meds anyone?
I've been having a tough time. I'm much better than I was but still have periodic bouts of anxiety. I can usually shake it off with a jog, a bubble bath, meditation, breathing exercise, etc... But there are times that I feel literally ill from the heart racing, shallow breathing, mind racing, and fear that hit me out of the blue. The worst part is that for the past two weeks I wake up in this state. I seriously open my eyes for the first time after waking (still half asleep) and feel tightness in my chest and a pounding/racing heartbeat. It’s frightening and horrible. J has to comfort me b/c I feel like someone died or is about to die. This entire infertility journey is stressful and causes anxiety but this seems to be so much more that a "normal" level. It's almost like my subconscious in now fearful and stressed to the max. SO... my question is meds or no meds? First of all I am reluctant on many levels to take anything. I feel like I should be able to manage it with stress reducing techniques... and I don't want to take anything that could be harmful in any way to my body, for conceiving or to a fetus (I can hope can't I).
But, I realize that this might be bigger than something I can fix on my own. It’s been going on for over 2 weeks now. It's terrifying at times...especially when I wake up with it and I know this can't be good for my body. My whole goal is to take these two months and try to get into a good place mentally, physically, etc before we start IVF #1. If I'm in such a high state of anxiety than that will wear down my body and isn't good at all for conceiving. So- no meds...could hurt my chances of pregnancy if I really need them.
The next question is which med? I was told that they want you to stop any meds before IVF. This only gives me 2 months or so... a lot of drugs take 3 months to reach their full effect, and it's not good to stop them cold turkey. Those types would be pointless. I also worry that I'd take something to stop the anxiety and end up with other side effects, such as weight gain, loss of interest in sex, irritability, etc. Then we have the option meds such as Xan*ax,, Klon*opin, Vall*ium, etc... that you take as needed. I could take one occasionally, when needed, up until the IVF cycle starts.
So... I ask you, are you on any medications for anxiety/depression? What does your RE say about it? Has it helped????? and do you have side effects?
IN OTHER NEWS: I'm having my surgery on Friday (I'll be thinking of you Hopeful Mother). I'm having another laparoscopy. This time they'll actually remove the endometriosis that they found during the last one. I'll also be having a hysteroscopy (where they dilate your cervix, and look inside your uterus with a fiber-optic camera) at the same time... They also plan to do another HSG (dye in the tubes) since they'll already be in there. They'll remove anything they find that shouldn't be there. Whether it's the Endometriosis. lesions, fibroids, cysts, or polyps. Hopefully we'll know exactly where we stand as far as my reproductive anatomy goes. I was surprised at how "serious" they have made this surgery sound compared to my 1st diagnostic lap. I have to shower with medicated antibacterial soap the morning of the shower. I'm not allowed to have any products on my hair, no make-up, no lotion, no nail polish, no jewelry, etc. I can't eat or drink after midnight the night before. NO water? I'm being admitted a few hours before my surgery but my actual surgery isn't until early afternoon. That's a long time for no water at all. Then I was told no sex, no tampons and no baths (I'm a total bath girl) for 25 days. WHAT!?!? yes, that's right. 25 days. Is this for real? Or can I take more like 10 days and then proceed if I feel okay. They are trying to take away my chance for an oops month, :-) of getting pregnant on our own next month before our IVF cycling starts.
posted by Keeping The Faith @ 8:09 PM
16 comments
16 Comments:
I haven't been on any meds like that since seeing my RE so my assvice is to talk to your doctor cause everyone and everyone's doctors have different opinions.
I did take a low level pr0zac-type med a while back. Even though it was low dose it make me not care - about anything. I felt like I was in a haze. Of course, I didn't need the meds in the first place (I had PCOS, not depression, but I hadn't been diagnosed and he apparently didn't know...).
Anyways, all this to say: If you need something - talk it out with your doctor. Maybe take a little something when you wake up and it can help you for the day? I'm sure there are meds you can take that you don't have to let build up in your system so they won't affect your cycle.
I'm here for ya.
hey Faith, I am sorry that you are having that kind of anxiety I know that it stinks, when I had it I went to therapy and then to my dr. I took Wellbutrin for about 4 months and it really , really helped. You can take Wellbutrin all through your PG if you need to, in fact I know that many studies have been done where women who were going through IF treatments were put on an antidepressant because we are much more likely to develop PPD. So the antidepressant before your baby is born are important to your mental and physical health. I would talk to your RE, but to be honest, I am surprised they never offered one to you. I know a lot of RE's and Dr's are now.
Next I think that anything you do to take care of yourself in the next 2 months as you get ready for January is a good thing. Meditation and breathing and jogging are all things that will keep you sane. (and if things get really bad, I'll take you with me to Aruba in my suitcase ok? )
*HUGS*
I say if you need meds take them. No shame in it. I think I could benifit from some antianxiety meds too...pass them to me when your done! :)
Hi Faith! Im a Pr0zac girl. Actually I take the generic called Flu0xetine and the reason I take it is because I suffer from Anxiety. It's terrible. I know exactly how you feel when you talk about your heart pounding (seems to be so much worse when you go to bed and try to sleep doesn't it?) and all the thoughts that something is about to happen. I used to leave work and worry obsessively all the way home that I'd come home to A) my house burned down B) my dog had died while I was at work or C) that Bryan had gotten into an accident on his way home. I knew I was being irrational with the fears and when I researched it I realize I had GAD (generalized anxiety disorder). I went to my doc and they prescribed the Pr0zac and I'll tell you, on about day 11 I actually felt the knot in my stomach loosen up. Every day after that I felt better and better. It takes about six weeks for it to fully take affect. It doesn't give me any side effects. At first I remember it making me a little tired and gave me a dry mouth but those went away after a bit. Some people do have a reduced sex drive, but I don't and neither does my sister who's also on it. I've been taking them the entire time I've been going to the RE and noone's told me to stop. I know an OB might but I'm gonna have to try to convince them I can't go off of it. I felt so good that six months ago I tried to go off it thinking I didn't need it if I was going to be pregnant. After a few weeks I started to feel the old anxiety creeping back in. I felt jumpy, irritable, heart pounding/racing and god forbid if the phone rang while I was sleeping. Needless to say I'm back on it and THANK GOD. I'm a MUCH nicer person while on my meds. Less obsessiveness, I only get mad or angry if I REALLY have a reason (in other words now I can differentiate between when I was being silly before and when I really need to get mad) and my husband says he can see an ENORMOUS difference in me now from me without my meds! People who don't suffer from Anxiety really have no idea how bad it is. They think about when they are anxious (occasionally if they're taking a big test or have a job interview) they don't realize what its like to have constant nagging anxiety with no break in it ever. Anyway, I'm pro meds. There's a lot of different ones to choose from too, so if one is bad for you with side effects you can always try a different one. OK so I should probably have emailed all this to you instead of clogging up your comment box! Write to me if you have any questions or need to talk about the anxiety. I've been there - it's rough! Just know you're not alone!
There are many different kind of meds that are safe to take throughout pregnancy- my doc put me on one called Z0l0ft which is a low-dose anti depressant. I wasn't really sure if it was working because I felt ok- but then she reminded me that it must be doing it's job!
Good luck on Friday- looking forward to hearing good news!
Hi Faith,
I'm so sorry you are experiencing this anxiety. It sucks! I too suffer from anxiety. I've opted not to take the daily med approach and instead have Klonopin for occasional anxiety. The problem with Klonopin is that I can't take while ttc so as a result I haven't taken it in over a year. I miss it! So I've wrestled with the idea of taking something daily like buspar or wellbrutin which seem to be safe during pregnancy. If you are just wanting something for these two months while you are waiting for IVF, then you might want to consider Klonopin. It works great. And, I also found that just having the klonopin as a solution maybe me less anxious and as a result I didn't take it very often. It was the fear of an anxiety attack and not knowing what I was going to do that made things so much worse. If you find out information about a safe daily med while going through IVF, please share it on your blog. I'd like to know about it because right now I'm not able to take anything and sometimes the anxiety is out of control. Hugs!
Good luck with your surgery!
Hope all works out
I don't have any advice on specific meds, but I am glad that you are looking into this option. I think it could really help with your anxiety.
I just wanted to quickly say best of luck with your lap surgery - I hope that everything looks good in there and you're all set to wait until Jan. to start your IVF!
Will be in touch later! Thanks for the nice thoughts!
I took Zoloft between my fresh IVF cycle and my frozen cycle. It only took about 2 weeks to start working. According to my doctor, it is the only one she recomends people take during pregnancy so you could even continue to take it during a cycle. I quit taking it just before my frozen cycle and didn't have any side effects from quiting. It really helped. I was skeptical because I didn't like taking a pill to solve my problems but sometimes you need a little help. If you read Tertia (So Close), she has a great post today on how Anti-depressants are helping her.
I say go with it, not one thing wrong with being on medication especially if its going to give you some normality into your life. When I lost my pg at 16w I put my hand up straight away for the 'take me away from it all' pills and that is something I would never of done before.
Good luck with your Lap, will be thinking of you.
Best of luck with your lap. I just had mine on Thursday afternoon and it wasn't too bad.
Hope all goes well!
Year ago when I was going through a particularly hard time my dr. put me on wellbutrin-- it made me more anxious- so then they gave me ativan-- but you can't take that when you are pg or planning to be- it's worked great for the one of two anxiety attacks I had years ago and I am known to walk around with the bottle in my hands as a safety measure on occassion- but I have not had it in years. I ended up not being on anything and upping my accupuncture and going to a counselor to talk about it all-- sometimes just getting it all out on the table in spoken word takes all the power away from the fears.
Whatever you decide to do-- I think it is totally normal have periods where stuff is just more difficult and asking for help is the smart thing to do.
Let me know if you need anything!
Just wanted to chime in and send you my best for your lap. My dr always said 2 weeks on the whole sex, tampon thing (never mentioned baths though..hmmm). We waited the set amount of time but I know several women that didn't and it didn't harm them a bit. I felt up to it about 5-6 days after lap but was too scared of messing something up so we just waited.
I hope it went well; looking forward to an update.
Hi Faith - It's Lisa. Sorry to hear about the anxiety you're experiencing. For those who have never gone through it, it's a real thing! If 'natural' methods, e.g. running, meditation, etc. are no longer working, I would opt for the meds. You may want to try something short acting that you take occasionally like Xanax which is prescribed specifically for anxiety (in the time before you start another treatment). The anti-depressents are also an option and they usually by default take care of the anxiety by how they work on the brain. They can come with side-effects though like weight gain, loss of libido, etc. Your doctor should be able to review each with you, and whether it's safe during pregnancy. Plenty of pregnant women take them with no problem. As you know, you need to be in the best form (physically and mentally) while carrying so I'd definitely weigh all your options. Good luck. ~L
I hope you are recovering nicely, Faith!
I have taken several antidepressants and by far the best one for me (and everyone is different, blah blah blah) is Wellbutr!n. I love it. It isn't a good one to take for anxiety, though I hear and that has been my experience but it's so perfect in every other way for me that I suck up the anxiety parts of it.
I don't know about IVF but i was told I could stay on it through my pregnancy, should pigs fly and that happens.
When I first started taking it, I was so frustrated and disappointed in myself but once I started to feel better, I wanted to kick my own ass for waiting for so long.
Thinking of you! Email me if you want to talk about it!
I know exactly what you mean about waking up with an anxiety attack. I had never had one, and then a couple years ago, I received a letter from my best friend telling me she was 3 months pregnant. (She had gotten married a month before she conceived, and they weren't even planning to start trying for a year.) I was happy for her, but it was also very tough news to hear.
The next morning, I woke up with an anxiety attack, and I've had them ever since. I tried the Xanax and one other anti-anxiety drug that I can't remember the name of. Those would help when I got the attacks (mostly by putting me right to sleep), but they didn't do anything to prevent them. So eventually I started taking Zoloft.
I talked with my RE about it. He would prefer that I not be on it, but said he understood if I needed to be and that it was okay to do so while cycling. The Zoloft has helped with depression and anxiety - I haven't had to take a Xanax or anything else since about a month after starting the Zoloft. I really don't think I could have made it through my most recent miscarriage in May and our two subsequent failed cycles without it.
As for side effects, the only one I really experienced was a bit of insomnia. I switched to taking the Zoloft in the morning, which helped, and after a few months, the insomnia went away.
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