Valium in Pregnancy - would you take it?

[MissyK]

Hi, I have been feeling very down, anxious, shakey and ott emotional for a few weeks now, due to previous SEVERE PND (hospitalised) & PTSD (ds birth - 4yrs ago was v traumatic - I didn't get sole care of him without requiring some kind of help until he was 2.5 - Not dh's biological son). My mum & DH kept asking me to go and see my GP.

I went this morning & for now he has given me valium to take & has made an urgent referal to the Mental Health Team so they can decide what drugs/course of action to take. I am slightly concerned about taking it - I am 24weeks pg.

My MW, HV & consultant are all aware of the situation, so I do have a good support network in place but I can't seem to shake it & I'm so scared. Yesterday at MW appt there was even talk of a slightly earlier than usual CS - I must be bad, I feel bad, but didn't realise they are potentially THAT bad iykwim..

Sorry this is rambly - my head is spinning & it won't stop, everything is whirling round!

Thanks for any help or support

Missy

Missy, how awful for you.
Take the valium if it has been prescribed. If your dos has given you a script for it, then he/she wil ahve checked it's safety in pg. It will help you get through the next few days.

I hope you are able to receive decent help from thte team.. did your doc give you the emergency number to call? The mental health team usually have one.

I was prescribed valium in the first trimester of my PG for severe pain/ muscle spasms from a kidney infection. According to the leaflet it is contraindicative but I took them as had been prescribed by doc who knew my circumstances and was only temporary. DD is perfectly healthy and happy.

I feel for you, PND (or any kind of depression) is no joke. I hope you get the attention you need. Look after yourself xx

Hi Nicky

Yes I have the number & know the ward manager from previous stay so I know that I can call if I need to.. Just scared really. DS can tell things are wrong and keeps trying to 'make mummy feel better' and telling the baby to not make his mummy sick It's heartbreaking)

We were due to go on holiday in 3 weeks with some family & gp has requested I don't go - it was to Bulgaria skiing. So now going to have to fight the insuranced company for our money back or that's money wasted.
DH is being lovely & asked if maybe a few days at center parks relaxing might help.

I feel so awful, I am the worlds biggest bitch & hell to live with at the moment, yet I don't realise anything is wrong until after and 'episode' when suddenly I am incrediby tired & my head aches so intensively.

I'll take the valium, like you say, it must be ok. When I picked it up the pharmasist said I shouldn't take it within a few weeks of the baby being due though - unsure why..

Just hoping that I get to see someone soon & that I can get through the next few months without things getting worse & dreading getting really bad pnd again.

Can someone not put me into a come until it's all over? I know, I'm terrible even saying that but it's how I feel some days.

This baby is very much loved & wanted but sometimes for a split second I find myself wishing i wasn't pg as I was feeling so well beforehand.

ignore my hellish typing & spelling - my brain is in meltdown & i can't think sorry!

Glad you have good support. Lean on it - you can make it up to them in the future by getting better, that is all they want.
I am sure you are scared - that is totally natural. Try to remember that you got better before and you will this time too. You sound like you have lots of insight into your illness, which is fantastic.

Sorry, got to pop off now.
Will check thread later tonight if poss, or in the morning.
Hang in there!

Thank-you xx

I know how you feel - I'm in a similar but not exactly the same position - 26 weeks pg and prescribed quetiapine which I was taking before I got pregnant. I was feeling fine until last week - pregnancy seems to have a good effect on me but some stress has made me a bit unwell again.

I do agree that it creeps up you - that's one of the problems with mental health - you can wonder if you're imagining it and maybe you can hold on a bit longer.....for me a spell of feeling very well is when I realise how bad I have been. I am worried about the baby,but also realise I need to be well now and for when the baby comes. I'm still struggling though.

Take care xx

Hi electra, sorry to hear that you're also struggling

I have read the leaflet with my tablets & it says that if taken right up to when the baby is due then they may suffer withdrawls or have some trouble feeding. Hope they can find me something else before then as I'd hate that to happen & baby to end up in scbu. But at the same time I need to make sure i'm well enough to look after him.

Sat here in a slight 'drunken like haze' but my head and heard are still racing

I'm like you, until I am totally better - or as much as I get - is the time I'll finally realise how bad I have been. If I know I'm bad right now I am guessing I'm a lot more than I think.

Hoping to see my consultant in a few weeks, I'm hoping he doesn't say baby will be better out then in too soon, but I guess depending on medication it may come to that point I feel like a failure already!

Take care & I hope that you can beat your problems and go on to enjoy your pregnancy & your new lo when they arrive xx

How are things tonight?

How are things MissyK? You mustn't feel like a failure, though. I know that feeling myself but a mental health problem is really just like any other health problem but unfortunately people find them harder to understand.

Hi guys,

Sorry I haven't been on.. yesterday was 'meltdown day' which resulted in me screaming at sh, him storming off to work, me locking the house and crying for an hour with my ds 'trying to make mummy better'.
Dh rung my mum who came round and managed to settle me down - with a little help from the tablets & took me & ds to hers where my dad was waiting with a nice cup of tea and a chair to collapse in while they played with ds.
They took me out for lunch once some time had passed, dad bought ds a train & a me a change bag I'd been wanting for ds2's arrival. (My dad is a man to treat people to make them feel better when he doesn't know what to say, he feels guilty I think as he had been on meds for depression for around 16yrs now & thinks it may be why I get poorly.) I called DH and apologised before heading home & he seemed ok, but still a bit shell shocked by the whole thing
My parents then had ds over night & dh & I went out for dinner and then just sat down in a quiet bar for a while listening to some nice lady play the harp, we were home not long passed 10pm but things seem a lot calmer in the house today.
I am feeling rather good, it's our anniversary today too - together, not wedding - and I'm really hoping we can all have a nice relaxing day & I can keep my enothions in check. - All I need now if for this baby to stop kicking my bladder & making me feel like I might pee myself!!!

Oh, forgot to say, I saw a referral letter to the mental health team & saw bi-polar written on it.. looks like they're testing out an old diagnosis which was dismissed!!

Missy, sometimes reaching a crisis point can help to resolve things a bit - like clearing the air with an argument, I suppose.

Glad you feel a bit better today. You sound like you would be relieved to be given a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Much better to have a diagnosis than to be stumbling around in the dark, eh?

Hope you get that appointment soon and get soem good help.