anxiety with pregnancy

[wanting81]

I've been trying to concieve now for a year and i have terrible anxiety.  Ive had it for 4 years now with no relief.  I've been to every doctor imaginable and have no relief.  I currently take zoloft but i have been trying to slowly take less in case i get pregnant but my anxiety and panic attacks get worse.  I desperatley want a baby but my fear of being pregnant with no medication scares me terribly.  Has anyone taking medication while pregnant and is it ok?  everytime i get off it i end up in the hospital.  It is a huge fear and everyone i talk to say not to take meds but i can't get any relief with them let alone without them.  Any advice?  or personal experiences?  I wonder if this is  another reason i'm not able to concieve.   Any thoughts on that?

[theotterone]

This is why they call it medical "practice".  Data is interpreted, some doctors believe there are risks to the baby, some think there is not.  It is not an easy thing to do...

[Julie359]

So you guys are telling me my doc put me through that **** for nothing..... well i guess he just wanted to be safe rather than sorry.....

It is up to you at the end of the day how you go about it, but to be honest even though i went through hell on earth, it was worth it cause i had a healthy baby, if i had taken the drug and something had happened i would of never forgiven myself.

But this is just ME and how i felt do what you and your doc feels is right.

[chthompson]

I myself tried for a long time to get pregnant 3 years ago and finally did.I continued taking 10mg of paxil the whole pregnancy and during breastfeeding for just over a year and my daughter is perfectly healthy!!Good luck

[theotterone]

With my first daughter, I came off of meds.  It was awful!  I talked with my doctor when I was pregnant with my second daughter (now 6), and he told me while no studies had been done, Paxil was not shown to cause any issues for the baby.  I stayed on it, had a much better pregnancy and she was a healthy 11 lb 4 and 3/4 oz baby!  Ok, I had gestational diabeties too.  Both girls were c-section, so the younger had a small issue with breathing, but she is ok.  She has grown heathy and strong, and I was MUCH calmer.  Remember, it is what YOU are comfortable with, and you will get support here no matter what you decide to do!

[Julie359]

erm well when i found out i was pregnant with my youngest i came off of the Paxil i was on... but very soon after my anxiety and panic came back in leaps and bounds and i found the pregnancy very hard to cope with.  My doctor wouldn't give me any med's as they were concerned it would be harmful to the baby... apparantly some med's can cause withdrawal in new borns.  So i was like in a spin... well i then looked for alternative med's to take and found that homopathy (don't think i spelt that right but) seemed to help.  I was given a combination of different tablets to take which relaxed me, soz but can't remember the names... but these did help me...

Seeing as your anxiety sounds severe, they may give you a very high dose but i was told that this form of medication is safe for the unborn baby.

[love80]

As a therapist and an anxiety sufferer who wants a baby, I can tell you, you are not alone.  Talk to your doctor.  I'd actually recommend seeing a psychiatrist.  Tell the doctor your concern.  There are some anti depressants that CAN be taken during pregnancy.  There are others that are "ify," but the doctor can let you know if the benefits outweigh the risk.  Being anxious all the time is hard on you and makes it harder to get pregnant.  Don't just come off the drug without the dr's advice.  It may be that they can help you in other ways.  I'm a therapist and on more drugs than most of my clients (I don't prescribe, the psychiatrist does that...I just counsel and do therapy)!  

[themess]

Found this article about it hope it helps. http://www.news-medical.net/news/2004/07/07/3123.aspx