High Anxiety in Pregnancy

I know about being anxious while pregnant. If you doctor is so inclined ask about listening/ultrasounds more often just for peace of mind. I would also recommend yoga. I am not a chakra/aaoommm kind of girl, but it relaxes me. But, you have to concentrate on all the moves and especially the breathing!

I had the same problem with my last pregnancy and my OB put me on Lexapro and it really helped me.

Are you sure its not a kind of morning sickness that makes you feel like you have a nervous stomach. I had that morning noon and night for the first 4 months. It does go away. Have faith. Eat crackers in the morning, and try some yoga realxation techniques or go for a walk at night.
C.

I would insist on an ultrasound. It could be your body trying to tell you something. Hopefully nothing is wrong, but it is best to check it out. And hopefully, when you see everything is progressing fine, your mind will be put to ease and the anxiety will subside. Hormones are wild - I've had 2 children and know how uncontrollable they can make your emotions! Good luck.

I feel your pain. I had anxiety in my last two pregnancies. The bigger my babies grew inside me, the more anxious I became. I felt like I was going crazy. I would have crazy thoughts of our house caving in and being trapped. I think it was related to the fact that the bigger the babies got, I couldn't breathe as well. I am clostrophobic to say the least. Anyway, the doctor suggested Benedryl. It is usually safe to take in pregnancies. It seemed to help. It didn't cure all my anxiety. But, it helped me get more sleep which relaxed me a great deal. Good luck.

Hi M.,

I have no medical advice, but I have TONS of sympathy. I'll try to be brief: I had my first daughter at 28 and my second at 33, so we are about the same in that regard. BOTH pregnancies were an emotional/nauseous nightmare, even though my doctor would smile and say "everything looks great." With my first, my husband and I were still in our first year of marriage, and it was such a strain on our relationship that I had terrible anxiety. I imagined my insides like the corrosive innards of an old battery, and I imagined it eating up my baby girl. I even looked up studies which showed that pregnant women in high-stress jobs did NOT have adverse effects on their babies, and I clung to that. In the end, she came out perfect and is very easy-going and physically and emotionally healthy. The second pregnancy was easier emotionally, but the post-partum was worse and never seemed to go away. I turned 34 when my second daughter was 1 and I was still having panic attacks. (By the way, I am the most even, sane person I know.) I went on Zoloft, which helped a lot, and once I leveled out (about 9 months later) I transitioned to a natural plant Progesterone cream. According to my own research and experimentation, my estrogen levels must be sky-rocketting in my mid-30's, a trend my mother and grandmother confirmed. The progesterone cream helps ALOT. It's like sanity in a bottle for me. Now I don't feel like killing my husband in his sleep (unwarranted, I assure you). I feel like I can experiment like this because I am not pregnant or nursing, or planning to ever be pregnant again. I can't imagine being 35 (which I am turning in a few weeks) AND being under the influence of pregnancy hormones. Hang in there. Something else you might try: preggo massage. Many professional massage therapists offer it, you just have to ask. I also drank half a pint of dark beer every now and then with my second. Yeah, yeah, I have seen all of the horrible things that can happen with fetal alcohol syndrome... but that half a glass weekly sure made for a healthier, saner mommy, and my second child appears to be a genius, so there...

Take St. Johns wart. This helps with sleep and anxiety. It is and OTC.It is natural.Also your blodd volumn has increased and so has your hormones. Pregnancy effects each woman differently.Ask you obgyn Dr.

I had a similar stomach issue when I was pregnant- started up around 16 weeks or so for me. Come to find out it was acid indigestion/reflux (even though I felt no burning). Some zantac and tums ended up doing the trick for me (at least until I was huge- then nothing helped). Congrats and good luck!

Get hormone levels checked. A lady I know had anxiety and went into therapy. Therapy, relaxation, etc. would not help. It was a benign adrenal tumor.

Sometimes it just helps to see on paper the hormones, just so you can say, "Oh- no wonder I feel anxious"... Then relax and know it will pass.... or whatever.

Have you been checked for gestational diabetes? I know I feel very anxious when my blood sugars are high.

Good luck!

You are not crazy and I do believe it's hormonal. I had terrible anxiety post-partum with both of my children-- almost to the point where I was nuts (thinking someone would come into the 2nd story window to steal my baby)-- just crazy thoughts. I was post-partum-- but it was all hormone related. Since you can't drink wine or take any medications-- relaxation will be key for you-- meditation, tea, resting in the bathtub without interruption. You have to find something that works for you-- maybe even working out -- it might balance out your hormones. Sorry it's not much help, but know that you are not alone and eventually it all smoothed out for me.

Mel

Trust me; you are not alone! I did not have any anxiety and a seamless pregnancy with my 9 year old dtr. Now I have a 5 month old son, too!- Just a little spread apart! Anyway, I started having extreme anxiety at about week 22 or so. It got really bad, trust me. I won't go into all of the details, but let's just say that I ended up taking sleep medicine, an anti-anxiety medicine (Klonopin- as last resort) and another med. to "calm me down" and guess what?? My son is healthy and I gave birth to him at age 37! Through my ordeal I learned many valuable lessons. Obviously, I was very concerned about my son and wanted him to be healthy. However, at a certain point, "mama" needs to be healthy. Another tidbit I learned is that my sleep medicine, Lunesta, is totally okay to take during pregnancy, especially since you're past your 1st trimester. Remember one thing: EVERY DOCTOR IS DIFFERENT AND WILL TELL YOU A DIFFERENT ANSWER! Also, I've talked to several women who took meds. during their pregnancies that are now considered class D meds, which means a big "NO, NO!" However, their babies turned out fine and the moms kept their sanity. Trust me, it is so, so important to take care of YOURSELF, especially at this time. Statistically and otherwise, your baby will be fine. I had the stomach stuff when all my anxiety kicked in and I could not eat at all!- Very scary. I was vomiting and dry-heaving (I know, TMI probably!) constantly. I actually lost 7 lbs. in 2 weeks! However, once I got on these meds and they kicked in, my love for food quickly returned! I gained a whopping 43 lbs. altogether! I hope this is helpful. Please email me back if you have any other questions or want names of MDs, etc. Good luck and stay strong!

I just had my second baby and let me tell ya, they weren't kidding when they said all pregnancies are different! It is possible your hormones are freaking you out and it will subside. I had a LOT of stress with my second pregnancy. I told my boss I was pregnant and she laid me off two weeks later; we sold our house, moved to a new state, had some financial issues, PLUS we have a three-year-old that had to go through all of this change with us AND my husband had to travel abroad for 3 months of my pregnancy for work, leaving me to deal with all of this stuff by myself!!!

You know the anxiety is not good for you or for the baby. You're not crazy at all! Just chalk it up to a freak pregnancy thing (there are SO many of those). Stressing out over the fact that you're stressing out can't be helping, but unfortunately there is nothing you can take for anxiety when you're pregnant. Maybe try to channel your energy into something creative. I did a prenatal yoga video at home every night to wind down. The breathing and stretching really helped and the quiet time to myself was a blessing. To my knowledge you can resume your glass of wine once a week after the first trimester is over. It does help to take the edge off, and a relaxed Mommy beats an upset one any day, I don't care what the doctors say. Both my kids turned out just fine! ;o)

I'd suggest finding a relaxation CD or exercises to help you relax. It's also possible that exercise (walking or something) can help get out the anxiety, so you might find that taking a brisk 15-minute walk in the morning or evening can help.

This may sound kind of weird but ask your doctor about increasing the amount of Omega 3 fatty acids you take. I know that they are putting the omega3's in prenatal vitamins but you might want to take a bit more.

The reason I say this is that I was struggling with some anxiety and mania. The specialist I went to (I have a high risk pregnancy. I'm 31 weeks) said that sometimes with depression and/or other mental health issues that treatment with Omega3's seems to alleviate it without resorting to anti-depressants or self medicating with margaritas. I'm all for margaritas right now *laughs* but I've been trying the Omega3's and they actually do seem to be helping.

Talk to your doc and good luck!!!

Try some homeopathic remedies that are "pregnancy accepted", or relaxing herbs. Also Chamomile tea. Ask at your local health food store, they will know, or research yourself on the net.

BE AROUND NATURE, it always calms. Go to your favorite secret nature place and just BE there. Do it alot. Babies in wombs LOVE nature. :)

Good luck,
C., RN

Hi M.! You sound like one very busy lady! You mentioned that a warm bath and glass of wine used to help. Obviously, the wine is out but try replacing it with some soft instrumental music and one of those aroma candles for relaxation. Try to find at least one quiet hour just for yourself with no demands or interruptions to bring your mind and body into some balance. You'll find your joy again. Have a wonderful day!