[jennieana]

I am so glad i found this post. I have been taking antidepressants and xanex for years.....i recently found out that i was pregnant (about 8 wks) and have been scared to death about the health of my baby. I have cut down on the amount i am taking but it is now 2:30am and i can not sleep. I have also been having severe anxiety attacks to where i feel like i cant breath. I am embarrased to even be on this while i am pregnant but knowing that i am not alone is a huge help. thank you all so much!!!!

[sjnalm412]

Bizzlez_girl_88 :
I am going through the same issue with my fiance being in jail except I am only under five weeks pregnant. On top of all that stress I had a still born daughter in January of 2010. I carried her full term. I am terrified of it happening again. We should talk tthough.

[Annaboodle]

Originally Posted by rebeccabaltimore and more

I do have experience. I took Valium during my last pregnancy. I took 5mg pills. I didn't take many in the first trimester because I feared cleft palate, but I took one a day in the second trimester. My psychiatrist consulted the leading medical expert in the world of psychiatric medications during pregnancy, and she conformed that Valium is safe to take at moderate levels during pregnancy. (Her name is Jennifer Payne and she runs the Women and Mood Disorders Clinic at Johns Hopkins Hospital incase you are interested.) In the words of my psychiatrist, "Valium is perfectly safe in pregnancy provided you are not taking huge doses of it like Marilyn Monroe or a 1960's housewife."

As you can see from my signature, my son was stillborn, but it was not in any way related to Valium usage, or any other drug for that matter. I was diabetic and no one knew it, and that's what made him sick.

I am currently TTC and hope to be pregnant soon, and I am using Valium.

Hi Rebecca, I just joined here today. I know you posted this message a long time ago now, but I felt I wanted to reply to say thank you so much.

I suffered a silent miscarriage four weeks ago at 12 weeks PG (no heartbeat found at scan). I had been taking 5mg of prescribed Valium due to anxiety disorder when I found out I was pregnant. Weaned myself off it over a few weeks, which was nightmarish in terms of side effects. But I have since been beating myself up, to put it mildly - torturing myself would be more accurate a description - that it was the Valium that may have caused my miscarriage. Like the other posters here, I had received some horrible, judgmental comments on other message boards about this. These comments were in spite of the fact I'd been told by medics that I wasn't ovulating so this pregnancy was a total surprise (not that that should make a difference, what is it with people who seem to want to make a person feel worse when something like this has happened). Though for anyone getting the same medical advice I was about ovulation, miracles do happen as I have a beautiful 7 year old, so something somehow is working!

Anyway, I'm rambling on. I just wanted to say thank you to you from the bottom of my heart for your post. I got all these spiteful comments elsewhere and then I find your well-informed, reassuring, actually backed up by genuine medical expert advice of a post. I cried with relief when I read it.

Thank you and kind wishes,

Fran

[jheckle81]

I just wanted to respond to this thread, though I know it's old. I have a rare muscle condition and have had to take Valium all my life. I was freaked how it would effect my children, but managed to get to such a low dose (5mg/day, some days I would skip all together or take half if I could) my doctors, the perintologist, and my neurologist all assured me the dose was so low, it would not affect my baby. And my daughter Kaleigh was born healthy and happy at 37 wks and is now 4 years old and fine. My son Jackson was born 6 wks early due to my severe preeclampsia, and he shows symptoms of having my muscle condition, as well as possible asthma, due mainly to his prematurity, so so far, none of my babies have had any issues b/c of low dose valium, and I took it all thru pregnancy, even the first trimester. I am currently 17 wks pregnant now and have just basically stuck with my usual 5 mg. I so wish I could be off Valium as I hate being dependant on a drug, and despite my healthy children, hate that I have to take it during pregnancy, (though I'm not worried about side effects to them anymore), I just am sick of being on it. (I'm 31yrs old). But when I do try to go off it, even a slow weaning process, I don't know if it's the withdrawl, or my condition, or both, but I can't function, can't walk properly mainly b/c I'm so shaky, off balance, dizzy, jumpy, etc. I surely wouldn't trust myself to hold an infant, so as for this stage in my life with young children, I keep on with the Valium, and to hell with people who treat you bad for it. I have healthy kids, many doctors approval, and a calmer pregnancy (and overall quality of life) when on it. At least for now. When that will change, I don't know. But if it's working for you and you're on a low dose, don't sweat the critics. The stress is worse for you than the Valium.

[Miss Morriss]

I am laying in hospital right now waiting to find out if I'm having a miscarriage.. I have been taking Valium on and off for a few months...

[rnelson801]

I'm on 10 mg a day and have severe anxiety everyone says I'm killing my baby even though all my doctors say its okay. The stress my boyfriends family is putting on me about it is making it a lot worse to where I'm crying daily. I started passing kidney stones and now everyone is on me because I needed pain medication. I'm 10 weeks along is this really that unsafe.

[mooksmom]

Hi...so glad I found this post. Just found out I am pregnant and was taking 10mg once a day since March 2012. I tried to quit completely ASAP but experienced rapid heartbeat & palpatations, panic attacks, rage, etc. It was horrible. So I spoke to my dr. about a plan to taper off. Had no clue how addictive diazepam could be (to my body, at least).

I am currently reducing by 1mg every 2 weeks, right now at 9mg and will reduce to 8mg on Monday. So far a little bit of nervousness and my heart rate is high, but the slow taper is better than quitting "cold turkey". I just want to say thank you to everyone that commented on this thread, I found it very reassuring and my husband doesn't understand at all. He thinks I should just be able to stop the diazepam immediately so I feel very alone with no one to talk to. I'm so scared the medication could affect the baby.

I'm a SAHM mom to a two 1/2 year old with sensory processing disorder (he dooesn't chew any food) and we have him in both private feeding therapy and our state's early intervention program. We've had little success with both, all he will eat is Stage 3 baby food and regular oatmeal with mashed banana. I also try to stay busy with a freelance administrative assistant business. But there's a lot of stressors and I just hope I'll be able to handle not being on any type of anti-anxiety meds for the duration of the pregnancy. Thank you for giving me hope. :-)

[LBOH]

I am 7 weeks pregnant and just found out a week ago. Before getting pregnant I was put through the surgical ringer when my kidney fell into my abdomen and had to have this crazy surgery to tack it back into place which went terribly wrong and resulted in an abdominal hernia because the sutures were tied to tightly around my iliolingual nerve. Following that I had to have the perm sutures removed from that surgery to stop the pain. The kidney pain never stopped and I was referred up to George Washington University Hospital in DC so have the surgery reversed and my kidney tacked to the back of my liver. While in there they found stage 3 endometriosis which they removed during the same surgery. Needless to say I have had 10 surgeries in the last 5 years and with all the scar tissue and nerve damage my doctors have had me on valium for severe muscle spasms and anxiety. I take 5 mg 2 to 3 times a day. Since finding out I was pregnant and reading stuff online I stopped taking it but I am in so much pain I cannot get off the couch. Im not really sure what to do. What are the risks of cleft palate's this early on in the pregnancy? Im still in the 1st trimester. Do I just stick it out or is it safe to take at a low dose as needed. I dont need them every day. Maybe 1 or 2 every week or so. Thanks. Any input would be great

Melody

[Allie123]

Originally Posted by rnelson801

I'm on 10 mg a day and have severe anxiety everyone says I'm killing my baby even though all my doctors say its okay. The stress my boyfriends family is putting on me about it is making it a lot worse to where I'm crying daily. I started passing kidney stones and now everyone is on me because I needed pain medication. I'm 10 weeks along is this really that unsafe.

There are risk associated with talking valium during pregnancy but you have to consider the dangers of getting off your medications too. I found this great FREE hotline called Mother to Baby. They can give you all the information you need to help you weigh the dangers and benefits of your medication during your pregnancy and while you're breastfeeding.

The number is 1-800-733-4727

Hope this helps!