Coping with morning sickness and anxiety.

[AnxiousLaura]

Hi.

I took Tuesday off work as I felt terribly sick / was terribly sick.

Turns out that Im pregnant.

Im absolutely over the moon as we were trying BUT I didn't really think it through when it comes down to the sickness.
I have struggled with anxiety all my life and going to work is really hard for me. I do manage it though... Just not when I'm feeling / being sick as that's one of my anxiety triggers.
So since Tuesday I have been off work... Iv told them I have a stomach bug but that can't go on forever.....

Currently feeling really, really on edge / anxious / like I can't breathe.... and on top of that Im throwing up and feeling so so sick.

HELP!!

I have anxiety and emetophobia, so morning sickness was horrendous for me, even though objectively I knew it wasn't that bad.
Some people don't want to, but would you consider anti-sickness medication? I took cyclizine and I don't know how I'd have coped without it because it meant I was able to manage the anxiety so much better because it really did help with the morning sickness.
Obviously in an ideal world you'd work to deal with the anxiety, but in the midst of morning sickness it's might be worth just getting through it for now, and dealing with the anxiety over sickness when you're feeling better.

Congratulations on your pregnancy :)

keep meaning to pm you!

Op I have anxiety and if I feel sick I rewlly struggle to leave the house, it’s like if I’m going to have to feel sick then I can only cope whilst I’m at home (and even then I don’t really cope...). I’ve struggled a lot with constant debilitating terrible nausea and am now 20 weeks. Basically I haven’t worked since I got my bfp (and nausea actually started before then). I find resting helps the nausea and when I have to do stuff it becomes worse so I’ve pretty much cocooned myself away as it’s the only way I can cope. I kmow the last thing you might think you wat to do is eat but that also helped me, comstantly grazing. I’ve had anti sickness medication which has really helped me (I had awful nausea too last pg and it mentally broke me) and an understanding gp who has supported me really well. I’ve alsi been referred to a mentall health nurse to help me cope better. I had to tell work very early on I was pg so they knew why I was away (it was on my sick note) and if you’re off due to pg related issues it’s recorded differently in your records so it doesn’t count against you. All I can say is take every day at a time and concentrate on surviving each day and ticking it off. Worry about work when you can cope with it. Do you know how mnay weeks you are?

Btw to add my anxiety got a lot worse last pg (this isn’t the case for everyone so don’t let that worry you) and I do think that the anxiety made the sickness worse in some kind of vicious circle I was stuck in, this time I’ve made a real effort to do meditations etc to try to keep my anxiety reduced. There is also anxiety medication that can be taken in pg but I personally haven’t gone down that route. Don’t get me wrong, this time has been as tough as anything, I spent weeks crying and have barely left the house in months, but I have lowered expectations of myself.

Thank you so much for your reply...
I haven't heard of this anti sickness medicine but I would absolutely love some.... If it means calming my anxiety down and getting back to work Id be all over that stuff.

Sadly I haven't even been to the doctors about my pregnancy yet as they can't get me in until Monday.... Thats not really helped the situation either.
I don't know if Im ok to still take my anxiety medication or other medications Im on.
I feel so in the dark and alone.

Roll on Monday...

Anxiouslaura what medication are you in for anxiety? Keep taking it until you see your gp as you shoukd never come off it cold turkey. I was on citalopram pre preg and spoke to my gp about its safety in pg so know a little about that one if it’s what you’re on. Have replied to your pm btw :)

I also take citalopram... I have diazepam for when days are really bad and I NEED to get to work.
Not sure if the citalopram is currently working as I keep throwing up.

Ok so my gp got advice from a psychiatrist about whether I could take citalopram in pg. I was told although it’s not a drug that they actively would start someone on during pg, advice generally is that it’s ok during pg but I would have needed to weaned myself off it during the third trimester so that I had stopped by birth or else the baby could have withdrawl after birth. They said they could swap me to another medication more frequently prescribed during pg if I preferred. Some gps wrongly tell people to stop cold turkey on citalopram when they find out they’re pg but this isn’t the recommended route. I decided to come off it before getting pg and am now totally off it.

Is there a tie of day you feel less sick? Sometimes people are more sick in mornings or evenings, so if that’s the case you coukd change when you take the medicine so it has more chance of staying down.