Anxiety and Pregnancy

Hi everyone - I havent posted on here in a long time - since my last panic attack in Fall 05. I was on Zoloft since 2001 and only had one episode of severe panic back in 05. Well I became pregnant in Feb and my dr told me to stop taking Zoloft. I was weaned off if it and have been off of it for the past 3 months. However this past week the panic has returned. first just little episodes and now it is full-fledged. I cant calm down. My chest hurts, my legs/arms tingle and feel weak, the top of my head hurts and I am convinced I am going to die or my baby is. Im so scared. I called my OB and am waiting to hear back from her. I wish I was still on zoloft. Has anyone here been pregnant with bad anxiety? what did you do for this? any advice - please!

Thanks - Well I just talked to one of the drs in my OB practice - not one I have met yet - and she wasnt much help. At first she seemed a little put off as to why I didnt discuss this when i was there for my visit on Monday when this is something they would normally discuss in person - not over the phone. I explained to her that I wasnt having issues then. She then went on to explain that I needed to see a therapist who should then decide if I needed to be on an anti-anxiety medication and if so then I would need to discuss with a genetics counselor the risks. She said that I should probably try talking to somebody first before meds - which I do agree with. I just felt like the whole time I was on the phone with her that she didnt really want to deal with me. I actually started crying - more because of how she was talking to me versus my actual fears! Anyway she said there was nothing to worry about with the pregnancy - that she reviewed my chart and everything looks fine. I also asked if the panic attacks could harm the baby and she said something like there have been studies done in times of war where the babies were born fine????? I dont know. Anyway I made an appt with a therapist for tomorrow at 2:00 pm - so Im glad Im getting in there soon. I hope that by talking to someone it can alleviate my worries and fears. Especially the irrational ones! Im just not a rational person at all. So I need help with that. Im scared of everything and I was afraid of how I would be during pregnancy - even though I wanted to be pregnant badly. So hopefully talking to a therapist can help me through all of this!

Yep, and you might consider getting two opinions on it no matter what the first one is.

Thanks everyone for the advice and well wishes. Im still in a panic state. Have any of you ever been in a panic state for long periods of time? Mine don't come or go - it's like a constant feeling. I can't get out of it and I wish I could. I cant eat or sleep. Im so shaky. My legs and arms are numb and my left arm hurts. Im so afraid Im having a heart attack or a stroke. Im wondering if besides going to my therapist today if I should also see my pcp just to see if Im okay? Any thoughts?

Keli927 said...
Thanks everyone for the advice and well wishes. Im still in a panic state. Have any of you ever been in a panic state for long periods of time? Mine don't come or go - it's like a constant feeling. I can't get out of it and I wish I could. I cant eat or sleep. Im so shaky. My legs and arms are numb and my left arm hurts. Im so afraid Im having a heart attack or a stroke. Im wondering if besides going to my therapist today if I should also see my pcp just to see if Im okay? Any thoughts?

My panic materialized a lot differently, but yeah, I had plenty of days where I felt bad from the time I wake unitl the time I get to sleep. Those were some really, really long days. I'm sorry that you're going through it.

During the last several months I experience a lot more typical panic symptoms as opposed to just my stomach going nuts and racing thoughts. When I was very anxious but not in a panic attack I'd notice that my ears would pop a lot more easily in elevators and sometimes just by taking an entrance ramp to a freeway. Never experienced head pain, though.