Pregnancy and Panic Attacks (pls read)

Hi ladies,


I just wanted to share with you an experience i had. Especially to those of you who have had panic attacks.


I am currently 6 weeks pregnant. Two nights ago, just as i was about to sleep, i suddenly felt my heart racing and i felt like i couldn't breathe. I knew i was having a panic attack as i get them sometimes when i am on planes but have never experienced it at home. I went to a public hospital and i told the doctor what i was feeling, that i felt i was losing control and really wanted medication. The closest description i can give you of the feeling was that it felt like i was being buried alive.


The doctor, seeing that i was unstable and had had the attack for longer than two hours, admitted me. I was put in a ward where i was not allowed to leave on my own. I went without meds through the night with heart palpitations and shortness of breath.


I was told the psychiatrist would come at some point in the coming days and because i didn't want to stay in the hospital, my mother came to see me and asked the nurse to discharge me as she wanted to send me to a private hospital so she could stay with me through the night. It was then that she was told that i was not allowed to be discharged by anyone and that she was not even allowed to take me out of the ward for a walk. My mother asked what they would do if i had an attack during the night and the nurse told her that because the psychiatrist had not seen me, they would have to put me in a shirt with long sleeves and tie me up (similar to a strait jacket). My mum, having had the attacks herself in her pregnancy told the nurses that i was not insane and that it would only make the matter worse. The nurses told her that this was protocol. Upon hearing this, my mother left and her and my husband called the hospital throughout the night to find a way of discharging me.


This afternoon, my husband and mother got their way and i was discharged. Whilst there, i spoke to other patients and was told of cases where patients making too much noise or seemingly 'not normal' were tied up to the bed or a chair.


I have always been understanding of the public health system as staff are overworked but i cannot believe that in 2007, this is the protocol.


I have read that panic attacks are common in pregnancy and i sincerely do not want any of you ladies or even ladies you know to have to ever go through this. This is not a complaint or a political message. I just really don't wish this experience upon anyone. I will be seeing a psychiatrist tomorrow as i was told that the crazy hormones in pregnancy make us more prone to anxiety and panic attacks. If anyone has these attacks and need help, plese message me and i will pass on the detail of the doc.


Thanks, and baby dust to everyone!

babeez,


What a terrible experience!!! I couldn't believe the strait jacket bit...yes, the public system here are overworked but at the end of the day, it is a hospital and it isn't supposed to freak you out like that! I truly hope that this is a one off experience and that it doesn't return.


Take care!

Thanks for your kind words, Blessed. My mother tells me that when she was in hospital, an old lady in the bed opposite her own was tied up with the long sleeves because the nurses said 'she was moving too much and didn't want her to fall off the bed'.

Scary.

Annerley child and health specialists Lyndhurt Terrace www.annerley.com.hk have an australian nurse who specialises in emotional well being for woman who are pregnant ante natal and post natal home visits and clinic appointments