Anxiety and swaying

[BabyGirl2013]

I don't know why, but I've had horrible anxiety lately. I'm not typically a person who struggles with anxiety, but recently I've been waking up with my heart pounding and a pit in my stomach. The feeling lasts on and off throughout the day. It's been like this for about a week.

Is anxiety similar to stress in that it raises testosterone? If so, how long should I wait for this to subside before trying to conceive (ie. do T levels change daily with your mood or does it need time to wear off?) Maybe I should get some medication...are there any anti-anxiety pills that sway pink if I have to go that route?

[Wanting-a-girl]

Get lorazepam it should sway girl and works amazing! Sorry that ur dealing with this I know how horrible it is!

[LacePrincess]

Stress/anxiety creating testosterone would not be an immediate effect, no. Hormones don't switch on and off like a lightbulb. There's a theory too that 'life' stress - the kind that beats you down - can sway pink.

Anyways, this very topic came up about a month ago for me, and we had a good discussion here: http://genderdreaming.com/forum/ttc-...sion-link.html (Dream Members only)

In a nutshell, I do believe the LE diet contributed to the upswing of my anxiety condition again and the relapse of my OCD. Crashing blood sugars affect mood poorly, and in someone with a mood disorder it's much worse. Also Atomic has mentioned that she started to have panic attacks (with no history) when she was imbibing a lot of Splenda (sucralose) so you might want to look at aspartame/sucralose as being a trigger.


Also a discussion with lots of good points about treating anxiety during pregnancy here:
http://genderdreaming.com/forum/ht-f...pregnancy.html

As someone that's had a diagnosed anxiety condition for over 12 years (that's diagnosed, mind you, my psychiatrist believes my anxiety disorder manifested as early as the age of 6-7), I've had a lot of personal experience with this crap. I've also been through one pregnancy with NO meds (and had a huge crash with postpartum depression) and two pregnancies partially medicated. I've also done a lot of research on antidepressants and pregnancy.

Please, I beg you, PLEASE do not start meds without thoroughly researching them and asking for a referral to a qualified clinician who SPECIALIZES in mental illness. This means a psychologist or psychiatrist - not a GP! Antidepressants are not painkillers. You don't just pop a pill and turn off the anxiety. It's NOT that simple. Please read the thread I linked above about antidepressants and pregnancy, and a lot of good detailed posts about SSRI's and pregnancy. Most SSRI's are rated FDA Category C - which means that there is no evidence that they CAUSE any birth defects, but there is no evidence that they don't either, and are recommended ONLY if benefits outweigh risk of using them.

Benzodiazepines, aka the 'pams' include Clorazepam and Lorazepam. Lorazepam's brand name is Ativan. Yes they are prescribed for fast relief from acute anxiety and panic disorder. They are also the classic 'tranquilizer' and a sedative, and most importantly they are habit forming (ie. addictive) and are NOT recommended for pregnancy. From the FDA's own website regarding Ativan:

Ativan MAY CAUSE FETAL DAMAGE WHEN ADMINISTERED TO PREGNANT WOMEN. Ordinarily, Ativan Injection should not be used during pregnancy except in serious or life-threatening conditions where safer drugs cannot be used or are ineffective. Status epilepticus may represent such a serious and life-threatening condition.

An increased risk of congenital malformations associated with the use of minor tranquilizers (chlordiazepoxide, diazepam and meprobamate) during the first trimester of pregnancy has been suggested in several studies. In humans, blood levels obtained from umbilical cord blood indicate placental transfer of lorazepam and lorazepam glucuronide.

My psychiatrist would never EVER prescribe a benzo to a pregnant lady, and he's a clinical specialist in mood disorder pharmacology.

I hope I don't come across too strongly here, but I cannot emphasize enough that IT DOESN'T MATTER how a medication sways if you're risking the health of your baby! Any med you take now you MUST take as if you were pregnant now. Anxiety meds are not something like tylenol that you can pop like candy. It drives me insane (hah, no pun intended!) when people treat OCD/depression/anxiety like a headache. It's not a simple disease and it's NOT easy to treat. You must always weight risk vs benefits and it takes time, effort, and a lot of work to find the right therapist and psychiatrist to diagnose you properly. A mistreated mood disorder can be disastrous.

Please, whatever you do, please don't just go to your GP and ask for an antidepressant. Of course you could, and many GP's would give it to you, doesn't mean it's a good idea. The ramifications are huge, and I beg you to do some serious research AND get a referral to a specialist before you decide on your course of action. I have done a lot of research over the years, and please post any questions you have or PM me if you don't feel comfortable posting on the boards.

[Wanting-a-girl]

Great post above

I was prescribed Ativan a year and a half ago cause I started getting panic attacks i would never take them while preg I don't even take Tylenol

I would never recommend to take them cause of the risks during pregnancy but if she needs a quick fix before pregnancy it wouldn't be a problem since they are out of the system in 6 hrs I believe

[LacePrincess]

I hope you don't feel attacked or anything Wanting, not my intention at all, but that's what I disagree with. It's not about how long the stuff is out of your system. You simply cannot approach benzos like you would an OTC med. It doesn't matter if it metabolizes quickly, it's still a serious medication that changes brain chemistry and is habit forming.

Realize that Lorazapam is in the same class of medication as Xanax. Which is so highly addictive that doctors will only prescribe them in VERY small amounts. These are meds that psychiatrists use to treat acute panic disorders, the kind that send you to the ER. And even then they only use benzos as needed as a bandaid until the longterm med kicks into effect.

I looked it up, benzos are FDA Pregnancy Category D. Which is the worst one. So it falls into the 'absolutely not unless it's almost life threatening' category.

Babygirl, my point isn't to say if you take one benzo you'll give your baby birth defects. But knowing that you are actively TTC, I cannot in good conscience ever say that it's ok to take a med that's so contraindicated. Especially since you don't sound like you have a pre-existing anxiety condition. Also, benzos have been linked to increased risk of miscarriage, so keep that in mind too.

Point is that there's lots of things you haven't tried to help your anxiety, including tweaking your diet, dropping fake sugars, maybe adding iron. Anemia can cause chronic fatigue and depression, for example. Thyroid conditions can too. I'd definitely recommend you have your doc check both before even considering anxiety conditions if you've never had an anxiety disorder before now. Also, start exercising if you haven't been already, even a bit of fresh air and casual walk on a regular basis can boost your dopamine and help a lot.

[BabyGirl2013]

Thank you for all the info! I haven't experienced anything like this before and I'm hoping it goes away. I know nothing about anti-anxiety meds, etc. I've never taken any Rx except for antibiotics when needed and bc. I think it is a result of the LE diet, aspartame + holiday/family stress. My first attempt is coming up in a couple weeks and I think I can pull through until then. I just don't want this anxiety/stress to sway blue and counter all of my other pink efforts! I really appreciate your thoughtful replies!

[Rosie85]

Not only birth defects but there are higher incidences of autism in babies where the moms took drugs of those sorts. Think about...they affect your brain why wouldn't they affect the babies?

[Wanting-a-girl]

Hmmmm very true... My gp gave them to me I'm guessing more as a bandaid fix.... I don't take them regularly at all cause I know way too much about drug addiction... Iv watched my brother become the biggest drug addict I've ever seen its very sad! I take the Ativan like maybe once every three month when I absolutley feel like I can't make it through..... My cousin was prescribed Xanax and omg I swear she doesn't have anxiety she just get super excited and claims she's having a panic attack mean while she's laughing and smiling.... Irritating lol.... Any ways she has been popping them every day for months now and is now ttc and I keep telling her that she can't be taking it but is not listening

[LacePrincess]

Babygirl, if you don't have a history with mood disorders then I definitely wouldn't be going with meds while TTC. Finding the right antidepressant is like finding the perfect bcp, only worse. The side effects of the wrong one can be horrible and make symptoms worse, not only physical reactions but scary sh!t like major depressive crashes, suicidal thoughts, psychotic breaks. You don't want to be fooling around with brain altering meds if you don't have a condition that absolutely requires it, and you need time and a good therapist to work with you. In your case while TTC it's not the time to be experimenting. I had to try almost everything on the market at the time before I found one that worked, and the ones that didn't had some horrific side effects. I shudder thinking back on those times.

Regarding a possible autism link, I'm not questioning that there could be one, but you've got to take those studies with a grain of salt. Autism seems to be the disease-of-the-decade. They keep linking everything to it - from vaccines, to meds, to food additives, to BPA, etc etc etc etc. My question is the chicken-and-the-egg, which came first? In other words, was it the antianxiety drug that caused it, or that genetic predisposition in the child to have mental illness because of mom's genetic link? See what I mean? It's not as easy as one med causing a condition. Mental illnesses are complicated and not simple to fix.

Babygirl, you have a lot of options. These days most reputable psychiatrists wouldn't even suggest meds as a first line treatment, especially while TTC. There's simple things like relaxation and meditation, exercise, changing your foods and dropping caffeine and food triggers. Also cognitive behavioural therapy is a non-drug method of retraining your brain. You never want to turn to meds first, and relying on meds alone doesn't often work either.

Wanting, thanks for sharing your experience. Benzos are scary stuff, and can totally be abused. You know those tranqs you see addicts popping on Intervention when they need a quick recovery from crashing after doing heroin/crack? Yeah, that's Xanax. That stuff scares the stuffing out of me. Which isn't to say you shouldn't use benzos if you NEED to, but think of them as an emergency fix with lots of scary ramifications if you abuse them. Kind of like prescription painkillers - helpful when needed but omg the consequences can be terrifying.

The thing is, a depressed or anxious person can be even more easily triggered into substance abuse, because of the desperate need to feel 'normal' and seeking relief from the pain of depression or anxiety issues. I'm an OCD sufferer, which by definition is driven by the addiction for compulsions. I know very well I can have an addictive personality because of my obsessive nature. Knowing that, I will not touch benzos with a 10000000 foot pole, I even refused them when offered when I was hospitalized for major depression 13 years ago. They scare me THAT much, and the last thing I need is a substance abuse issue.

Wow, that was really offtopic, lol, sorry gals. But I wanted to share some of my thoughts so you all can see why I come across so strongly on the topic.

[Wanting-a-girl]

I can't stand how they put everything a an autism risk! My middle son was severely autistic and diagnosed by 2. I honestly believe its got something to do with all the hormones in the foods these days.... So with my 3rd pregnancy I ate all organic I havnt vaccinated him yet cause I didnt want what ifs... I know a lot of people don't agree with it but I have never met someone in my situation shun the idea... Any ways I'm pretty sure Ezra my third is autistic I tried everything possible.... I know in some cases it's a genetic thing but if it was genetic the stem cell treatment that I took my son for would not have worked one bit... And it definitely did! I hope they figure it out soon

So sorry to change subject