Pregnancy HORMONE related anxiety!

[michelleanne]

I'm not talking about being plain nervous of being pregnant and delivering (btw I'm 36 weeks, all tests are awesome, baby is HEALTHY as can be =) ...I'm talking about the HORMONES that affect anxiety and would LOVE it if someone knew more about this...

I've been on 20mg Paxil since the beginning of April.  Also been on Klonopin.  Some days I only take 10mg Paxil and 1 mg of Klonopin.  Other days, when I'm super anxious (that awful feeling in your stomach / throat / body) I take my 20mg Paxil and 1.5 mg of Klonopin.  

I still struggle with this daily, and am DYING to know after the pregancy hormones go away if I will be back to normal????

I am on Paxil for panic attacks (none since March!) and Klonopin just to ease the jitters.

Please help.  I can't find any answers online and my OB is of no assistance, either.

[anxious207]

I am only 10 weeks pregnant I have anxiety that has spiraled out of control and very irrational thoughts. I stopped taking klonopin .5 a day because i was told it was bad to take during pregnancy because of birth defects. So I have been trying to deal and not doing so well also in fear that anxiety is going to get worse. I have also developed OCD over the 10 weeks and my therapist said i am having episodes of phsychosis (not in touch with reality) It sounds like some of you take klonopin while pregnant. Is it ok to take once in a while? have any of you taken it and had a normal baby? I am waiting to see my doctor in two days and hoping she will put me on zoloft which I heard is less harmful than klonopin. I dont know what to do. I want to take my klonopin but am unsure!! Help

[michelleanne]

Well.....I gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby girl on Sept 15th, last month, and am happy to report that the jittery anxiety I had ONLY during the pregnancy has vanished!  I am tapering off Klonopin (down to just .5 from 1.5 mg) YAY!   Hopefully a few of you remember me from when I was posting about this all the time earlier this year.  

What's crazy is, the Drs I have talked to about this type of nervousness anxiety within DO NOT have a clue what I am talking about when I asked them if "it was related to pregnancy hormones?"  Well you guys, it was in my case!!!!!  Whew I'm glad it's over.
I don't know how those who suffer the normal anxiety cope, I thought I was going to lose it if it wasn't for Klonopin.

[Pum]

Are you sure that the pregnancy hormones are what caused your anxiety? Have you never had a problem before? If it is just the pregnancy then you should come right a while after giving birth (it can take a while for things to settle down). If anxiety is something you have struggled with in the past you may want to keep up the meds until you are kind of clear of the baby blues/PPD risk time (first few months). If you plan to breastfeed that might change things but I'm sure your doctor has advised you on that.

Good luck with the birth and after. It is wonderful being a mother but the first few weeks are pretty tough. Keep telling yourself "it does get easier" and I promise it does get easier.

[Beewoman]

Being pregnant is wonderful but it sure does mess with the hormones which in turn can make us very anxious.  I know how you feel, I felt the same way with all my pregnancies but the last 2 were much better as I was prepared for it.

Rest assured that you do get back to normal once the baby is delivered.  In the days that follow the birth you will obviously be very tired, get as much help as you can, but you will feel better from the anxiety perspective as your hormones begin to settle.  It is not an on/off button but the gradual feelings of "returning to normality" will begin, HOWEVER you will also have a bundle of joy to take your mind off things!

Keep telling yourself that no state of mind is permanent, which is why each day feels so different, when us women are pregnant we are not in anyway near a "normal" state of mind, just accept it rather than fight it and it will help you relax.

Towards the end of my pregnancy when my husband said he prefered it when I suffered from PMT!!!! I used to breath essential oils and listen to calming music and massage by round belly, it used to calm me down great!

Good luck, you will get throught this and remember you can post on this website and get lots of support.