severe anxiety & 16 wks pregnant. what do I do!

Ok so. I stopped taking Zoloft back in June because we were trying to conceive. I did awesome until my sister ended up in the hospital in September. Nonetheless my anxiety is out of control but I am scared to start on meds because of being pregnant. I want to be happy again. Any advice on how to cope?

Counseling isn't helping. Feeling at a loss.

Hi nice to meet you. Can I ask what CBT is? I've talked with my psychiatrist about everything and he would like me to start on meds but my anxiety is getting in the way of that also. I have lost 20 pounds since being pregnant as it is also hard to eat. It seems to make my anxiety alot worse when I do eat.

Hey,

I am sorry to hear about your situation. I hope your sister is doing better! Can you vividly recall how good you felt from June to September? If you can, when you are feeling very anxious, maybe try and focus on how good you felt. Try and pretend that you are telling someone who has no idea what your story is. Try and be as elaborate as you can and use as many examples as you can. I hope that this will help until you can talk to a doctor about medications and pregnancy! Hope that helped!

I was doing awesome from June til September. So good that I went to an amusement park and got on roller coasters and all kind of rides without panicking. I haven't went to a park at all since I was 12. so I'm very disappointed that I've regressed this far.

Thanks again S.C. I've never tried it but have asked my counselor multiple times to help me do that exact thing and she says she doesn't know how to tell me how to control it or redirect it. I believe that is what I need but have yet to get a medical professional to help me do so. Its so frustrating knowing what I need to do to get better but don't have the resources to do it. Its almost like they aren't listening to me at all. I do not have alot of people who support me through this. Most have turned the other way. I try to explain to them that my mother had the same anxiety depression and excessive thoughts that I do and I DO NOT want to end up doing what she did 4 years ago. (my mother at the age if 45 committed suicide). Therefore I am trying my best to get through this. I'm in dire need of help and I feel no one is listening.

Thank you. I'll look over the list and see if there's anything in my area. If not I'll ask my psychiatrist. I've already informedhim about my counselor not helping me. I felt it was also weird that she said she didn't know what to tell me. I'm trying desperately to get the help I need. Thanks for the positive note too. I rarely hear anything positive when talking about my problems. I really want to be happy about baby on board and not scared anymore of everything.

Hello, I too have found out I was pregnant which is what lead me to read this. I am just 7 weeks and a day and I used to take ativan just for those really bad times, but nothing everyday. I am finding that my anxiety is getting worse, I think it's because I know I can't take anything. Well I am going to see an ob soon just waiting for my family doc to make the appointment then I will ask what can and can't take during pregnancy. This is my second pregnancy, first one I was pre eclampsia and induced at 36 weeks. I didn't have any anxiety then, it all started afterwards. When in the hospital my nurses kept telling me to calm down and my blood pressure wil go down, needless to say it didn't so I was induced. After wards it didn't return to normal, so 3 weeks later, I found out I had a gallstone and had to have my gallbladder removed. Then my bp went back to normal and I was taken off all meds. I still have what is called "white coat hypertension" when my bp goes up only in the doctors office or hospital so when I found out I was expecting again, BAM, anxiety right back up there thinking about my terrible time with my first pregnancy and having the nurses make me think I was dying, I get that high bp is dangerous, but by saying it and telling you "you better calm down and rest" when you have been on bed rest for weeks and going as far as the hallway in a wheel chair will put my bp up, just didn't help. I now own my own bp monitor at home and do check my bp usually weekly and it's been ok, up until my first doctors appointment with my family doctor, the night before my appointment I didn't sleep at all just knowing I had an appointment. Which is where an ativan would have worked and made me sleep. At my doctors office they told me my bp was 189/89 pulse 116. Yeah high, but when I got home later on and did it it was 119/63 pulse 88, pretty good. But I know if i had been at the doctors office it would have been the same (189/89 pulse116) I do need help with this, which is when my ativan would work.
Please help :(

Hello,

congrats on your pregnancy! You are right to stay off of meds while you are pregnant. I decided to get off them when I was trying to conceive as well because I just didn't want to take the chance that something could happen. I am so glad I did. My psychiatrist at the time told me that Paxil was fine to take during pregancy and now I am seeing advertising all over the place about lawsuits against paxil for causing birth defects. Deep breathing always helps me the most when I'm feeling anxious. It's also good to get outside and get some excercise, even if it's just a walk around the block. I did drink herbal tea while I was preganant. I stuck to camomile I think. If you drink or eat anything with cafeine cut that out of your diet. It only makes you more anxious. Read and watch relaxing things. Try to stay away from the news. I am sorry that your sister is having hear problems. She is so young. It sounds like the doctor's caught the problem in time though, so that is very encouraging!

Liz