https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 07 May 2026 10:48:34 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/postpartum-anxiety#post-2378617 Fri, 04 Dec 2015 20:58:39 +0000 Eko 2378617@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@yellowbird: I don't think mine is directly pp related. It's more being able to manage everything now that I'm a working mom. I've had a lot of not everyday stress (my mom is sick, death in family, etc.). I started seeing a therapist that was recommended through my ob and after a couple sessions she recommended medication. I think if you think it's worse it's worth a discussion with your doctor. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/postpartum-anxiety#post-2378487 Fri, 04 Dec 2015 17:38:32 +0000 yellowbird 2378487@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My ppa is out of control but I also think it's escalated due to the amount of stress I am under currently. I have been wondering if I should up my meds. I never really felt with anxiety before so I can't tell is its actually pp related or just life. I have been getting super dizzy and my thoughts are just so constant I can't focus lately. It's bad. Also lack of sleep makes things way worse. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/postpartum-anxiety#post-2378479 Fri, 04 Dec 2015 17:25:28 +0000 Eko 2378479@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Pumpkin Pie: How old is your LO? My anxiety didn't stem from worrying about LO. I probably exhibited some symptoms while I was on maternity leave, but everything was really exasperated once I started back at work. I have not been able to manage anything. But, my symptoms were a lot of crying at night and being very emotionally detached from everything. The anxiety has greatly debilitated my ability to function. I can't focus and am unable to make choices about anything. I would say that you should talk to your doctor if you feel like you aren't feeling well. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/postpartum-anxiety#post-2378466 Fri, 04 Dec 2015 17:08:50 +0000 gingerbebe 2378466@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Pumpkin Pie: after a year PP they would probably tell you it's general anxiety but that's just based on when they diagnose it. I had tendencies towards depression and anxiety in the past so we were vigilant about watching for it. I got my prescription 10 weeks post partum and I was completely exhausted from my sons colic and reflux but even when my husband would give me a break to sleep I would just lay there unable to sleep. And I would look at the clock in terror bc I couldn't fall asleep and knew I had to take over at a certain time. And then I would have anxiety my husband would be mad at me bc I didn't sleep. I had zero appetite and lost a ton of weight and was force drinking these green vegan shakes mixed with coconut oil to get enough calories for my breastmilk. I was worried I would hurt DS both accidentally and "what if I just snap?" because I was so tired. Or worried my husband was going to die on the way to work and leave me alone with the baby. My husband and ped called my OBGYN and basically there were all like YOU NEED TO GO ON DRUGS THIS IS WHAT WE'VE BEEN WATCHING FOR. Zoloft and DH helping a lot more helped me be able to sleep more and then once my sleep deficit was more or less dealt with I could eat and feel better. I still had a lot of panic and worry but by 8 months PP I really felt like myself again. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/postpartum-anxiety#post-2378456 Fri, 04 Dec 2015 16:56:22 +0000 Pumpkin Pie 2378456@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks for your honest responses. I worry a lot about LO. I'm more worried/anxious with LO than I ever was/thought I would be. I don't know whether its common after having a child, or whether its really PPA. I think it has gotten a little better? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/postpartum-anxiety#post-2378450 Fri, 04 Dec 2015 16:52:30 +0000 Eko 2378450@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PawPrints: Thanks! I guess it is helps feeling like I am taking control of the situation. Getting some sleep definitely helps, haha.<br /> @gingerbebe: Thanks! Hopefully I start to notice a considerable difference soon too. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/postpartum-anxiety#post-2378448 Fri, 04 Dec 2015 16:49:31 +0000 gingerbebe 2378448@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Eko: I was on a full dose for about 4 days when I started feeling better - as in I could target when I was getting anxiety as opposed to it being a constant thing. There were two times of day it was worst so I went on walks during those times, then it was once a day within 10-14 days. The ability to sleep a bit more instead of completely panic also helped. I felt a lot better in just two weeks and weaned off Zoloft without issue within 6 months. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/postpartum-anxiety#post-2378446 Fri, 04 Dec 2015 16:47:50 +0000 PawPrints 2378446@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Eko: It's supposed to take a few weeks to build up in your body and start really working, but I definitely started feeling better sooner than that. Feeling better can be a combination of factors, like the confidence boost just from taking some amount of control over your situation by getting psychiatric help, and talking to a therapist about how you're feeling. If you feel an effect after just a couple days then that is wonderful. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/postpartum-anxiety#post-2378430 Fri, 04 Dec 2015 16:27:55 +0000 Eko 2378430@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PawPrints: do you remember how long it took you to start noticing an affect from the Zoloft? I just started taking it a couple days ago at half the dose and think it's already helping? not sure. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/postpartum-anxiety#post-2378427 Fri, 04 Dec 2015 16:24:19 +0000 HLK208 2378427@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sorrycharlie: hugs :heart: that's exactly what I felt. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/postpartum-anxiety#post-2378055 Fri, 04 Dec 2015 12:07:44 +0000 PawPrints 2378055@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Pumpkin Pie: Yeah it's so, so different from just general worry about your baby. Every time LO was napping I would lie in bed paralyzed with fear, my mouth gone completely dry and my heart pounding through my throat. Not focused on anything specific, just consumed with fear. I could barely eat since food didn't taste good and my mouth was always dry, so I would choke down energy bars to keep nourished. I couldn't enjoy outings or activities because I was constantly focused on the possibility of something going wrong, which is not at all consistent with my normal personality. </p> <p>I am so so glad I was already aware of how effective psychiatric treatment can be for anxiety and depression, having witnessed it in many family members and friends, since that knowledge spurred me to get help as fast as I possibly could. I'm very lucky that I have felt 100% better since just a few weeks after I started treatment. I've asked my psychiatrist if we can wean off the Zoloft and we're going to begin stepping down in January. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/postpartum-anxiety#post-2377975 Fri, 04 Dec 2015 10:50:05 +0000 Eko 2377975@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am 6 mo. pp and started seeing a therapist a couple weeks ago. I am working on getting in to see a psychiatrist. I just started zoloft a few days ago. It feels a little better knowing I am getting help, I don't feel completely as hopeless as I did. I am waiting to see how it goes. </p> <p>My anxiety and depression is not directly related to my baby, but I have sooo much emotionally going on outside my house that the energy that is consumed just from being a mom I can't manage anything else. I'm just tapped. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/postpartum-anxiety#post-2377942 Fri, 04 Dec 2015 10:19:28 +0000 Mamasig 2377942@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Pumpkin Pie: I had anxiety/depression before kids and was on lexapro for years. I had weaned off it a couple of years before kids. But after I had my babies I could feel the anxiousness coming back. You don't feel normal. I was extra sad and would cry a lot. I felt uneasy. It's hard to explain but it's more than just general worry. I felt like I had to act happy, not just be happy. So I went back on lexapro and weaned off of it about 6 months post partum. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/postpartum-anxiety#post-2377854 Fri, 04 Dec 2015 09:11:24 +0000 sorrycharlie 2377854@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Pumpkin Pie: I was also treated while pregnant for depression and antenatal anxiety. My normal anxiety involves triple checking things, worry about scenarios if someone doesn't answer phone, thinking people take what I say the wrong way, don't like me, etc., obsessing over bills and income, the like. </p> <p>Antenatal and PPA for me were obsessing over everything, intrusive obsessions (what If I get hit by a car and die? What will happen to my LO? To the point of literally not sleeping), my biggest trigger was fire. I would stay up all night and obsess over fire escapes, checking detectors, thinking I smelled smoke and walking around sniffing. I wouldn't sleep and would be physically ill from stress. I also had intrusive thoughts play out in my head against my will - I would unload my groceries and walk the cart to the corral, pick up LO and put her in her car seat and go home. All the while, seeing a video play in my head of me leaving her accidentally in the cart still - me leaving, unaware, and seeing her sob. </p> <p>Stuff like that. And it affected my life to the point that I was losing a significant amount of weight postpartum w my first (120 at my lowest, 140 is my normal), my marriage was a wreck because I was a hermit and miserable. </p> <p>Sorry for all the info lol but no one talks about PPA so I try to be real! Lexapro was like a light switch for me. I felt - and feel - like myself again. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/postpartum-anxiety#post-2377714 Fri, 04 Dec 2015 00:48:06 +0000 HLK208 2377714@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Pumpkin Pie: for me, pp anxiety is worrying 24/7 about things that aren't even logical, aren't likely to happen, or are completely out of my control. I've lost sleep because of it and it's been pretty debilitating. </p> <p>My "normal" worrying made sense, I felt happier and more care free (I didn't have PPA/PPD with my second baby so I think I compare how I feel now to how I feel after having my second). Even if I did worry sometimes, it didn't take over my every thought like it has recently (pp with third baby). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/postpartum-anxiety#post-2377679 Thu, 03 Dec 2015 23:58:39 +0000 Pumpkin Pie 2377679@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>How do you know if you have pp anxiety, and not general worry/concern for your child? Is it not normal to worry about your baby? Did you have anxiety before LO? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/postpartum-anxiety#post-2377652 Thu, 03 Dec 2015 23:11:32 +0000 HLK208 2377652@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm 16 months pp and honestly, it just keeps getting worse. I've been exercising regularly, which was helping but it's almost like I've adapted to regular exercise and it no longer helps. I have an appt with my OB next week and I need to start seeing a therapist again. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/postpartum-anxiety#post-2377570 Thu, 03 Dec 2015 21:45:31 +0000 sorrycharlie 2377570@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If you dealt with - or are dealing with - postpartum anxiety, how are you doing?</p> <p>I'm almost 11 months postpartum and I think my PPA has just melded into my pre-existing generalized anxiety disorder. I'm still on Lexapro but we just bumped my dose up a bit. I definitely notice a sharp increase in intrusive thoughts if I miss a dose, too. Ugh. </p> <p>I've been seeing the same psychiatrist since I was 14 weeks pregnant (my local women &amp; infants' hospital's mental health division) and we are talking about switching my prescription care to my PCP. Maybe once I wean DD in the next year it'll feel less like "postpartum" and just anxiety? </p>