Abstract
Managing depression and anxiety during pregnancy and the postpartum period is challenging. Both pharmacological treatment and the lack thereof can pose threats to a fetus. SSRIs are the drugs of choice for use during pregnancy, but there is considerable evidence for the safety and efficacy of older antidepressants during pregnancy as well. This study highlights a single case of the use of the tricyclic nortriptyline during pregnancy and postpartum. The subject involved had an unexpectedly high ratio of serum level to drug dose during the postpartum period. We monitored the subject for a significantly greater portion of the postpartum period than has been done in previous studies, and explored medical and lifestyle changes that could account for the level-to-dose ratios we observed. Differences in smoking patterns, coupled with the patient’s status as a genetic poor metabolizer, were the most likely explanations.
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Previously presented as a poster, “Case report on nortriptyline levels in a postpartum woman,” at the 4th World Congress of Women’s Mental Health, March 2011
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Osborne, L.M., Birndorf, C.A., Szkodny, L.E. et al. Returning to tricyclic antidepressants for depression during childbearing: clinical and dosing challenges. Arch Womens Ment Health 17, 239–246 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-014-0421-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-014-0421-z