my story

[motherof3]

hi. im new to this site and may a say what a great site it is.
this is a brief outline of my story.
in 2006 i became pregnant and was having a terrible time constantly bleeding and being told the baby wouldnt make it. then at 26wks i had to have an emergency c section or me and the baby would have died. the anxiety started during the pregnancy and i was prescibed citalopram 10mg. after the baby was born at 1lb12oz it was touch and go a few times but he made it. he came out of hospital and within 3wks this wave of anxiety hit me so bad i just wanted to run away. i couldnt be in the same room as the baby without throwing up, and this feeling of constant pressure on my chest was unbearable. the dr put me back on the citalopram 40mg this seemed to do the trick and then was told that i had postnatal depression. after having hypnotherapy i thought i had finaly beat it. had started the weaning process of the ads( down to 10mg) then wham was hit with this huge bout of anxiety. it seems to be at its worst around the time of the month. the dr has now put me on fluoxetine 20mg. not sure what they are for but the dr said to give them a try. ive also booked more sessions of hypnotherapy and am about to start cbt. any words of wisdom or advise on any of these matters would be greatly appreciated.
many thanks

[kaialian]

Hey there,

Quite often when you are weaning off meds you have been on, you can have some anxiety re-surface. That is what happened to me when I was going off paxil. The doc told me to go back to my regular dose for a few months and then try again.

Good Luck!!

[motherof3]

thanks for the reply. ive been on 10mg for about 12wks and they just didnt seem to be working. but im determined to beat this once and for all and realising that there are so many more people out there with anxiety seems to help, knowing your not alone and abnormal. :)

[joey9]

The effect of hormonal fluctuations on anxiety and your ability to deal with stress can be huge. My first case of severe anxiety came when I was pregnant for the first time. It came with my morning sickness and lasted until the day my morning sickness ended, as if someone had flicked a switch and my mind was clear again. During those few weeks I couldn't clear my head of the really negative thoughts - they were absolutely relentless and I couldn't focus on anything else. When the morning sickness was gone I could think the same thoughts and wonder what all the fuss was about. My anxiety now waxes and wanes with my cycle, but even though I know this will happen, as soon as it does and the thoughts hit they feel absolutely real again for a few days. It sounds like you have had a lot of stress AND a huge hormonal change so its no wonder you're feeling crap. This site is a good source of information:

http://www.womentowomen.com/depressiona ... xiety.aspx (http://www.womentowomen.com/depressionanxietyandmood/anxiety.aspx)

It advocates a very holistic strategy to regain your body's equilibrium. This involves exercise, dietary supplements, natural hormone replacement etc. and actively managing your stress levels and your relaxation i.e. your recovery from stress.