Panic Attacks in Pregnancy

[camprunner]

I seem to only have these when I'm pregnant. Honestly, I'm not consiously worried about anything. Tonight I've gotten two hours of sleep and don't see myself getting much more. With my first child this happened weeks 12-28. I'm on week 11 now (so they are starting early) Is there anything that my midwife could prescribe to help me? I really would just like to take something to get at least a good nights sleep and maybe it wouldn't happen again? This is the second one in three days.

[tzs]

i get them due to agoraphobia issues so i'm on an anti-depressant and an anti-anxiety. the anti-depressants are a longer-term fix and are generally considered "safe." the anti-anxiety drug is a class C drug so most people wouldn't recommend it unless necessary.
my anxiety got really bad at the end of my first pregnancy. i also wasn't consciously worried but i'm sure something about having a kid was causing it. it was really bad at night and i was at the end of the pregnancy so i had no qualms about drinking a glass of wine before bed. it really helped! whether you would drink a glass here or there and at what point in the pregnancy is an individual decision. personally i'm of the mindset that a small amount (especially after the first trimester) is fine but i wouldn't doubt anybody that thought otherwise.
there may be a sleep aid that is safe but i don't know about that stuff. for me i'd rather have a glass of red than another prescription. but that's me.

hang in there though! we all get through it.....even though you feel like you're losing it.

[MaryLang]

I'll write more later, but I experience panic attacks when not pregnant and they get worse when I am pregnant.
I've found Calms Forte and Bachs Stress Relief Pastille's to be a huge help.

[Mommy2Austin]

I'm on long term meds (Buspar which is Class B...its a really OLD medication) because I get them outside of pregnancy. It helps me a ton and I feel like I can function again without worry of harming the baby.

I did find mild relief of immediate symptoms using Rescue Remdy, but that gets really expensive when you have to take it once or twice a day.

[tzs]

also there are some essential oil blends (at whole foods for ex) that are for stress relief or panic relief. not like they cured my panic attacks but sometimes it was helpful to carry a bottle around to sniff...kind of just to distract from what was going on. plus, they smell good so can't hurt!

[Shyentist]

If you're reluctant to take something (I am...sadly, I have benzos for my panic attacks, but I refuse to take them now, obviously :P ), you could try cognitive behavioral therapy.

I've been trying CBT for my panic attacks and it helps a lot (not as quickly or completely as meds, but hey). There are lots of great therapists who deal specifically with anxiety/panic disorders and CBT. And I've found it's helpful to apply CBT techniques to other things in my life, too!

Good luck!

[tzs]

Originally Posted by Shyentist

If you're reluctant to take something (I am...sadly, I have benzos for my panic attacks, but I refuse to take them now, obviously :P ), you could try cognitive behavioral therapy.

I've been trying CBT for my panic attacks and it helps a lot (not as quickly or completely as meds, but hey). There are lots of great therapists who deal specifically with anxiety/panic disorders and CBT. And I've found it's helpful to apply CBT techniques to other things in my life, too!

Good luck!

i take benzos during pregnancy but it's not for everyone.
anyway, how did you manage to find a good cbt therapist? i've tried referrals but of the two i tried none really delved into cbt and we just ended up doing seemingly endless talk therapy ( i really don't need to talk about my relationship with my father over and over again, yk? it's so cliche.)

[mrsfussypants]

Hugs.

I had these when I was pregnant, never at any other time. They were terrible. I had them for months before I discovered it was because of taking pseudoephedrine (sudafed) for congestion. It kind of became a vicious circle, I'd take sudafed for pregnancy-induced nasal congestion, have a panic attack, take more sudafed because of the panic of not being able to breathe, repeat. Went away completely after stopping sudafed.

[goldingoddess]

I just posted about my pregnancy induced anxiety before looking over the forum.

I'm subbing, hoping to get some sage advice.

[ggglhf]

I had these when I was pregnant too, any good way?

[camprunner]

Originally Posted by mrsfussypants

Hugs.

I had these when I was pregnant, never at any other time. They were terrible. I had them for months before I discovered it was because of taking pseudoephedrine (sudafed) for congestion. It kind of became a vicious circle, I'd take sudafed for pregnancy-induced nasal congestion, have a panic attack, take more sudafed because of the panic of not being able to breathe, repeat. Went away completely after stopping sudafed.

Ya know, when I experienced them sooo bad in my first pregnancy I was probably taking a lot of sudafed. From then on, I really think I've been having panic attacks out of fear of having panic attacks.

My midwife also mentioned that they might be caused by stress of having too much to do so as committments run out during the pregnancy, I'm not going to replace them until the baby is at least a year old or more. No more taking classes or anything like that. My kids will still do their activities but maybe more limited. We'll keep soccer but limit participation in homeschool groups more (we are finishing up two co-ops right now)

[camprunner]

Originally Posted by tzs

i take benzos during pregnancy but it's not for everyone.
anyway, how did you manage to find a good cbt therapist? i've tried referrals but of the two i tried none really delved into cbt and we just ended up doing seemingly endless talk therapy ( i really don't need to talk about my relationship with my father over and over again, yk? it's so cliche.)

This is my thing too. I don't feel that I need talk therapy because I can't even pinpoint a particular thing that might becausing them and I've been through enough other therapy that I've also talked about my relationship with my father over and over.

[camprunner]

Are any of you taking extra Vitamin D? A quick google search says that Vitamin D deficiency can cause extra anxiety. I am supposed to be taking extra D and keep forgetting so maybe that's it?

[tzs]

also, i feel like talk therapy for me makes me focus even more on the panic attacks...by talking about them all the time instead of giving me tools to deal with them, like CBT would.

have you seen that show "obsessed?" it's on hulu and netflix. it's about people with obsessive disorders and honestly sometimes watching it makes me feel better....like i don;t have it so bad. also, they use real CBT so it kind of makes it seem like help is possible.

vitamin d. yeah!!!! i totally have been meaning (for years ) to try it. i have gone to tanning booths b/c i got some sessions as a gift. now, i don't want to actually BE tan but just spending 5 minutes in there, especially in the winter, is really relaxing. i did it after dd was born and i'll probably do some again.
ask about supplements in "postpartum depression." i've seen some good threads in there about supplements and anxiety and the ladies over there have some experience. i think i've seen fish oil or omega 3's mentioned there too. let us know!