Panic attacks & pregnancy

[koru]

Hello all - I'm fairly new to MDC & so glad I found this forum. I've been mainly browsing the pregnancy & parenting info but this seems to be where I need to focus my attention for a while. Here goes my story & question....

I've been suffering from (self-diagnosed) panic attacks for a little over a year. The first was so severe that I rushed to the ER because I was certain I was dying! (the docs told me I was dehydrated!?) Thankfully I never fell prey to the notion that I had a terrible physical problem & immediately started dealing with it from an emotional & psychological standpoint. The "mind over matter" techniques seemed to really help and I trudged along without professional help or meds. So....I am now 13 weeks pregnant. Astonishingly, my symtoms have lessened and I've started feeling pretty good about myself. Then I did a bit of reading and some sources say that anxiety/panic can dimish with the hormones of pregnancy. This comforted me....for a minute. And then I thought, "what will happen after I deliver & my hormones go back to normal?" Has anyone had this exprerience? Will I fall back into the pit of daily battles after the baby is born? I have two small children but didn't suffer from panic attacks until after the second was born so I have no reference.

I've currently started seeing a therapist to hopefully deal with the root of the problem before baby #3 comes along. I'm still concerned about the physical changes my body will go through, though, including lack of sleep which definitely contributes to stress & anxiety!

Any words of wisdom would be appreciated!

[Nathan1097]

I had these plus depression while pregnant all three times. If you are doing fine now, ju7st go with it. Worry about after- after. Tell your doctor its a concern in passing and she'll probably want to talk about it more in the last month or so, but why invite problems now? I just say this because I think that huge anxiety and depression had something to do with my premature labor. Neither could've helped each other I'm sure.

[thefragile7393]

Three really good books that got me through:
Pregnancy Blues, by Shaila Kulkarni Misri, MD

and Women and Anxiety
Helen DeRosis, MD

I know you mentioned no depression in your post but I recommend this book anyway because it has good information on anixety as well. I was the opposite of you sadly....mine was compounded by hormones, however I also screwed myself over with trying to get off meds blah blah blah. I have never felt better since my ds was born.

Another great book is the Anxiety and Phobia Workbook by Edmund Bourne. Absolutely awesome book in learning how to deal with anxiety without meds.

Try hard not to "what if." I know that's hard with anxiety but you have more things to focus on than "what if" because "what if" may not happen! I fully expected PPD and other things....thankfully this did not happen with me. I made sure to have tons of help with me...my husband stayed home for a week, and then my mom stayed with me for a bit. Support is essential due to needing sleep. If my ds didn't need food, he was with someone else for a few weeks. I didn't really bond with him until he was maybe a month or two old. It was scary for a bit to be alone with him but I just adapted somehow...breastfeeding really really helps the maternal hormones come through. I never would have believed it until I saw it myself! I even got permission to take a light tranquilizer if I really needed it....I did only once. I was amazed. I am hoping you will be too.

[koru]

thanks to both of the previous posts!

you're absolutely right in that worry only exacerbates anxiety! i have to say, i'm not normally a chronic worrier (about everyday things) but since this anxiety stuff hit me, i tend to try & anticipate "episodes" so i can be prepared vs. have it sneak up on me. i know i need to go with the flow, however, and be thankful for the panic-attack-free days! even though i'm not a worrier, i do tend to have more negative thoughts than positive about certain areas of my life. i suppose i could think positively of this as the possible end of my adrenaline filled days!

[earthmama369]

I had some the first few months after my daughter was born, as my hormones rebalanced and I over-worried about being a new parent. (Lack of sleep didn't help either, I'm sure!) But they weren't as bad as they were when I first started getting them. In fact, it's been a long, slow slide back toward normal since I was first diagnosed 10 years ago. After my son was born, I had a few mild ones but nothing I couldn't handle easily with deep, slow breathing and a brisk walk or some tai chi. I think it helps that we tend to be more focused on our health after having a baby, especially if you're breastfeeding, so a lot of the common triggers for a panic attack -- alcohol, caffeine, poor diet, lack of exercise, etc. -- are avoided. Can't do much about lack of sleep, but if that's the only thing lacking, that's not bad and probably not enough in and of itself to act as a major trigger.

[thefragile7393]

Originally Posted by doulalove

you're absolutely right in that worry only exacerbates anxiety! i have to say, i'm not normally a chronic worrier (about everyday things) but since this anxiety stuff hit me, i tend to try & anticipate "episodes" so i can be prepared vs. have it sneak up on me.

Ahh this was/is me. I would drive my mom nuts because I'd always work myself up in anticipation and of course they would almost always happen (sometimes I'd surprise myself though). My mom would say "You're just LOOKING for something to worry about!" and it was true enough...if I wasn't worrying I didn't feel normal...and I was looking for something to stress about. Since ds is my first baby I didn't know what to expect...and oddly that didn't stress me out. What DID stress me out was the stress going on in my life which added to my symptoms from screwing up my meds and years upon years of an anxiety problem.

You haven't said if this is your first child or not but I'm assuming it is from your wording. Again, besides reading, taking one day at a time, and re-focusing every time a scary thought came in my head (including taking lots of walks..tons of exercise)...after your babe is born have someone help you...be it a relative, your partner if you have one, a doula, a friend...someone. Tons of rest is what helped me, if I didn't have enough sleep I went loopy and weird. It's been written that your body's level of hormones go back to their pre-pregnancy state within 24-48 hours of delivery (don't know if it's true but I've read that in more than one place!) so it's absolutely essential that you get help so you can rest. Like I posted earlier, if ds wasn't nursing he was with dad or someone else and I slept. Newborns sleep a lot so use that time to SLEEP. Small protein-packed meals and tons and tons of water help too. And that "hormone of love" secreted with nursing....it was amazing how calm I felt much of the time (except when I didnt' sleep enough). Getting outdoors with babe when you feel up to it and taking a walk can really help too.

[lilysmama1124]

I am 38weeks pregnant and my anxiety has been a roll coaster ride throughout the pg. First it was awful, then it got better, it has been slowly creeping back up as I approach my due date. I started seeing a therapist in the middle of the pregnancy and that has really helped. I also had two EMDR treatments that really decreased my anxiety dramamtically. I plan to resume them as soon as the baby is born and highly reccommend trying it out. Good luck!

[koru]

yes....emdr. what does that stand for, again? i saw a book about this but it seemed to be more for ptsd-type reactions.

has anyone tried eft? emotional freedom technique? i read about it on dr. mercola's website & have thought about buying the program...but i don't want to fall prey to a scam.

Originally Posted by thefragile7393

You haven't said if this is your first child or not but I'm assuming it is from

this is actually my 3rd child but i didn't have panic attacks until the summer after my second was born. i know the stresses of parenthood & maintaining a healthy marriage have brought most of this on & i'm working on balancing it all out with my personal self-fulfillment. i adore being a mother & have been a SAHM for 3 1/2 years (after a career in nursing) but am working on being certifiied as a birth doula & this has done wonders for my psyche. this may actually be contributing to my decrease in symptoms more than i realize!