Aa
pregnancy
hi there i was wondering if anyone her has been pregnant or is pregnant with a diagnosis of ptsd. well i have had ptsd for a few years now but only been diagnosed about a year.back in march i became really unwell and tried tcs which resulted in me breaking my back and then being detained in hospital under the mental health act for 4 month. i have fully recovered and i have found out i am now pregnant with my 1st baby i am really happy but i have decided to stop all my meds as i do not want to harm the baby but i can already feel myself becoming unwell again and the lack of sleep is killing me too flash back are as bad as ever i was on serequel 300mg morning and 300mg at night if anyone could offer any advice on how they coped during pregnancy it would be much appreciated kind regards
Hi,
No medication is good when you are pregnant.
I have PTSD, but I did not know it when I was pregnant. I never took any medication (not even tylenol) when I was pregnant.
If you stop these medications suddenly, you will not feel well at all. Most of these meds depend on building up in your body.
In the medical field they call it "weaning off" a medication, when you gradually reduce the dosage.
In my experience, Seroquel knocks you out at night. It would make sense that your sleep would be worse for a while, if you stop.
I can give you two solid suggestions to help you feel better in light of being pregnant.
The first: Go for daily long walks. Walking is the "blue collar" form of EMDR. When you walk, you process emotions to the thinking part of your brain. Any back and forth movement helps, such as dancing, or even taping back and forth on your knees.
The second: Seek out a Therapist. Not a Psychiatrist. MD's will put you on meds. They are generally overworked, but mostly lazy. They push pills rather than psycotherapy. They will talk you into it.
A Liscenced Marriage and Family Therapist, or other therapists on that level are good because they do therapy. They are not liscenced to prescribe meds, and if they are not closely associated with a MD, they probably won't push pills on you. Especially considering that you are pregnant. They are more likey to work with you.
Try for someone who does EMDR and or DNMS therapy. Both these work to help relieve triggering rather radidly.
Remember that pregnancy can make your emotions run all over the place, without PTSD. So much of the rollercoaster you are on, might be from normal pregnancy hormone fluctuations. You need to know that women without PTSD have emotional swings during pregnancy, too.
As to sleep... I used to drink a half gallon of milk per day, both times that I was pregnant. I found that my mothers sleep remedy worked nicely... Hot milk before bed.
I also have found that learning to meditate helped me relax. I don't know how far along you are, but the further along in your pregnancy, the more tired you will feel.
I hope I have offered some help.
ttfn Laurel
No medication is good when you are pregnant.
I have PTSD, but I did not know it when I was pregnant. I never took any medication (not even tylenol) when I was pregnant.
If you stop these medications suddenly, you will not feel well at all. Most of these meds depend on building up in your body.
In the medical field they call it "weaning off" a medication, when you gradually reduce the dosage.
In my experience, Seroquel knocks you out at night. It would make sense that your sleep would be worse for a while, if you stop.
I can give you two solid suggestions to help you feel better in light of being pregnant.
The first: Go for daily long walks. Walking is the "blue collar" form of EMDR. When you walk, you process emotions to the thinking part of your brain. Any back and forth movement helps, such as dancing, or even taping back and forth on your knees.
The second: Seek out a Therapist. Not a Psychiatrist. MD's will put you on meds. They are generally overworked, but mostly lazy. They push pills rather than psycotherapy. They will talk you into it.
A Liscenced Marriage and Family Therapist, or other therapists on that level are good because they do therapy. They are not liscenced to prescribe meds, and if they are not closely associated with a MD, they probably won't push pills on you. Especially considering that you are pregnant. They are more likey to work with you.
Try for someone who does EMDR and or DNMS therapy. Both these work to help relieve triggering rather radidly.
Remember that pregnancy can make your emotions run all over the place, without PTSD. So much of the rollercoaster you are on, might be from normal pregnancy hormone fluctuations. You need to know that women without PTSD have emotional swings during pregnancy, too.
As to sleep... I used to drink a half gallon of milk per day, both times that I was pregnant. I found that my mothers sleep remedy worked nicely... Hot milk before bed.
I also have found that learning to meditate helped me relax. I don't know how far along you are, but the further along in your pregnancy, the more tired you will feel.
I hope I have offered some help.
ttfn Laurel
Hi,I was pregnant when i had PTSD but at the time i was diognosed wrong and told i had Bipolar.
Being pregnant i found quite easy without meds (was on 225 MG Efexor XR before being pregnant ) as the hormones kicked in.
Try meditation ( yoga ) or reiki it can help calm the mind,there are a few medications on the market that are safe during pregnancy although they are lower doses so ask you doctor .
The hard part i am so sorry to say is after the baby is born,we have a higher rate of post natal depression and well as trying to deal with little things like crying ect.As long as you are aware of what could happen and have lots of surport i think you will do well.
All the best :)
Being pregnant i found quite easy without meds (was on 225 MG Efexor XR before being pregnant ) as the hormones kicked in.
Try meditation ( yoga ) or reiki it can help calm the mind,there are a few medications on the market that are safe during pregnancy although they are lower doses so ask you doctor .
The hard part i am so sorry to say is after the baby is born,we have a higher rate of post natal depression and well as trying to deal with little things like crying ect.As long as you are aware of what could happen and have lots of surport i think you will do well.
All the best :)
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