Can pregnancy hormones cause anxiety???
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monkeysmom
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Mon Aug 14, 2006 4:15 pm
Hello all, fairly new to this site but have been struggling with anxiety and panic attacks for a few years now. I was doing so well and had made a lot of progress until I became pregnant again 4 1/2 months ago. Now I seem to have gone off the deep end again! I seem to have regressed and am having panic attacks about things I haven't worried about in a long time (things I thought I had gotten over). It's very frustrating, I feel like I'm back to "square one". To top it off, I am planning a trip in mid Sept to a family members wedding. The plane flight will be several hours and now I'm already starting to freak out about that! Help!
You know, my husband and I talked about this a few weeks ago about the co relation between panic/anxiety and women after birth because women I know have had post partum depression or have developed a type of anxiety after having kids whether immediately or years after. I have noticed my therapist asked me did my anxiety start after the birth of my son and I try to co relate the time line. It is a good question and really something ot think about the whole hormone, anxiety, panic, depression co-relation.
Try to relax and for the plane ride and hopefully you won't be alone. I don't know if you have the program but if you do maybe you can review certain sections to help you get over this hump. I wish you well getting over this.
Try to relax and for the plane ride and hopefully you won't be alone. I don't know if you have the program but if you do maybe you can review certain sections to help you get over this hump. I wish you well getting over this.
There's a Christian author named Pam Vredevelt who really looks at the connections between pregnancy hormones and anxiety. She's all about knowing how long it takes your body to return to pre-pregnancy status, etc after birth and telling you whether or not the anxiety is related to pregnancy which helps many women know they aren't "crazy". She also says that we underestimate how long it takes for people to grieve the loss of loved ones, etc. Maybe looking at some of her works where she talks about the pregnancy hormones would help. This program will definitely help. Also, maybe if you felt comfortable doing hypnotherapy for pregnancy and birth, that may be a way to help you relax. I know there are some c-d's you can purchase if you can't go to an actual hypnotherapist. I'm going to try that if I get pregnant in the next few months. Some people on here do use medication while pregnant, and it has worked for them. I don't do well on med's, but there are people on here who use them while pregnant and have healthy pregnancies and babies. Safe pregnancy exercise can help you get rid of the adrenaline. Also, I know I always had panic attacks before my pregnancy, and it did seem like at least the first trimester I had them still, but after that the pregnancy hormones actually relieved my anxiety. There's still hope that that will happen for you too in your third trimester. Hope something in here helped.
luvpiggy
luvpiggy
Hi there--YES!!!! I had 2 pregnancies without anxiety, it began for me a few months after my second was born and my Mom passed away. I am 35 weeks along with my third, and within 6 weeks of becoming pregnant this time, I completely regressed, to the point of non-functioning. I had to go back on meds, and it made a 180 degree difference. The baby and I have done fine with the meds, and I have worked closely with my docs on them. They were really clear with me that the panic attacks and anxiety/depression were much more dangerous to the baby than the meds, and frankly, I was not taking care of either of us without the meds.
Some people on here felt better when pregnant, hormones are a funny thing. But for me, it sent me into a wild tailspin!!!
Tara
Some people on here felt better when pregnant, hormones are a funny thing. But for me, it sent me into a wild tailspin!!!
Tara
"If nothing ever changed...there would be no Butterflies." Author unknown
I beleive that pregnancy does have a connection to anxiety/depression. I started 9 months after my daughter was born. It went away for years, but I did get pregnant again in 2006 , but it termed at 2 mths, and i started with anxiety about 7 months after. I am considering trying again next year , it does make me a little nervous on how my body is going to adjust. So far i am on high dose of birth control and i am doing great ( never took any anxiety meds) I think in order to keep my hormones in balance that is what i need.
Hello, I'm 35 weeks pregnant. I've been on Paxil for 8 years before pregnancy and doc had to get me off of the med. I was doing ok until the last couple of months of my pregnancy. The hormones are making it so hard for me to manage my anxiety/panic. I'm afraid to losing control (not being able to manage my emotions (neg thoughts and anxiety)to the point of no return. I know i shouldn't think that-but it's so hard to pull myself out of panic. Anyone here felt this way during their pregnancy? What helped you the most?
Yes, I do believe your hormones can cause panic attacks and anxiety to start. I have never had these type of problems until I was 33 weeks pregnant and on my way home from work one day I had a spontaneous panic attack which means it occured when I wasn't even thinking about anything to cause anxiety. I am currently going through postpartum depression and anxiety is one of the symptoms. Everyone of the symptoms I have had from the postpartum depression are also symptoms of hormonal imbalance. I never realized what your hormones actually do for your body but they can completely make your life crazy and out of control. I went to the libray last week and got a book called Listening to your Hormones by Gillian Ford. I have found the information in the book helpful. You might want to go to your doctor and have a saliva test done to see if your estrogen and progesterone levels are down. I think it costs about $200 but it is worth it if it can put an end to all these feeling and let us just be ourselves. I am considering having this test taken if I am not better by 3 months. Right now I am seeing a herbologist in Indiana who told me she can fix me. This makes me feel a little better. She is going to give me 5HP to boost my mood and vitamins and minerals to put back into my body what pregnancy took out and also hormone balancer which protects your adrenal glands. I hope you get better soon.
I suffer deeply from anxiety which leads to depression. I have been on zoloft 25mg for a few years and for the most part I have been doing great! Well after trying to get pregnant for 2 years I just found out I am I guess about 5 weeks. I stopped taking my meds even though I have not seen the doctor yet just because I don't want to harm the baby however I have already begun crying and getting panic attacks and scarey thoughts back I am so scared I am not going to be able to take care of the baby. I wanted this so bad altohugh I was always scared due to my anxiety. I know I can't feel like this for 9 months!