Postpartum problems

[SarahD0ll]

Hey everyone!

Hope you can help me out. I'm a 22 year old mom, and I'm about 4 months postpartum. I was induced and had a very traumatic delivery. Ever since I gave birth I have had a lot of problems.

I feel like I can't breathe all the time and I feel sickly. Sometimes it flares up out of nowhere and gets really bad. All the tests I've had done come back normal (blood tests, EKG, chest-Xray). The doctors say I am fine but I feel terrible ALL the time! I've been on anti-anxiety and anti-depressants to try and help. The anti-anxiety (benzos) helped a bit, but my doctor won't prescribe anymore. But there is NO relief for my symptoms. It feels like there's something wrong internally inside my body, but it's hard to explain. It is a horrible feeling I have all day, everyday. I also have bad gastric reflux. I just want to feel normal again! One nurse said she thought I had dysautonomia. Another nurse said my body was probably stressed from childbirth and it would take about a year to recover. I sometimes wonder if the epidural was responsible. I eat healthy and exercise. I was perfectly fine before having my baby. Now my quality of life is horrible and I wonder if I will always feel like this! I have no idea what's going on inside my body.

Please help!! :(

[informationplz]

Not fair! I know. What you described sounds similar to my experience. I felt like hell and I knew something was wrong. Most people assumed it was postpartum depression. Others ignored my pleas for help and thought I was exaggerating and seeking attention after a difficult pregnancy and being a new mom caring for a newborn. They were all wrong. It was hypothyroidism. I spent an entire year suffering, (physically and mentally.) But  the worst part was not being able to enjoy that precious time with my baby. He was such a tiny miracle, yet I was in such misery I can barely recall any of it. I got robbed. Anyway, I know you said you're tests came back normal, but I urge you to go to a different doctor. Ask for more tests or to be tested again. The sooner you find out the sooner you can feel better. I don't want you to lose as much time as I did. What a shame. Best wishes to you..

[Multiplicity]

I did suffer postpartum depression and it is very real.  The doctor told me and my husband that he would put me and the baby into the hospital if it did not improve radically within a week or so.  The hormonal changes that take place going into pregnancy and out of pregnancy usually underlay the problem.  I went into the hospital to give birth at 165 lbs. and came out at 125 lbs. and when the doctor gave me the riot act I was about 95 lbs and crying all the time for fear that I would not be able to look after my baby. Thankfully my husband started to help a lot with the baby routine and made sure that I got my rest.  He put the baby and I in the car and drove around for hours so that we could both sleep.  The baby, she was so adorable and is a beautiful woman and mother now herself.  At the time when she was a baby she was in full colic mode.  My husband got up during the night to see to her when he was not working nights.  I finally found out when our daughter was about 9 months old that I had severe hypoglycemia as during the test my blood sugar dropped 8 times below normal in the first 30 minutes of the test. So proper diet for hypoglycemia and supplements and a proper level of water intake later things rapidly improved and our little outgrew her colic at Five months after she had cut six teeth.  There is no easy answer though in the mix of things it does work it self out over time.  I refused to take anything for anxiety as felt that it was something else and turned that the something else was hypoglycemia.

Besides diet and supplements I go out a lot with the carriage and my daughter going for long walks everyday which we both enjoyed.  These days those simple things still work.  Then there is the other item that even now I will treat myself to and that is a relaxation massage.

Let me know how you fare and even in the shadows of circumstance the way clear will be seen.

[Caryopteris]

How much magnesium is in your supplements?  I would recommend taking 500 mg in the morning with calcium and D3 at night.  Make sure you have been checked for anemia.  Rescue Remedy is over-the-counter for anxiety.  I have not tried it.  

Postpartum depression is a real thing.  Exercise and sunshine may get you through it.