Welcome Arglyle!

 

I am new too.  Losing your meds is going to be tough.  But having a baby would be so rewarding.  Sometimes I fight my fears by telling myself I am tough. LOL it sounds super silly but I get mad at what I am scared of.  see, for you, you could say I am doing it for my little baby and NOTHING is going to get in my way.  I will not let fear get me because I have to fight for my future child......lol it's worth a shot

 

they say courage is not the absense of fear but still moving forward dispite the fear.  To me you seem very courageous.

Welcome Argyle_Slayer!

 

You have come to the right place.  We are all here to listen and help.  First of all, I highly encourage you to work your way through the program and read over the forums. Section 2: Anxious Thoughts and Section 3: Challenging Negativity will be a great help to you.  Now that you do not have the medication to fall back on it's important to try to control your anxious thoughts as much as you can.

 

Panic is also greatly affected by the stress level of your lifestyle.  Insure that you use regular stress management techniques like exercise, healthy eating, proper sleep schedule, time management, social networks, good communication and relaxation techniques.

 

Have you talked to a counsellor about your anxiety? It might be beneficial for you to see one, right now especially.

 

What do you think your next few steps should be in addressing these issues?

 

Members, what advice can you give?

 

 

 

Members

Hello everyone. I am a 28 year old female with a long history of panic disorder. I had my first panic attack when I was 14 and I've been a little funny ever since! ^_^  My main source for combating my anxiety was Zoloft and Xanax when I needed it which worked just fine for me. However, me and my husband decided 3 months ago to have a baby. The first thing I did was go to my doctor and ask about my meds. The Zoloft is apparently safe but the Xanax, the med I use to stave off my more acute anxiety has to go. This is not working well for me. My Doctor did give me some Valium and said to take it as sparingly as possible but it doesn't work very well on my panic attacks. Two weeks ago I got a small infection on my leg and I couldn't calm myself down about it until eventually at around 2 in the morning after much sobbing and shaking (and 8 mg's of Valium) I rounded my husband up and had him take me to the Emergency Room (ME!!!! A 14 year panic disorder veteran!!) In utter humiliation I explained what was going on and, after a pregnancy test which came back negative, they shoved a couple mg's of Xanax down me (much to my relief) and sent me on my way. I still haven't quite recovered from this incident and my anxiety has been near uncontrollable without my precious Benzo's. 
However, I am still committed to having a baby. My main problem is time. I've scanned through the program and it all seems very helpful and I will most probably do the course....BUT....does anyone have any advice that could help me right now? My problem is that I have a pretty concrete association of Anxiety/panic attacks and nighttime (my mom calls me a sundowner) so I am fine during the day but when night comes around and especially when I am trying to go to sleep my thoughts immediately go to, "great, it's nighttime, now I'm going to have panic attacks and they'll get worse and worse and I won't be able to sleep and there is nothing I can do about it," and on and on and on. I've tried relaxation techniques, breathing techniques, directed imagining, but those negative thoughts are so subconscious and insidious that I'm met with a brick wall every time. And I don't have any time!!!!! Is there anyone out there who can help me?? Anyone who has any trick up their sleeve??

I'm really worried (no pun intended)not only about being anxious but what effect this will have on a developing fetus. Surely uncontrolled panic can't be good for a gestating fetus. 

Thanks for reading and any advice you can give me.