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2nd Trimester
theemaggel
member
Depression and Anxiety
theemaggel
member
Week 18:
I have been extremely down and anxious the past few weeks, and it's really nothing new. I have a handful of mental problems to begin with and decided to go off my meds (depakote and xanax) cold turkey as soon as I found out I was expecting. Doctors have told me that if I am still dealing with these problems once I enter my second trimester I could try going back on them. But, of course, they are risky medications to be on while pregnant. I know being depressed and anxious can lead to problems, and I just can't seem to decide if I should stay off the meds, or get back on. I feel like I'm hurting my baby either way. :[ Anyone go through anything similar?
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Re: Depression and Anxiety
I have been dealing with depression for many years. When I found out I was pregnant, I was taking Paxil which can be dangerous. I was switched to Zoloft which is safer. I mentioned it to my high risk OB and she told me it was fine and not to be weary to take my meds. Talk to your OB about safer meds to take while pregnant. Good luck!
I have pretty bad depression and anxiety also. As soon as I was about 8 weeks I was able to get off of my medication, ironically, with the help of morning sickness. I was on an SSRI.
Luckily, so far the pregnancy has seemed to help with my depression and anxiety, but I still have really bad days in-between where I am struggling quite a bit. Even though I don't qualify for most Healthy Start programs, the mental health aspect of it apparently does not take income into account and they tried to contact me for a while but I was too embarrassed to get in contact with them. I feel like there are other people out there who need more help than me and I would be taking up valuable resources. And then there is the fear that I would just come across as a whiney-butt because I know I have it good compared to a lot of people.
I know what you mean about feeling like you are hurting the baby either way, because every time that I feel really sad and down I feel like I am making my baby feel that way and setting up her brain for depression and the guilt is pretty intense. I guess I am just trying to do the best that I can, staying as relaxed and happy as is possible. Prenatal yoga has actually helped a lot with this, as has reading books that are distracting. Being open about it with my hubs has definitely helped too.
Just do the best that you can and try not to feel guilty, it will only spiral everything out of control. Do whatever you need to do to get through it. If I felt like hurting myself every day or if I was having panic attacks I think I would get back on the meds, because in that case I feel like the risk of not being on the meds would be worse than the risk of being on them. Thankfully I haven't had to go there so far. (((((hugs))))))