Can you take anything for anxiety at 22 weeks preg? Help

[Penny12355]

Hi all I know this isnt in the right thread but I'm a bit shit at workin this sight. So the past while I've noticed some days my anxiety is awful and I feel really down! Last night I cried all day and started arguments with my partner for no reason! My anxiety is through the roof I never got to sleep last night till 4am, so I was thinking on going to the doctor on monday and saying I'm anxious but does anyone know what they will do for me at 22 weeks pregnant?? Thank u

I really don’t know if it’s safe during pregnancy, you’d have to check, but I take a supplement called L-Theanine, which works for anxiety and in my case anxiety stemming from insomnia. It’s an amino acid, but like I said, you’d have to check on whether it’s okay or not to take.

Hope you find some relief soon.

Absolutely go and see your GP. SSRIs are generally thought to be safe in pregnancy but many GPs are uncomfortable about prescribing during pregnancy. Depending on the severity of your anxiety and impact on your functioning the balance of risk is often in favour of treatment rather than leaving the anxiety untreated as this is not good for you or your baby.

Some days it's okay and some days it's awful! Although I have taken sertraline before when not pregnant and it gave me awful side effects one day I had to go home from work cause I was shaking so bad

Some medication is definitely ok during pregnancy (and breastfeeding). My DD had terrible anxiety during her first pregnancy and very bad PND. She found anti depressants had a hugely beneficial impact and was able to carry on with them through her second pregnancy which she actually enjoyed.

Nobody here can give you medical advice, you need to see your GP.

See I'm just scared cause of the side effects I had when I wasnt pregnant! I would even like to be able to take something just to calm me down a bit cause I dont feel depressed just feel very agitated etc

Medication is an option but it's for the individual to weigh up the pros and cons depending on the situation.

Although services vary from Trust to Trust, there is almost certainly a specialist perinatal mental health service of some sort. Ask the GP to talk you through all the options. If they mention IAPT/Talking Therapies then do ask if the therapists there are specialists in perinatal issues.

NB anxiety can be a symptom of low iron, which is very common in pregnancy. Might be worth getting bloods done to check.

I have the midwife on tuesday, but should I still go to my doctor on monday morning?? Like my GP,

Call the midwife today. You should have their number.
They take mental health in pregnancy very seriously now. And there are lots of options for you to take. It doesn't have to just be medication. Being pregnant does mean you'll be seen sooner than someone not pregnant (at least in my health district)
And if midwife is no use then yes straight to GP. You don't have to suffer or feel guilty.

Thank u but tbh my midwife is a bit shit, so I'm gonna wait for GP on monday and hopefully theyl sort me out with somethin. I couldn't even sit in my own home today , my partners daughter always comes over on a Saturday and I just couldnt even be bothered with them so I just came down to my mum and dads to just sit on my own

Can taking any medication like for depression or anxiety cause any birth defects or anything???

That's not an easy question to answer and probably one best discussed in detail with your GP. Many, many women use anti-depressants etc during pregnancy on the advice of their doctors.

The Best Use of Medicines in Pregnancy website is a good resource; it summarises the currently-available research, along with comments about which studies were well-run and so forth. Different drugs have had different amounts of research done on them.

There are pros and cons to weigh up - nobody would take medicines during pregnancy if they didn't need to, but anxiety/depression can be really nasty and need treating.