Normal to feel like you’re dying after birth?

[Anonymous]

You need a psychiatrist and not just your OB or PCP. If you tell us where you are, we
Will give you names.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes breast is not best bc it is so harmful to the mom. I had a terrible time breastfeeding and so with my third I started with formula within a few days - it was a lifesaver. The suggestion of having your wife or mom take the 7pm to midnight shift and using formula seems worth trying. If that doesn’t help then you’ll know that maybe lack of sleep isn’t the cause.

[Anonymous]

Just saw that someone suggested retained placenta. That is worth looking into.

But i still think it’s sleep.

Your LC is so wrong. Typical for them, but wrong. It’s actually great to introduce a bottle right away so they’ll get used to it and can take it if there’sa need later on. Pump milk and take shifts, that is what I did to recover. One person does bedtime to midnight, another does 12-3, another does 3-7. You have all this venmo! Use it. I breastfed for 2.5 years. I combo fed from birth to 2 months, then exclusively breastfed from 2-6 months, then back to combo feeding plus solids. No trouble at all with any of those transitions. Nipple confusion is a myth used to scare women into exclusive breastfeeding. It isn’t real.

[Anonymous]

Did they give you pain medication for the tearing? Pain meds make me feel like this. Tired but can’t sleep and nauseous.

And what are you eating? Your caloric intake is almost doubled right now. If you aren’t eating enough including lots of protein and fat your body is going to feel very weak. Something fatty and carbs will help absorb stomach acids and help with the r nausea too. I think sometimes healthy eaters don’t realize the adjustment they need to make. Eat like michael Phelps training for the Olympics. I lost 20 pounds breastfeeding even though I ate like a sumo wrestler.

I also had a cloister feeder and I rigged up a situation where I could recline and sleep while baby was at breast. If you can do that, do it and make your wife sit up and watch if you’re worried about dropping baby.

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm not a doctor but I'd really consider going to the ER.

Feeling so exhausted you can't imagine making it through to the next day is one thing. You can't get through one more moment without relief. I've been there.

Feeling sure you're going to die is a different thing, I think, and my layman's understanding is that in general this feeling can mean your body is telling you something is very, very wrong. A lot of not easily visible things can go wrong after childbirth and sometimes doctors don't take women seriously enough. Op, I really hope you get THOROUGHLY checked out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I'm not a doctor but I'd really consider going to the ER.

Feeling so exhausted you can't imagine making it through to the next day is one thing. You can't get through one more moment without relief. I've been there.

Feeling sure you're going to die is a different thing, I think, and my layman's understanding is that in general this feeling can mean your body is telling you something is very, very wrong. A lot of not easily visible things can go wrong after childbirth and sometimes doctors don't take women seriously enough. Op, I really hope you get THOROUGHLY checked out.

2nd this. Get checked out.

[Anonymous]

Also wanted to ask if you are consuming enough water and salt — without enough of either you will definitely feel weak, achy, nauseous. You need a lot more with breastfeeding and you probably lost a lot of fluids with childbirth.

[Anonymous]

My wife and mom gave me 4 hours to sleep. Wife set up room with sound machine, weighted blanket and ASMR. Slept maybe an hour and felt panic about it.

[Anonymous]

Totally agree with everyone encouraging you to get checked out, but also adding (because I didn't see after quickly skimming comments) that it sounds like you could be experiencing DMER? Google "dysphoric milk ejection reflex." This happened to me with both my kids - when I would start to nurse, I would often feel overtaken with nausea and a terrible sense of what I can only describe as impending doom. It's only in the last few years that doctors have been taking this more seriously - when it happened to me with my first child, I had never heard of it and thought I was going crazy. It was very scary.

Whatever is going on, sending you so many good thoughts - and yes, please get checked out! Will be rooting for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My wife and mom gave me 4 hours to sleep. Wife set up room with sound machine, weighted blanket and ASMR. Slept maybe an hour and felt panic about it.

This is not normal. Go to the ER.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My wife and mom gave me 4 hours to sleep. Wife set up room with sound machine, weighted blanket and ASMR. Slept maybe an hour and felt panic about it.

This is not normal. Go to the ER.

I agree. Go to the ER! Or at least insist that your doctor see you right away.

[Anonymous]

Not normal and compounding the sleep deprivation. If you had the chance to sleep for 4 hours and your body is so stressed that it couldn't manage even a while REM cycle then you need to go. Have someone come with to advocate for you! Preferably your most insistent lawyer or other hard talking friend. Hugs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, that’s what bad sleep deprivation feels like to me: shaky, nauseous, woozy, and emotional. Can you drug yourself into oblivion and try to get a long, uninterrupted stretch of sleep? Give the baby formula for a night - figuring this out is more important than breastmilk. I like Unisom for a sleep aid and I think it is safe for breastfeeding (ask your doctor though).

This is also my suggestion, but I'd ask your doctor for a prescription sleep aid. Get some solid sleep and you will be in better shape to figure out next steps with your family as support.

[Anonymous]

There’s no way you’re going to be of any help to your baby if you do not take care of yourself. Please get help immediately.

[Anonymous]

OP you are at a tipping point if not already past it. Something physiological is occurring inside your body and you need a detailed exam and bloodwork to determine what is wrong. Your body is in a negative feedback loop and you need something to break it.

I agree with the ER and/or you need to call your OB and say I am feeling x y and z. It is not resolving. It is increasing. I am requesting evaluation immediately and he/she will most likely refer you to the ER. Be very clear that you are having physical symptoms. Because you are already on anxiety meds it will likely be viewed through psychiatric lens but I need you to be adamant about the doctors also looking for a physical reason and running a wide range of tests to err on the side of caution. It could very well be a mismatch on anxiety meds that can happen but you need to demand a full sweep.

Infection, low iron, thyroid issue- rule them out. Say you cannot continue like this - REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU ARE BREASTFEEDING OR NOT. DMER is a possibility, but it sounds like you are experiencing it all day/continuously and I dont know if DMER can manifest as such.

If your mother and wife are resistant please let them know that you are asking for help and feel as if rest/sleep are not sufficient for regaining function. If they refuse to help, you need to take yourself. Dont let your OB say give it 1-2 more days.