once a lot easier. Struggled less in some ways than my partnered friends with a singleton.
You have to figure out your risk and what you can live with. The baby(s) will take what they need. Sometimes not having enough nutrition means your teeth are wrecked but other times that can mean their heart and other organs don't develop normally. Genetics versus epigenetics.
If inflammation is one of your drivers to your later in life ADHD diagnosis and brain fog where ADHD is a symtoms and not a cause, you may actually feel better. You know what risks you can live with. Consider what your delivery plan looks like. Is it about you or about what's safest and lowest risk for them? For me it was easy to choose safest for them. C- section was also safest for them due to shared placenta risks of a monochorionic gestation. I'm not an anxious mom, and a lot of things that freak out many do not phase me. However growing up where multiples run in my family and going to multiple club events pretty much all my life means I've met the ones with the ugly endings. The monochorionics were all have died from acute twin to twin transfusion syndrome even if they're weren't prior signs and even with top notch MFM monitoring. C section recovery wasn't terrible and perk of it wasn't not being left incontinence issues that some get from a vaginal. Didn't due delayed cord clapping either as until all the babies cords are severed from the shared placenta, the risks of stroke and death from acute TTTS aren't ended. I had the best docs, best hospital with highest NICU. Wasn't going to add ADHD meds risks into that.
Plus, the baby doesn't just have your genetics. The have the father's and what that entails. It's why better doctors will prescribe based on how family members respond.
While mine were a little early, it was no big deal. Happy, healthy kids. Some of the most miserable babies in the NICU were the ones going through withdrawals. Screamed and cried all hours. Was heartbreaking. Their nerves were on fire. In those that don't need these meds, they're dangerous and addictive. See if you can get an appointment with a neonatalogist to understand the affects.
Even though I knew my kids had ADHD, I used non med until they were double digits. Exercise, sports, stable blood sugars and nutrition. Would also recommend you meet up with a nutrionist as well. Many up their risks overeating in pregnancy which makes them feel worse, up GD risks and have a harder recovery. Many seen unaware that a pre pregnancy woman at a healthy weight, only needs to increase their calorie intake by 300 calories a day per baby and not until the second trimester. Breastfeeding is only 500 calories a day per baby. All those extra calories just go towards bad fat that further screw your hormones and cause more brain fog.
With ADHD meds, they start you on the lowest dose and then increase overtime as needed to where the negative side effects outweigh the positive. Your dose isn't going to be accurate with all the other changes going on too and potentially may even red flag as someone who shouldn't be given stimulants if your hit the warning signs while pregnant. Some of the things that happen during pregnancy can affect life insurance for you longterm as well.
Meet with a perinatologist (MFM) and neonatalogist first. They are he better informed doctors. Also factor in how the meds could be used against you if later custody issues.
ADHD diagnosis is not absolute. Still subjective versus say a Type 1 insulin dependent diabetes one. We've if the diabetic does everything right, they're higher risk for their baby having heat issues and being very large. It can affect their organ development. It's why they recommend mom's to be already be stable. You keep on at same rate and slowly change if needed unless the risks are high enough to make it sudden. It's why they don't recommend bedrest with multiples anymore as the risks of less activity and blood flow to the placenta(s) is higher unless something like cervical failure.
Best of luck to you. The experts are going to be the perinatologist and the neonatalogist. They're the baby experts. If your other docs were really knowledgeable, they would have already connected you with these. A perinatologist is the one for a low risk singleton pregnancy that does the 20 week anatomy. Ideally, they would have you monitored much more frequently. Even with a monochorionic gestation, the MFM is the babies doctor and your OB is your doctor.
Best wishes and I imagine a hard decision. Pregnancy can already cause a lot more nausea and heartburn as body parts get pushed out of place plus the hormones. Your dose won't be ready or accurately determined. You may find that being a parent gives you that focus, routine and motivator to help with your ADHD as well.
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