![]() ![]() I am thankful to have found this site and hear of other women who have suffered similar to me. The last 5 months have been an absolute nightmare, and I can’t imagine how I will get through labor and raising an infant. My heart continues to race and I can not sleep. I have tried anything and everything natural: warm baths/epsom salts, essential oils, deep breathing, meditation, CBT, acupuncture and herbal chinese medicine, melatonin, as well as flotation therapy. I have tried my absolute best to make it through this pregnancy unmedicated, but I feel as if I am barely surviving. If I do dose off my heart racing wakes me up. My heart races all day long, and all night long, preventing me from being able to relax and sleep. I haven’t had one full nights sleep in 5months, and am barely surviving. Like many women on this site, I have been unable to sleep more than 2-3 hrs a night. Since I found out I was pregnant in February I gave up my medicating cold turkey. No sleep medications on their own have ever worked for me, and I have tried many over the last 10 years. I have had chronic insomnia since I was 10 years old, and for the past 5 years, the only way I have been able to sleep was from taking Remeron combined with smoking marijuana. I am 21 weeks pregnant and suffer from severe anxiety and insomnia and have a PTSD, and have been prescribed this medication. It is a tricyclic agent, used for anxiety and insomnia. I am wondering if anyone has any information on the medication Doxepin. What are my choices if I want to have a baby? For all those suffering out there, I hear you! But over the counter sleep medication (Tylenol PM, Unisom, Benadryl) simply keeps me awake and prescription sleep medication is off limits, according to my doc. I can’t live like this – I can’t take care of myself properly in this state and can’t imagine nurturing a baby in my womb when I am like this. I have gone off of it and gone back to my horrible insomnia of 2-3 hours of sleep a night. My husband and I are now trying to get pregnant and my OB says no to Trazodone. I have also spent years refining my sleep hygiene, doing biofeedback and behavioral therapy to do everything possible to try and ensure good sleep (which I am generally able to do now, though it’s still hard). I’ve spent years of my life on Ambien and other sleep medications, but about five years ago was able to go off all of those and simply stay on Trazodone. I have worked with my doctors for 15+ years on proper medications for sleep. I’ve had primary insomnia (idiopathic) since childhood. ![]() The risk of malformation is confined to the first trimester when lip and palate formation take place thus, benzodiazepines when used later in pregnancy do not carry this tertogentic risk. Pooling the data suggests that this risk– if it exists - is estimated to be 0.7%. Although initial reports suggested that there may be an increased risk of cleft lip and cleft palate, more recent reports have shown no association between exposure to benzodiazepines and risk for cleft lip or palate. There is some controversy regarding the use of benzodiazepines during pregnancy. Benzodiazepines, including Ativan (lorazepam) and Klonopin (clonazepam) may also be useful. Sedating tricyclic antidepressants, such as amitriptyline or nortriptyline, may be a better choice for women with sleep disturbance and have not been associated been associated with an increase in risk of congenital malformation. Although Ambien (zolpidem) and other sedative-hypnotic agents, including Lunesta (eszopiclone) and Sonata (zalepion), are commonly prescribed to women with sleep disturbance, the data regarding their reproductive safety is limited and generally we try to avoid their use during pregnancy. While certain strategies may help to improve sleep quality, some women may require some type of pharmacologic intervention. ( More information on the treatment of depression and anxiety during pregnancy can be found here.) Typically antidepressants, including fluoxetine (Prozac) and the older tricyclic agents (including nortriptyline and amitriptyline) are used in this setting. ![]() Treating the underlying disorder may improve sleep quality. Many women with depression or anxiety have difficulty falling asleep or they wake early and are unable to return to sleep. Sleep disturbance may also be a symptom of depression or an anxiety disorder, thus it is important to screen for these problems. There are many different causes for sleep disturbance during pregnancy, and choosing the appropriate intervention relies on an accurate diagnosis of the problem.Ĭertain sleep disorders, such as restless leg syndrome and sleep apnea, are more common during pregnancy and may cause significant sleep disruption. Most women experience some degree of sleep disturbance during pregnancy, and for a significant number of women sleep disruption may be quite severe. ![]()
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