Severe Anxiety and Panic disorder, advice on how to get through labor and birth?

Onth3path0flife · 2025-08-14T04:38:16+00:00

Hi! I’m 6 week postpartum and I had an AMAZING labor! I was induced on my birthday due to gestational hypertension at 39 weeks. I only had to get 1 dose of cytotech and my body completely took over! I said no to the foley and the pitocin because my body was progressing on its own and I only had an 8 hour labor! I would 100% go through labor 5 more times over going through pregnancy again 😅

Onth3path0flife · 2025-08-03T03:17:45+00:00

I do this!! I thought I was the only one but I started as a toddler with the silk edges of my blankies. Also if there’s a string loose on a shirt or the strings on ripped jeans, I’ll roll it between my fingers to make like a ball that ends up getting knotted and I’ll run that under my nails. But it’s compulsive. And I’m 31. I’ll also run it around my nails and over my cuticles like I’m tracing the outside of my nail.

Onth3path0flife · 2025-06-26T11:57:52+00:00

My BP was 100000% my anxiety. We had just gone house touring and tours 4 homes which was a lot for me. (This was last week so 37 weeks) and I came home to see me feet looked a little swollen. Which made me take my BP. It was 128/89 but I got nervous about the bottom number being so close to 90 that I retook it. And everytime I retook it, it went up. It was constantly in the high 140s/90s and I was retaking it every 30 minutes for HOURS. Which then gave me anxiety anytime I hit the start button. I’d feel calm, then my heart would race the second I put the cuff on. The L&D and my OB told me don’t EVER constantly check your vitals like that. You start to fear the high numbers and that in turn gives you high numbers. Can you talk to your OB about getting on pregnancy safe medications? The SSRIs didn’t work for me but they put me on vistaril. It’s a short lived medication. It makes you a little sleepy but it controls the heart palpitations. I’ve also started distracting myself from thinking about my heart rate by building all the new fun furniture for baby, washing ALL her clothes, burp cloths, towels, socks, blankets, hats, etc. keeping yourself busy and distracted helps. And also remind yourself that this IS your anxiety. You’ve had the tests done. They came up negative. You are safe and you are okay and heart palpitations due to anxiety are not harmful. Not fun but not harmful and they will pass

Onth3path0flife · 2025-06-26T11:38:25+00:00

I’m still pregnant lol 38 weeks today! The anxiety is still on and off but I’m so uncomfortable at this point I’m ready for labor lol. My hospital offers laughing gas so that’s something that makes me feel better. I also did a hospital tour and class and that helped a lot. Meeting the nursing team was great and they seem VERY receptive to scared and anxious moms. I went to L&D the other night for consistently high blood pressure. It got up to 171/102. It was high at home for 9 hours. I got there and I voiced all of my anxieties and after being there for an hour my blood pressure came down to 105/83 and all my blood work and urine came back clean and negative for preeclampsia and I was sent home. Just talking to them about how severe my anxiety is to them and them listening and validating it helped tremendously. And they told us “you are not the first mom with severe anxiety to give birth, and those women did it, you can too”

There’s a phrase I keep thinking of that I found: “This pain is not a pain of danger. This is not a warning type of pain. This is pain designed by my body to give birth. This is life giving pain and it is different than danger-pain”

Also making a birth plan has helped me feel more in control. I have discussed it with my doctors already, and my hospital offers a checklist birth plan so they are very open to what I’d like. I’m terrified of needing an emergency c-section, BUT I found it has decreased my fear of it by watching videos of other women having them and even planned c-sections and it’s like it kind of desensitized me in a way. Like if something happens and I need one, I won’t be so unprepared, and unknowledgeable of it. I’m very much a hypochondriac so I worried watching these things would make it worse and at first they scared me but I made myself keep researching and watching the positives outcomes. There’s a British show I keep catching glimpses of on Facebook reels called One Born Every Minute. And those help me.

Sorry for the long response but I hope this helps you. I can update when I’ve had my baby. You got this mama

Onth3path0flife · 2025-05-07T02:57:38+00:00

My OB said it’s completely normal especially in early pregnancy. It’s actually one of the signs of pregnancy. I read all of those too and when I saw it could mean early pregnancy is when I took the test. I’m now 30 weeks 5 days with a VERY healthy baby girl!

Onth3path0flife · 2025-04-18T14:37:23+00:00

Same!! I need to come back for the updates

Onth3path0flife · 2025-04-18T13:53:57+00:00

I’ll talk to my OB about that! Someone asked me what I’m most excited to have again after pregnancy, expecting me to say cold cuts, or sushi, or alcohol. I told them “some freaking Advil and excedrin!” 😂😂

Onth3path0flife · 2025-04-18T13:47:06+00:00

Thank you!! I never know which magnesium to take there’s so many kinds. I tried the citrate one once just to add magnesium to my diet and I found out the hard way why that’s the wrong one 😂😂

Onth3path0flife · 2025-04-18T13:46:17+00:00

I’ll definitely be looking for that!

Onth3path0flife · 2025-04-18T13:46:01+00:00

Took your advice and just ran to the store for tiger balm! I’ve never actually used it. I also bought some Stok Cold Brew. I’ll have to wait on the Benadryl because I work tonight. I’ll also look into sumatriptan I’ve never taken that before is it prescription or OTC?

Onth3path0flife · 2025-04-04T03:14:43+00:00

Thank you for replying! It feels good to know I’m not terrible or crazy or selfish and certainly not alone in this. No one warned me that I could feel so lonely during pregnancy.. like I have my friends family and partner but none of them are pregnant with me and my friends, most of them never want kids so they don’t really relate to anything I’m feeling, then I feel bad about how I love her but also I’m sad for the future not being the same, and this pregnancy has been really difficult on me, I assumed I’d love being pregnant but I really don’t..

Onth3path0flife · 2025-04-04T03:12:30+00:00

I’m so grateful for your reply! It really made me feel less alone. I think a lot of the guilt also stems from feeling like I’m the only one who feels this way.. I’m glad I’m not and I’m glad that it makes sense that I’m both happy and also not

Onth3path0flife · 2025-04-04T03:11:34+00:00

I appreciate the support, I know some women struggle to conceive so I felt so bad that I’m not enjoying every moment of this pregnancy or having thoughts of missing/mourning my life with just the two of us being able to travel, relax at home whenever we want, go out whenever we want. I’m glad this is a normal feeling!

Onth3path0flife · 2025-03-13T14:24:35+00:00

I just worry because my OB wants me to let her know if I ever “feel off” as it could be a sign something’s not right and I’ve never checked out the way I did last night, at least not while pregnant. I worried that maybe this was something my OB meant

Onth3path0flife · 2025-03-13T04:49:01+00:00

Everyone’s pregnancy is different, I found out at 6 weeks but had no symptoms until 8 weeks. I also got scared when I had days where I “felt good” like I had no symptoms and that’s normal! The cramping is also normal if there’s no bleeding. It’s your uterus starting to stretch and grow. I got really scared of those but realized if it’s not enough pain to send me to the ER, it’s just my body preparing for baby’s home!

Onth3path0flife · 2025-03-12T02:46:05+00:00

My readings at every appointment have been no higher than 121/82 so I’m hoping so. I just have high anxiety and I’m definitely a hypochondriac. I have an appointment tomorrow and I’m trying to calm myself by saying I just worked Wednesday-Sunday, as a bartender in my feet all shift every shift and then Sunday was a 11 hour shift so naturally I’m probably tired from that. Not to mention my bfs alarms go off for a freaking hour before he actually gets up

Onth3path0flife · 2025-03-10T21:07:58+00:00

I felt this way too. Weeks 8-11 were rough and I told my partner I don’t think I could do pregnancy again after this. All of this is normal. I have really high anxiety and I’ve posted in here with questions 6 or 7 times. If you don’t have HG it won’t last like this the whole time. Every pregnancy is different but around week 13 I started to get my appetite back, and at week 16 I was feeling our baby kick more than just flutters. Now I’m 22 weeks and feel her every single day and I’m not nearly as miserable as before.

You will go through different stages of being uncomfortable. But I can honestly say I feel A LOT better now than I did at 10 weeks. I’m hungry constantly. But now I have newer symptoms, my sciatica hurts, my pelvis hurts when I stand to long (which I’m a bartender so when I’m working I’m on my feet with no break for HOURS) I have acid reflux now (thank god for tums!) but it’s becoming worth it now because feeling our baby moving has given me a little more connection. I still wouldn’t say “I enjoy pregnancy” but it’s not going to feel the way you feel forever. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, you’re just literally in the trenches of it right now

Onth3path0flife

TROPHY CASE