Anonymous wrote:I can't figure out what's normal and what's not. I'm 19weejs preg with my 4th, other kids are 10, 8, and 2.

I have a decent history of anxiety and was on meds between #2 and 3 then got off when trying for #3. I have true panic attacks maybe 4/7 days, I worry about the baby like crazy. I'm utterly terrified of dying in childbirth, like some huge phobia. It can keep me up at night, and I take unisom to help me sleep (with OB permission). I'm snappy often w kids, irritable. Endless worry.

What is there to do short of meds? I'm not comfortable with that and would just add to stress. I've tried like 5 different therapists over the years and no help, like one told me to have more sex, one always late, another one complained endlessly about other patients. Nightmare after nightmare.

What is normal?

Thanks for your help.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here thank you all so very much. I'm a mess. 19 weeks preg and I know it's not good for the baby either?

15:29 and 16:00 here. It's definitely better for the baby to get this anxiety under control. They say you have to be in wartime or other really extreme conditions for the mother's environment to affect the fetus, but honestly the panic attacks and insomnia you're dealing with sound pretty extreme to me. 99.9% likely the baby is doing perfectly swimmingly in there, but there are only upsides, not downsides, to getting this anxiety under control before he or she arrives. The first step is talking with your OB, a psychiatrist, or someone else and figuring out what your options are. No need to make any decisions, just get some information and let someone else know how you're feeling. You've got this, OP! Keep us posted, please.

Anonymous wrote:Op here thank you all so very much. I'm a mess. 19 weeks preg and I know it's not good for the baby either?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This does not sound normal and it sounds like it's really impacting your life. I took meds during pregnancy and it was absolutely the right choice for me, but if it will just make your anxiety worse, then it's not a good choice for you. Though, have you considered that with less anxiety from the meds it would be less stressful to take the meds and you may be more comfortable than you are now?

I would talk to a psychiatrist who is familiar with pregnancy. They usually deal with medication management, but an experienced provider would have had patients who have gone off meds during pregnancy and used alternative treatments.

What did you take? And for what? If you're comfortable saying.

I have crappy mental health in general - very mild bipolar with severe anxiety and ADHD. I was on a bunch of medications, but weaned off of them mostly in the year before TTC. When I got pregnant, I had an Ativan prescription I had the okay to take occasionally after the first trimester. I also took 2.5-5mg Ambien every night from before getting pregnant to postpartum. For me, anxiety triggers insomnia and insomnia makes my mental health spiral, so good sleep is paramount. I also had the okay to take Adderall occasionally in the second and third trimesters, but I never did. The plan was to start Prozac if the anxiety got bad, and an antipsychotic if I had mood swings. If I needed to, I would have absolutely started either of those without hesitation.

For me, anxiety is the hardest to deal with. With other mood symptoms, you can rationalize to yourself that this is hormones/brain chemistry/whatever and what you're feeling is a symptom, not a "genuine" emotion. This is what a good therapist will teach you to do - recognize the emotions when you're experiencing them and change the patterns of thinking so you can get control over your feelings before the feeling takes over. Anxiety is so much harder because it's a different type of emotion than sadness, anger, or excitement and just sort of pervades your other thinking and emotions. I needed medication to allow me to get control over those emotions, so I could work on how I reacted to them. Therapists are really hit or miss, and I never had much luck with them either.

OP, panic attacks 4 days a week sounds absolutely exhausting. That's no way to live. Big hugs to you, and good luck!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This does not sound normal and it sounds like it's really impacting your life. I took meds during pregnancy and it was absolutely the right choice for me, but if it will just make your anxiety worse, then it's not a good choice for you. Though, have you considered that with less anxiety from the meds it would be less stressful to take the meds and you may be more comfortable than you are now?

I would talk to a psychiatrist who is familiar with pregnancy. They usually deal with medication management, but an experienced provider would have had patients who have gone off meds during pregnancy and used alternative treatments.

What did you take? And for what? If you're comfortable saying.

Anonymous wrote:This does not sound normal and it sounds like it's really impacting your life. I took meds during pregnancy and it was absolutely the right choice for me, but if it will just make your anxiety worse, then it's not a good choice for you. Though, have you considered that with less anxiety from the meds it would be less stressful to take the meds and you may be more comfortable than you are now?

I would talk to a psychiatrist who is familiar with pregnancy. They usually deal with medication management, but an experienced provider would have had patients who have gone off meds during pregnancy and used alternative treatments.