What can I take for anxiety while BFing?

[MamaWillow]

I am insanely afraid of flying and I'm going on a trip at the end of the month. I am freaking out. It's two flights, the longest is only 3ish hours, but I think I'm going to lose it if I am THIS anxious even before getting on the plane.

My DD is coming with me so I will be nursing on demand the whole time. Can I take Xanax or Ativan? If not is there anything else I can do? My mom suggested Benedryl but that puts me in a very strange fog and I don't think I could care for my baby if I were so out of it.

[crunchymamaNY]

I took zoloft, but I'm thinking you may need something that is going to be effective immediatly. I'm wondering if you can take xanax? Zoloft takes a few weeks to work. Anything you take that is medically prescribed may be addicting. I had to slowly go off it over a period of time. Good luck to you! Options are limited with nursing mamas, but talk to your dr about it, and I'm sure they can find something that works!

[eragsdale]

drugs are meant for long time use and don't level out until about week 2. If you are needing something just for the trip I would suggest some Essential Oils (Lavender is really good) or going to your Health Food Store and see if they have something that you can take.

[jenmm]

For short term use, I'd recommend Rescue Remedy. It's a floral essence.

[crunchymamaNY]

oh yeah....I remember taking rescue remedy too.

[eragsdale]

Originally Posted by jenmm For short term use, I'd recommend Rescue Remedy. It's a floral essence.

[kej]

Originally Posted by eragsdale drugs are meant for long time use and don't level out until about week 2. If you are needing something just for the trip I would suggest some Essential Oils (Lavender is really good) or going to your Health Food Store and see if they have something that you can take.

I was going to recommend lavendar oil as well. And it works on fussy babies!

[Kriket]

be careful if you respond weird to benedryl. I get loopy w/ benedryl too and I may have participated in unsavory pill useage as a young adult. xanax makes me a drooling, incoherent zombie. even if it was safe to BF i would be so stupid i shouldn't hold a baby to try.

[MamaWillow]

Yeah, SSRIs like zoloft and paxil take a few weeks to work, but xanax is immediate. I've taken it before (not BFing) and it works really well for me if I take the smallest dose (like half of a pill). I'm just wondering if it's safe during BFing. Rescue Remedy doesn't really do it for me, I'm not just a little nervous, it's serious anxiety, I feel like I'm going to puke, I have diarrhea, etc. I would ask my doctor but she is a little more cavalier about drugs and babies than I am...she said it was ok to take some stuff during pregnancy that I totally didn't agree with. So I dunno.....

[VeganCupcake]

Cal the Infant Risk Center at (806)-352-2519, M-F 8 to 5 central time. They will have the most up-to-date information.

Also, Kellymom says this about sedation (but in relation to dental work):

Triazolam and diazepam are used as oral pre-operative sedatives, often taken one hour prior to a procedure with a sip of water. If a patient is breastfeeding, the oral sedative of choice would be triazolam with a half life of 1.5-5.5 hours compared to diazepam's half life of 43 hours. Some pediatric concerns of poor suckling, lethargy and sedation have been reported with Valium. The milk to plasma ratio with Valium has been reported to be as high as 2.8.

http://kellymom.com/health/meds/sedation.html