[melbourn]

We are awaiting approval of our homestudy but I am beginning to look for an agency who is willing to work with adoptive parents who are on medication for depression. Any help?

[ChitownTracy]

Hi I am taking a very low dosage of prozac. In order to be approved by our agency, my dr (who prescribed the meds) had to discuss the safety of my well being and the safety of bringing a child into our home....once my dr talked to our social worker, everything worked out.
I am on the prozac from Nov 04 after a miscarriage. HTH
feel free to PM if you have any more questions or concerns..
Tracy

[blessedbybug]

I think this is a case by case situation. Medication is not necessarily a red flag for an agency and I would consider it discrimination if an agency used it alone to weed out potential adoptive parents. Reality is that alot of people who have suffered infertility and loss, often factors that lead couple to move to making an adoption plan, will have struggled with depression at one time or another. And not everyone can cope with it without some help. Depression is a part of my history although I have never been medicated for it. But it is there and we were placed without hesitation. I think it is a good thing for you to advise the agency and most agencies do require a medical report from your doctor. That is standard. Be honest and I hope you find the best agency to help you on your journey to your family.

[JPDakota]

Our social worker required a list of our medications and explanations from our doctor that our meds were medically necessary and would not hinder our ability to parent. She was satisfied with what she recieved. None of the agencies we dealt with required more than that.
Good luck!

[tflowers]

I have been on anxiety and depression medications and it was never a part of our homestudy or the questions we had to answer. At the time of our homestudy I was even going through counseling after finding out I could not have kids and that wasn't an issue either. We did not even need a letter from the doctor. It depends on the agency and the person doing the homestudy.

Tina
6 months into waiting for adoption

[imbeelte]

my doctor just stated that the dose i was on woulnt impair my ability to parent, and i have to have monthly dr apointments

[teacher20]

I was on anti-anxiety meds at the time of our adoption and I told the social worker that, but it was not an issue at all. The agency that we worked with in CA requested that I tell the birthmother about taking Paxil, which I did at the time of our daughter's birth. She could not have cared less about that. Had I not put that I took it in something that I gave the social worker who did our study in OH, it would never have come up!

[rredhead]

Hi!
I'm on a lot of medication: I have a minor physical disability, kept in check by said medication. One of them is for depression (Lexapro), and the depression is the side effect from being in a lot of pain for a long time. My husband has also been on various anti-depressants for awhile now.
With that background, we were seriously concerned about the meds we take. We found that, for our home study, we needed to furnish complete medical reports, including a list of all of the meds each of us is on. In the paperwork we had to complete, there were a few open-ended questions about our health, how we felt we'd handle a baby if health problems arose, just basic questions so we all know that we've thought this through.
We had our second round with the social worker on Tuesday, and he asked me straight out, ow are these meds going to affect your ability to care for a baby? And I answered truthfully that, there is no reason to think that the meds are going to be an issue once we've gotten a routine, or pattern, down. And even then, the only issue would be at night, because I'm pretty high functioning during the day.
While this may be TMI (too much information), I'm trying to be thorough because I know that I was worried that we'd be turned away, and this question isn't really dealt with very well in the literature that I've read.

Love & Peace
-Rmc

[Kristenwes]

Hi. I am on an antidepressant for a muscle disorder, but I am still able to function as a mother. Your medical doctor should have made this very clear to your agency. My medical doctor wrote a statement about the reason why I take it and how it has changed my life in a positive way. If I would not take my medicine I would not be able to have full mobility and I am only 30 years old. I would speak with your doctor. Best of luck Kristen