Anxiety

I have posted before about not being able to sleep. It is really hit or miss. Last night I got 3.5 hours of sleep, but at least had the day off of work because I had a doctor's appointment. I wasn't able to nap at all today. I took Tylenol PM and became so anxious and panicked. It was horrible. Has anyone else had a similar reaction? I got rid of the Tylenol and am still feeling nervous about not sleeping. I have to get up at 6am tomorrow and work all day. I will be 32 weeks tomorrow and am so happy to have reached this milestone, but can't believe that there are another 6 weeks to go (well that is what my doctor says I should aim for).

How are you all coping/ how did you cope?
Thank you.

PS The babies are so active right now, my belly looks like a wave machine.

 

Hey Jennifer ~

I totally understand how you feel, but I am able to take tylenol PM and it doesn't make me any more anxious than I already am! I am not sleeping well either, and sometimes I stress myself out thinking that I should be sleeping, but can't. When I wake up at night, I try not to think about anything that stresses me out. Sometimes I read or practice deep breathing/yoga type things. That helps me take my mind off things and i can normally get back to sleep. I honestly think this is God's way of preparing us for lack of sleep with our newborns!

Take care and good luck!

 

Hi Jennifer,
I have stopped sleeping well since about 26 weeks. My peri says that it is my body getting ready for raising my 2 little guys. It has only gotten worse as the pregnancy has progressed. Fortunately, I stopped working at 28 weeks and can rest during the day. I never know if I will sleep through the night or if I will sleep for half the day.

You are probably getting anxious because you are afraid of not falling asleep and then being tired for work the next day. Will you be stopping work anytime soon? If that's possible, that is what I would recommend.

 

Hi Jennifer ~ :hug:'s to you....
The not sleeping thing was SO difficult for me to handle as well. I think that for the final 2.5 months I would get MAYBE 2 hours of sleep in a row.
I agree with the pp about it preparing you for your little ones to arrive and for those nighttime feedings, but honestly the sleep was SO much better after my babies were born, even though it was the same amount or even less!
Hang in there as best as you can & if the anxiety continues I would let my OB know, there may be something that they can give you that is safe for you to take.

 

I think problems sleeping is pretty common in the stage you are in, I remember it well. Big Hugs. I know how hard it is when all you want to do it sleep and your body just wont let you. Once I had my babies I remember talking to the dr about not being able to sleep due to anxiety, he gave me some good advice, he told me to stop looking at the clock at night. Before that time I constantly looked at the clock all night long, and calculated how much sleep I had gotten and how many hours left until I had to get up for the day. Once I stopped watching the clock at least I wasn't aware of how much sleep I had gotten and I wasn't quite as stressed. He also told me that I will get the amount of sleep I need to function, and that no one ever died from lack of sleep - sounds a little harsh, but having that perspective kind of helped me get through some days.

 

QUOTE(Jennifer2008 @ Sep 16 2008, 10:41 AM) [snapback]981790[/snapback]
I have posted before about not being able to sleep. It is really hit or miss. Last night I got 3.5 hours of sleep, but at least had the day off of work because I had a doctor's appointment. I wasn't able to nap at all today. I took Tylenol PM and became so anxious and panicked. It was horrible. Has anyone else had a similar reaction? I got rid of the Tylenol and am still feeling nervous about not sleeping. I have to get up at 6am tomorrow and work all day. I will be 32 weeks tomorrow and am so happy to have reached this milestone, but can't believe that there are another 6 weeks to go (well that is what my doctor says I should aim for).

How are you all coping/ how did you cope?
Thank you.

PS The babies are so active right now, my belly looks like a wave machine.


:rotflmbo: i so know what you mean by 'wave machine'!!! I thot there's a tsunami going on inside sometimes! Hang in there momma, you're almost there!

 

I have had anxiety reactions from sedatives (though not from Tylenol PM that I can remember). I had it with valerian and also melatonin, and once even with Nyquil. For me, the sensation of being tugged down into sleep can be very scary, and I tend to fight it -- so not only do I not sleep, I get anxious.

Sleeping is really hard at that stage of pregnancy. I was already on bedrest by that point, so at least I didn't have to worry about work, but I still stressed about it.

The thing that has helped me the most (though I actually did this after the birth, it would have helped beforehand too) is a relaxation CD called "Letting Go of Stress." (The counselor that I saw for PPD recommended it.) It sounds really cheesy, but it's just a simple exercise to learn to watch your breathing, do some visualizations, etc. I still use it when I'm having trouble falling asleep. And even if it didn't always send me to sleep, it helped me feel less anxious about everything.

The hint about not watching the clock is good too. Constantly calculating how many hours are left in the night will not help you fall asleep.

:hug: Hang in there, you will sleep well again someday (even if it's hard to imagine).

 

Thank you to everyone for taking the time to answer.

I have heard from at least two people I know that they felt very anxious after taking Tylenol PM and the pharmacist said it is possible to have a counter reaction. Needless to say, I have given away the Tylenol PM (it was bogo at CVS recently). I am still not sleeping well and haven't gotten more than 4 hours any night this week. I am so happy next week is my last week of work, then at least I can just become nocturnal. I will try covering the alarm clock so that I won't be watching the time. I think at some point I will just have to be so exhausted that I sleep, right? In the grand scheme of things I know that I should be grateful that the babies and I are very healthy. The quote that no one ever died from sleep deprivation really helped me.

Thanks again
Jennifer