Info About Panic-Anxiety

I'm sorry to read that you aren't doing well. My partner had bad panic-anxiety and it took work but with work we were able to turn things around for him and he doesn't need meds.

Eat regular meals and snacks to help keep your blood sugar level up

Reduce stress, incorporate activities for exercise that you enjoy to help relieve stress more

Consider any nutritional deficiencies you might have. My partner was a vegetarian for years and even though he would eat the occassional piece of organic chicken or fish, he saw big improvements when we added in zinc, arginine and carnetine into his diet.

Arginine is known to help support the adrenals though how much is safe to take in pregnancy is questionable.



Also note that from a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)perspective, pregnancy uses a lot of the kidney energy. Particularly in early pregnancy as your body is making a lot of pretty monumental shifts. I noticed this in myself as I had lots of pains in my inner ankles and feet that were on my kidney channels. The symptoms you are having are also related to the kidney channel. I also found I couldn't sleep at night -- another symptom of your kidney energy being off. I continued seeing my acupuncturist throughout the first 10 weeks of my pregnancy and I thought it was a help for my symptoms, particularly for helping get rid of the throbbing pain in my ankles.

You might consider acupuncture treatment to see if it might help your body to adjust a little easier.

I've posted about natural treatments and lifestyle changes my partner made to deal with his panic/anxiety and it worked to the point that he didn't need to take meds any more.

Re: Panic attack/anxiety/ unbearable fear

Cut back on sugar, caffeine, simple carbs
Keep blood sugar levels up
Get regular exercise
Stay hydrated
Eat more protein
Lower stress levels -- reduce responsibilities, take mental breaks, don't take things so seriously...your health is more important
Try aromatherapy with lavendar and geranium
(there are herbs one can use -- Passion Flower, Kava, Valerian but I wouldn't use them in pg)
Go get a massage
Listen to music, go out with friends, smile, read, knit, paint, meditate

I also wanted to add that one of the things that helped was going to Barnes & Noble and looking up books in their health section about panic/anxiety. Amazon.com also has loads of books with reviews from people who have been able to help themselves with the information in these self-help books. We found tips for diet, exercise, attitude, aromatherapy and all together they helped.

You also might want to learn more about how your nervous system functions, particularly things that help trigger the parasympathetic nervous system which can help reduce your symptoms. Not many people understand the dynamic between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system functions. I read recently that shifting the focus of your eyes to use the peripheral vision can help to get your parasympathetic kicked in.

http://www.stress-anxiety-depression.org/

I also wanted to add that this past week my body was freaking out and getting more and more stressed. I don't know what I was doing to trigger it but it wasn't getting better. Finally I made an appointment for a massage in the middle of the workday (thankfully there's a spa on the next block). I only got my lower legs and feet done -- a quickie massage -- but it helped me out soooooo much. Sometimes I think we just need to give our body a hand so don't rule out getting some massages as well.

And of course you could take meds, but I'm of the opinion and have seen it work first-hand, that trying to help deal with the underlying conditions is the best way to start.

Doctors aren't trained in treating conditions in this manner so they won't even suggest it (you could be living on potato chips for all they know or care). Even today the American medical student gets less than 30 hours total information on nutrition during their education and that's dispersed throughout their curriculum.

I did think of one other thing yesterday, I was watching a documentary a few months ago on cable about panic/anxiety and it mentioned that people who experience it are much more sensitive to carbon dioxide levels in their blood. As part of the panic/anxiety reaction causes you to breath less deeply you need to try to also counter this by slowing down and taking deep breaths and filling your lungs all the way.

I hope that you are able to get results soon.

Sperm Chromatin Damage from SSRIs

There's a study underway right now, I just read about it but it totally underscores what I suspected based on our experience with my partner's sperm count and subsequent improvement when we got him off of Paxil and onto vitamins to deal with some nutritional deficiences -- from 2% morphology to 5% morphology in just four months. We've not ever had his sperm chromatin checked but take heed -- those SSRIs aren't necessarily helpful for all of what ails you.

Federal Grant Awarded to Study Effects of Antidepressants on Male Reproductive Health

Study on Antidepressants and Male Fertility Generates International Interest

WSU Spokane Scientists Launch Clinical Research

We had doctors tell us along the way that SSRI meds for panic-anxiety that my partner took didn't affect fertility but when I read the fine print their tests on rats left a question mark. He got off of Paxil and his count increased.

Then they told us that morphology was something that you are born with and there is nothing to be done about it but he had a vasectomy and reversal and I found it hard to believe that might not contribute.

They also said there was nothing you could take, or do to improve MFI but we didn't give up. My partner saw a naturopath and was Dx as being hypoglycemic so he changed his diet and eating habits and he's felt a lot better since.

They told us IVF/ICSI was the only way but they would take us through a progression -- abdominal surgery for me with 3 months recovery (and 3-4 weeks missed work) before we could try again, then try naturally for 3 months, then try IUI/Clomid for 3 months and then move on to ICSI. We were devastated.

We watched and read the stories of the other couples online who succeeded in spite of similar low morphology and had hope. I noted every instance of slight improvement and finally looked up all of the anti-oxidents and nutritional supplements that people were trying. He's been taking those for 6 months and coincidently hasn't had any problems with panic-anxiety. He started walking to work each day as he was able and he's feeling great.

Then we just tried to maximize the odds (plus I did a bunch myself to improve my fertility since my fibroid was an issue as well) and kept our fingers crossed but I thought for sure it wouldn't work, we were hopeless and intervention might be the only way. But then my period was late and my breasts were large, my body was hot and I took the test and we got our first positive pg test.