I've looked around here several times but never posted. I'm 22 years old, pregnant with my first and due in early August. I have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. I began taking medication at 17 because of really bad insomnia and anxiety. About a year ago, I was taking 7 medications for the various issues and I was functioning well. Seroquel worked very well for me but led to serious weight gain - I went from around 100 lbs to 150 over the course of about 7 months. I stopped the medication in August and the weight started coming off, but nothing else has touched the insomnia in my experience. I got my BFP in December and stopped everything except silenor as a sleep aid. I also stopped the silenor about a month ago. I feel better than I thought I would, but the anxiety is driving me crazy and I can never sleep for more than 4 hours per night. I'm sorry this is so long but I just wanted to see if any of you had any tips for getting through this pregnancy without any prescriptions. I'm doing my best, but having a hard time because I'd forgotten how awful things can feel.
I don't have any advice but wanted to say welcome! I think the PPA/PPD board might also have some ladies dealing with issues while pregnant, so you might check there too.
Hi, So I have Bipolar Disorder as well as Narcolepsy. I can tell you that my anxiety has significantly decreased when my sleep is regulated. Is there a reason why you are no longer using a sleep aid? Not sleeping can very easily trigger a manic episode.
ETA: This post sounded a little judgey when I reread it. I did not intend it to be that way. I help run the Biweekly Check-In for Current/Recovering Insomniacs. You are more than welcome to join it. We're a very small group. As you can probably tell from my 2am post editing I am a current insomniac. I'm usually on pretty late if you ever need someone to chat with.
Hi, it's nice to meet you! No need to apologize. You are definitely going through a lot right now. I think the most important thing for you is to make sure you are speaking to your OB and hopefully a psychiatrist regarding the medications you have been taking and/or no longer take. I urge you to get approval from both your OB and psych to be off of meds for your pregnancy, because you never know if there is a med that you may tolerate very well that can help your anxiety and be perfectly safe during pregnancy.
If you do decide to go med-free for the pregnancy, I would concentrate on keeping a healthy diet, limiting caffeine, and getting as close to a regular sleep schedule as you can. If you can find a support group, even one for PPA or PPD, I am sure they would also welcome pregnant mothers as well. Good luck.
Hi, So I have Bipolar Disorder as well as Narcolepsy. I can tell you that my anxiety has significantly decreased when my sleep is regulated. Is there a reason why you are no longer using a sleep aid? Not sleeping can very easily trigger a manic episode.
ETA: This post sounded a little judgey when I reread it. I did not intend it to be that way. I help run the Biweekly Check-In for Current/Recovering Insomniacs. You are more than welcome to join it. We're a very small group. As you can probably tell from my 2am post editing I am a current insomniac. I'm usually on pretty late if you ever need someone to chat with.
I am currently taking unisom for sleep. I think because I am always physically exhausted, it does work for a short period. I found that it was wearing off after 3-4 hours, just like the silenor was. So I opted for the unisom as it's considered safer during pregnancy. I've tried a lot of different sleep aids over the past 4 years or so and the only one that worked well was seroquel. I've tried trazadone, ambien, klonopin, and a few others and none of them were very effective with sleep. I did see the check-in however & would be happy to join!
I also didn't find your post to be judgey, so don't worry about that.
Hi, it's nice to meet you! No need to apologize. You are definitely going through a lot right now. I think the most important thing for you is to make sure you are speaking to your OB and hopefully a psychiatrist regarding the medications you have been taking and/or no longer take. I urge you to get approval from both your OB and psych to be off of meds for your pregnancy, because you never know if there is a med that you may tolerate very well that can help your anxiety and be perfectly safe during pregnancy.
If you do decide to go med-free for the pregnancy, I would concentrate on keeping a healthy diet, limiting caffeine, and getting as close to a regular sleep schedule as you can. If you can find a support group, even one for PPA or PPD, I am sure they would also welcome pregnant mothers as well. Good luck.
Thank you. My OB is aware that I am not currently taking my medication. Overall, I feel I'm handling things fairly well except for the trouble sleeping. I am also in the process of finding another psychiatrist. I made 3 appointments with my current doctor since January and every time I was directed to a nurse practitioner instead. She actually seemed more concerned about whether my OB had approved any of my meds at all. She was concerned about giving me any prescriptions so I suppose she thought that not being on meds was appropriate, although she doesn't know my history. She initially asked me why I was coming in at all and implied that my OB should be my only prescriber. My actual doctor, as I discovered on Friday, died in January and the office never told me when I called for appointments to see him. I found out he had passed when I googled the clinic to get their billing dept number and his obituary was the first result. So now I need to find a new psychiatrist.
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