ANXIETY ATTACKS WHILE PREGNANT

[amie1982]

hello all ... I am 11 weeks pregnant today have 2 amazing boys already.. Dustin7 and Logan 2... Well in March of 09 I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder .. which to me is extremelly scary I wont even drive a vehicle becuse I would have anxiety attaks while driving wth my boys in the vehicle with me.. anyways I quit smoking cigarets for 2 days now since they say that it is the number one stimulant to anxiety...but I used to think i would calm me down..I was on paxil for 2 months then I found out in June I was pregnant so they took me off it ..Well on 7/17 I went to the ER for heart palpulaions light headedness and dizziness..everything came back ok.. I went for a ct scan to check for blood clots in my chest and the dr warned me of the possible side affect of the dye they inject you with and I thought I was going to be ok... Well here after he did the scan I had a hard time breathing and my chest was hurting  got really hot and sweaty.. also had thoughts of going crazy or doing something stupid .. went back to the ER and the dr said I was suffering form a ANXIETY ATTACK... The Er sent me home diagnosing me with anxiety which I already knew I had...and placenta previa .. They said Panic attacks last 30 minutes but Anxiety attacks last for a hr or more ..I am also now worried of having a bad anxiety attack when I go to have this little one in Feb 2010. What do I do I try to change my thoughts and ways of thinking but its very hard.. I dont know weather to go on  medication like zoloft they say I could take when im pregnant.. I get spaced ot at times at home and have the panic attacks and I just dot feel normal anymore I want to be normal again I hate this ..I feel like I am being a  bad mom and it scares me when I get flash thoughts of hurting my self or someone else or snapping out or just going crazy... What do you guys think? what would you suggest

[30tenderful]

i do also sufferr from anxiety along with panic attcks i truly understand where you are coming from it is the worst feeling ever i do feel like im going crazy and just want to jump out my skin when suffering them episodes.i'm also am pregnant and notice it's been happening more often then usaul anything can trigger an episode of anxiety if you think too much or have to much on your mind you will suffer from one of those terrible fear! iknow what you mean when you say is hard to try to think of something to over come the fear but nothing really works you just have to endure the feeling of the world coming to an end and there is nothing you can do about it i hope that you get better only people who suffer from this condition truly understand what it is like to endure such emotion good luck!!!

[Paxiled]

When you say they took you off Paxil, did they take you off it suddenly?  Did they taper?  What you're suffering sounds like Paxil withdrawal as much as it sounds like a worsening of your anxiety.  And as far as how long panic attacks, which are the same thing as anxiety attacks, last, that totally depends on the situation and the person.  Although the most intense anxiety only lasts a while, anxiety can remain elevated for hours afterward.  Have you ever had talk therapy so you can understand your condition better?

[cj29]

Anxiety can often become intensified when a little one is on the way in my opinion.  Even though, I seem to be more of a mess than my wife is when she is pregnant:).  First of all, you are not going crazy; second do you have access to a counselor to talk this through?  I find the best tool to use in confronting and dealing with this is knowledge of the condition.  Sometimes being able to get this off of our chests is a huge release and as an added bonus, we learn how to live with this....keep us posted!