Stress Center Peer Support

I am 7 weeks pregnant and could really use someone to talk to about my anxiety...dont know if getting back on meds wold be the right answer.

thanks in advance!

I just had my son on 4/14, and used klonopin, ambien, and prozac throughout the pregnancy. Would not have made it otherwise. I've posted a lot in other threads in here related to that, but please feel free to pm me to discuss further. Meds are better for your baby than panic attacks are.

Hugs, Tara

Hey Tara and Ocean1 - were you both nervous and anxious while trying to get pregnant? I feel like everytime my husband and I start to try for a baby - I get very nervous. I start getting those anxiety symptoms - sick stomach, tight muscles in my neck, aching joints, shakiness...I just feel like I am never going to get pregnant while I am anxious and then that depresses me more (especially becuase I feel like everyone around me is getting pregnant)!! Sometimes - I wonder if I do this to myself because I fear being anxious while I am pregnant and if that would hurt my baby. There I go again thinking into the future and What iffing it! I just am frustrated because I went through the program and was doing well - but as soon as we started trying again - I feel like I start ruining my chances! Any advice?

Hi KME-
I was on a small dose of LUVOX when I got pregnant--I also didnt expect that it would happen so fast so I wasnt in a super worry stage YET. But I do have an extremely stressful job and was suffering from anxiety when I got pregnant...and it happened much easier than I expected at age 36!

Hi,
I had really bad anxiety with my second child, but was afraid to use any meds because I didn't want to potentially hurt her. If you want to use meds, please talk with your doctor and ask about the pregnancy category of the drug. For example, another member said she used Klonapin, however, it is contraindicated in the first trimester (she probably didn't use it until later in the pregnancy). Here is some drug info about it and the drug class in general:
Advice Regarding the Use of Klonopin in Women of Childbearing Potential
In general, the use of Klonopin in women of childbearing potential, and more specifically during known pregnancy, should be considered only when the clinical situation warrants the risk to the fetus.

The specific considerations addressed above regarding the use of anticonvulsants for epilepsy in women of childbearing potential should be weighed in treating or counseling these women:

Because of experience with other members of the benzodiazepine class, Klonopin is assumed to be capable of causing an increased risk of congenital abnormalities when administered to a pregnant woman during the first trimester. Because use of these drugs is rarely a matter of urgency in the treatment of panic disorder, their use during the first trimester should almost always be avoided. The possibility that a woman of childbearing potential may be pregnant at the time of institution of therapy should be considered. If this drug is used during pregnancy, or if the patient becomes pregnant while taking this drug, the patient should be apprised of the potential hazard to the fetus. Patients should also be advised that if they become pregnant during therapy or intend to become pregnant, they should communicate with their physician about the desirability of discontinuing the drug.

I have to disagree that meds are better for the baby than a panic attack. Panic attacks cannot harm the baby, it will just make you feel yucky. Panic attacks cause the body to secrete cortisol and adrenaline which are naturally produced.

In your case, Luvox is a pregnancy category C drug which is better than the Klonapin's category D, B's are much better though and I believe the only A's are probably insulin and I want to say Heparin because they don't cross the placental barrier.
However, I took an antibiotic when I was pregnant with my first because I had a kidney infection and he was born healthy, I imagine the antibiotic had a category C class, although I cannot recall the actual medication name (too long ago).

Good luck to you and your decision, Congratulations on your pregnancy, how exciting!!

Ocean

Hi, KME--I was actually not trying for this last baby, we thought we were done with our two girls but God blessed us with a surprise baby boy. But I'd say relax and try not to think of it as "trying" so much as just making love with your husband, and you will likely be pregnant before you know it.

As to the meds, I am the one who mentioned using klonopin during my pregnancy, and I used it in the first trimester more than the last two, because by then my Prozac was working better and I needed less klonopin. All drugs are categorized for pregnancy risk, a lot of those categories are based on a lack of knowledge about how they can affect the fetus because it would be unethical to test such things on people. It is a hard choice to make to take meds when pregnant, but in my own case the panic attacks were of a severity and frequency that my Ob felt my baby was more in danger of those than the meds. Panic attacks absolutely affect your baby, when your heart races, so does his, when your blood pressure shoots up, so does his. If your panic and anxiety affect you like mine, you withdraw and can't eat, which is obviously not good for a growing baby. The list goes on and on. I treated with a high risk Ob who partnered with my psychiatrist to ensure the safest possible pregnancy for my baby and me. We sat down and we went over all of my meds, what helps me and what doesn't, the potential risks, and truth be told, the "worst category" meds for pregnancy are still a relatively small risk to the baby. As the poster above stated, it is up to you and your doctor to determine if the risks outweigh the benefits or vice versa. But I don't regret my decision, because I know in my heart I would likely have lost my son due to the intense anxiety and body symptoms associated without the meds, and with the meds I have a happy, healthy, perfect baby boy who is amazing to me and something I never even knew how much I wanted!!!

Hugs, Tara

Hi , My daugter is almost 2 , a few days after finding out I was pregnant my panic attacks started. I had them several times in my life , but not when I was pregnant. I was on Cymbolta the Dr. switched me to Lexapro which helped through my whole pregnancy , but I still got postpartum depression (really bad) after the baby was born it took months but Lamictal helped and is still helping. Ask your Dr. whats best but I went to a mental health clinic because I knew they could give me more information. Good luck , everything will be ok . If your Dr. doesn't want you to take any meds. and you know you can't live without them get another DR.

I used Zoloft during my first pregnancy. Discuss with your OB. I have had several friends use similar medications, all with good results. (The OB decided that the risk of medication was smaller than the risk of suicide based upon my thoughts at the time. Dead mommy = dead baby.)

I have had depression during my current pregnancy, as well. This time, in lieu of Zoloft, I'm supplementing with Fish Oil (DHA). Recent studies show that it helps with depression/anxiety during and after pregnancy and it's also supposed to be good for fetal brain development. Again, discuss it with your OB.

I would have to agree with Ocean this should be a last resort especially with the klonopin and any of the benzo family…there are some significant studies in this area
<A HREF="http://www.fetal-exposure.org/BENZOUPDATE.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.fetal-exposure.org/BENZOUPDATE.html</A>

good luck and remember to pray

While I was pregnant with my second child my panic attacks came back with a vengeance. It was during my fifth month. My doctor and ob consulted with each other and decided that either Zoloft or prozac would be ok choices. I chose Zoloft. I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy four months later.

If you have any questions or just feel like talking please drop me a note!