Anxiety and Inability to Sleep

have your thyroid checked. I went through a lot after having my son (2nd child). I thought I was going crazy. I went to a new doctor and she tested everything for my general overall health check. Turns out I have Grave's Disease (hyper thyroidism). My sister in law also had thyroid issues after her 2nd child, hers eventually worked itself out, but I am still working on mine. Its work checking.

Get a new OB! 6-week postpartum period? Bullcrap. I waited until my son was a year old before I finally realized I needed help with PPD/PPA from my OB and she helped me immediately and effectively.

Sweetheart-I'm surprised you are able to hold up your head -but can understand your anxiety, too! It will work out-take care of your self-before you know it , they'll be in school and you won't know what to do with that free half hour you'll have!

Everyone suffers from sleepless nights from time to time. I'm not sure which is worse-- not being able to fall asleep or waking up after a few hours. When my DD was a newborn and woke me in the night I would lay around for HOURS after she went back to sleep. I watched the clock and got so stressed because I knew she would wake up again soon. Right about the time I fell back alseep she would wake up. Not getting enough rest can certainly make you feel more anxious and depressed.

Here are some tricks I use when I can't fall asleep or wake up in the night.

1. take a hot bath before bed-- don't rush it, just relax and read a magazine or book
2. read a book until you feel sleepy (read something light hearted-- avoid anything that makes you feel sad)
3. don't answer the phone after 9:00 pm-- it can get you keyed up talking to people especially if they're calling you with their problems.
4. avoid having a TV in your room-- in fact don't do anything in your room but sleep
5. make sure your room is cool and comfortable; use a fan for white noise
6. if you wake up in the night lay still and at least rest-- don't get up and check e-mail or watch TV. At least your body is getting rest even if your mind is not
7. taking a walk in the late afternoon or after dinner can be relaxing and help you exert pent up energy that might be causing you to wake up
8. write down any thoughts or frustrations you have in a journal before bed to help get them off of your mind; it might help to talk to a friend or counselor about any anxiety or emotions
9. remind yourself that you are not alone-- many people go through this and it is only temporary.
10. When I have sleep trouble, I recite the verse over and over "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all of your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6. It calms me down and the repetition usually puts me back to sleep.

It could definately be several things mentioned here, but i know falling asleep like that early ruins my nights sleep. I breastfeed my little one and my mom would always try to get me to take a nap, but i would take soooo long to settle down and stop --thinking-- that once i did fall asleep it was time to wake up again and i felt EVEN worse.
Can you try to do some deep breathing and visualizing yourself waking up at the right time refreshed? At least until you can get in to see the dr.
good luck.

I agree with what other moms have written in. However if you find yourself in a moment where you just feel crappy and overwhelmed, wash your face, step outside, do some squats, put on a great piece of music, drink a big sip of chilled water, put on some lip gloss, something that perks you up. It's obviously not a long term solution but hopefully can turn your outlook around when you're really in the moment of feeling anxious and down. Best of luck to you. You are not alone in this. It's natural to be experiencing this. The mantra that continues to get me through the tough times "this is your life this moment, this is how you feel this moment, this doesn't mean you will feel this way the rest of your life."

I went through something very similar in January. I wasn't sleeping for over two months! I have a 3.5 year old and a 1.5 year old. My younger one is a terrible sleeper and it just started causing me awful anxiety to the point of mini panic attacks. I went to my OB who Gage me lunesta and it didn't work. No sleeping- even with lunesta or ambien, I was that anxious! I ran all my blood work. Everything was normal- except a little low on vitamin D. I couldn't take it anymore. My husband, who is an MD once told me if someone has insomnia, you can either do meditation or medication. I thought I couldn't loose if I tried to meditate. Just as it happened, I received an email regarding a workshop to learn meditation. I felt I should try. So I went for three days to the Chopra center (my husband amazingly agreed and wonderfully took care of the kids) and learned meditation. My life has transformed. I can't tell you how much better I feel since starting to meditation. I'm overall a less anxious person, get along better with my friends/family, appreciate life, don't sweat the small stuff. All of it! Truly amazing. Although I did, it's not necessary to go anywhere to learn meditation. It's quite simple, you can look it up online or contact me if you are interested.

A medical study was just done at massachusetts general hospital regarding the benefits of meditation. They learned it can actually change the structure of your brain! Check this out: http://www.massgeneral.org/about/pressrelease.aspx?id=1329

I really hope something works for you! I feel your pain and know how much you just want it to stop.

This sounds like post-partum depression. It is a serious condition. I had a friend last year take her own life from post-partum. This happened after her 6th week. It is not something to play around with. She did not think she would take her life. She was highly educated, came from an amazing family, and never had any metal depression or anxiety prior. It is a horrible tragedy. Nobody took it serious. And she ended her life. It still haunts me because it is something that can be safely managed with temporary medicine. After I stopped nursing I had an influx of hormones that caused severe anxiety and because of what happened to her I got on a medication. After 3 months I was able to stop taking it, with some alternative changes that have also been mentioned in prior emails. It was a miracle and NEVER NEVER in my life did I ever think I would need medication to help with any type of anxiety or depression. I would insist on an appointment or find another doctor who can help you.
This is a reputable website that might help you.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004481/
And please if you need help send me a message and we I will give you my contact info. Again please take this seriously. I have a wonderful wonderful ob who practices out of St. Joe's. He takes it seriously after he lost a fellow partner who did not take it seriously. Please let me know how else I can help.

Get this taken care of now and don't do what I did. My doctors would just prescribe different sleeping pills, anti-depressants, put me on a different birth control pill (even though my husband had a vasectomy). All this did was mess up my body even more, to the point of almost no return.

Your hormones, thyroid, and adrenal systems all work hand in hand. When one gets out of balance, the other two pick up steam and so on. Your hormones have gotten out of whack with the pregnancy - find a doctor, preferably a DO (dr of osteopathy) who will want to find and fix the problem rather than just mask /temporarily fix it. Get Dr. Christiane Northrup's book, Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom. Have an in-depth hormone testing /blood to check ALL three Estrogen, Progesterone, Testosterone free /unbound levels (found my Progesteron and Testosterone were at zero - I also felt completely crazy just days before my period would start). A saliva test will check your neurotransmitters (found that my Serotonin was almost at zero - so much for sleeping pills). Thyroid is the energy section - my temperature was in the low to middle 97's. My feet were always cold too. Big signs of low thyroid. Check viral panels - see if you have any active viruses going on that is preventing your body from working correctly.

Your doctor should start working on one system at a time and hormones are usually a good place as this is the 'feel good' section - get you to feel better while you get started. If you are willing to drive out to Anaheim Hills, I love Dr. Mary Berry ###-###-####. She was the first doctor that took the time to work with me and figure things out, few and far in between from other doctors.

Are you exercising? This will also help. Get good and sweaty. I know it is very hard to make time for this with two little ones but you need to put yourself on the list, otherwise you won't be able to do all that you need to with them.

Suzanne Somers is another author to get into reading. She may have played dumb blonds but she has got to be one of the smartest people in the world of health. She does her homework and talks with doctors on the cutting edge. I started with her book, The Sexy Years, entertaining and informative.

Good luck and know that you are NOT alone in this.

You can't fall asleep after you put the kids to bed. That ruins the night. Trust me I know. Also could be hormones? How old are you? Sometimes the life cycle just throws you a curve ball. Hopefully, it will get better soon.
Try and do something relaxing for yourself before yuo go to bed (I know you
are laughing at me). I know it is not easy but try. Hopefully your internist
will help get you thru this rough time.

Go and get yourself a book or books about anxiety in the library for a short term fix. Read about it. It is amazing just learning about it, and what a panic attack feels like, and that the panic attack can NOT hurt you, and that you are not alone will work wonders. The books will also discuss coping mechanisms such as breathing through it. It works.

Are you breastfeeding? I would look into seeing a therapist/counselor that is willing to work with you without drugs.

Once my anxiety interfered with my sleep, I knew I needed help. I started seeing a therapist and the turnaround was a amazing, although it wasn't instantaneous.

Yoga was also a big help.

Hi S.,
I definitely dealt with this and mine became it's worst at around 8-9 weeks. I think it was the result of sleep deprivation and hormone changes that did it for me. My ob/gyn suggested that I go on antidepressants, and even gave me a prescription, but I did not fill it. I ended up going a more natural route. I took large amounts of fish oil and vitamin D and went for a walk for 30 minutes a day outside. It definitely made a difference. Another thing I did was enlist the help of friends and family and had them take over the night shifts for me so I could sleep. Your body gets conditioned to waking up when you are feeding a little one, and it takes a few weeks to a month to get your body to break that cycle.

I was having anxiety attacks due to work. The ER doctor gave me a one-month prescription of xanex that helped get through the meetings with my boss. However, that's only a temporary solution and made me feel hung-over the next day (turns out half a pill is just as effective).

What really helped was COUNSELING. I did a 2-hour session with a therapist and the knots in my stomach subsided and I could sleep better. Something about being honest with myself, or telling someone else the thing I was afraid to say outloud--very helpful. It gave me hope and ideas for empowerment.

Best wish to you and your family.