ADHD medication during pregnancy

I stopped while trying to conceive. Was on meds for 13 years before the stop. I found it incredibly difficult and had to have reasons adjustments done at work. I’m uk based and now have to go private to get my prescription again or wait over a year to be seen by the nhs. If you’re in the uk ask your doctor if there’s red tape after being off of it for a period of time/ trying to restart. Best of luck Should also add that I tried getting back on when baby was 18 months. My new GP said it was too long of a gap and needed to be re seen again despite being on the medication for so long

I had to get off them during pregnancy too. It was a hard adjustment but you have to give yourself grace as pregnancy is hard. I know women who have continued throughout pregnancy and had a healthy baby, but the risk is that you don’t know if it would have subtle long term effects. My ssprescriber said I should avoid for the first trimester and then could be on a low dose for the 2 & 3 trimester if I wanted to. He also said an occasional dose throughout pregnancy is ok especially if you’re struggling.

i’ve been worrying about this! i was only diagnosed in 2023 and finally have an appointment this week about starting meds, but i’ve been worrying about starting them knowing that i want to have more children and having to potentially come off… i continued to take antidepressants through my pregnancy because research hadn’t shown any risks (funnily enough, there’s quite a lot of recent research about the specific one i take, too) but i’m aware it’s not always as simple with adhd medication🥲

It’s best to consult with your psychiatrist as it heavily depends on your circumstances, the medication you take, and the risks vs benefits with both of those combined. I was taking Elvanse / Vyvanse and advised that it’s best to stop in around the 3rd trimester but I chose to stop beforehand out of my own accord. I resumed the medication around 2/3 months postpartum whilst exclusively breastfeeding. I believe I was sent a file by my private psychiatrist on the different medications, but I can’t remember if it was for pregnancy or breastfeeding. I’ll try to find it and post it here if I do :)

I continued my medication. The only thing I noticed with my little newborn baby was that he had extra jittery legs. (Which could be for any reason) 8 months in he is a very healthy baby. Good luck it’s a big decision !