I feel weird

[StellaLuna65]

Posting for traffic as I feel a bit panicky. Sorry if that's not ok.

I've got a 9 month old. Lone parent. I fled my home due to domestic abuse. I'm living with my dad. Raising my baby on my own. I'm exhausted. I feel weird and dizzy but not sure if it's because I'm tired or there's something wrong with me. Taking sertraline for anxiety. My ex is taking me to court but CAFCASS have said no contact and want him to do a domestic abuse perpetrators program. I should be happy about this but I constantly feel like he's doing to turn up and do something awful. I feel sick a lot. Light headed. I had an awful birth and feel like I should've recovered by now but I'm still traumatised by it.

I feel like there's something going on. I don't feel right. I feel physically unwell and don't want to presume it is due to stress or tiredness.

AIBU to go to the doctor's with a gut feeling something is wrong? Or do I need to be more specific. I rarely go to the doctor's. I feel awful.

Are you eating well? Drinking plenty of water? How much sleep do you get? The GP should be able to do a blood test to see if there's anything underlying e.g. for B vitamin levels and rule out anaemia.

It sounds like you have a hell of a lot on your mind and it is probably stress related, but please go to the doctors.

It could be something like anaemia, but you know your body.

Make an appointment and he t yourself seen to.

You have been so strong so far and it would be a shame not to take care of yourself at this point.

Have you missed a dose of sertraline recently? It used to make me feel like this if I forgot a dose. It's ok to see the gp again if your anxiety and/or side effects is still bothering you, there are lots of alternative medicines to try.

I had this after baby number 2. Just felt so tired and nauseous and light headed and dizzy.
Thought it was iron levels but they were fine.
I put it down to anxiety, stress, lack of sleep and not eating very well as I was so busy.
Hope you feel better soon.

It could well be your anxiety - I often go fuzzy headed and a bit 'weird' feeling - I have to talk myself out of it - once I start doing a task etc it normally starts to go.

However - I also suffer badly from anaemia (recently needed a transfusion) and they are classic symptoms too - can come hand in hand with low B12, Folic Acid etc

I would pop along to the GP and ask for a blood test but try (I know it's hard) not to get too worried.

I'd pit money on anxiety/ exhaustion but definitely see the GP- you might benefit from a higher dose of sertraline or a different anti depressant. I'd say it's far more likely to be that then something wrong, but the doc needs to know about it to help

Definitely see your gp op! After ds I had a strange feeling come over me once, probably when ds was about six months or so, was just sat on sofa and went all hot, light headed and confused, lasted about ten minutes I put it down to stress, tiredness and anxiety. Never had it since. Hope your OK.

Stay calm op. Have you eaten and drunk recently? You sound very panicky and on high alert which is exhausting. Take some really deep breaths and steady yourself, eat and drink something comforting and try to have a long hot bath. Make sure your house is secure and you feel safe. Then if you still feel crap, or no better go to the doctor tomorrow and seek help, no one will make you feel bad for wasting time it may be that you need your medication reviewing. Good luck, whereabouts are you?

I’ve been on Sertraline for years and recognise some of your symptoms as side effects, especially if I miss doses or take at funny times.
It sounds like you might need a tweak with the dose perhaps. It’s not surprising you feel anxious with everything you have going on, but go to the GP.
Can you access counselling/CBT through them too, to help with some of your birth trauma? And just to cope generally.
You’ve such a lot to deal with at quite a vulnerable time

Dizziness is a side effect of Sertraline. Do speak to your doctor about your symptoms.

I hope things improve for you.

I'd speak to your gp about tweaking the dose or even changing tablets. I couldn't tolerate sertraline at all.

With regards to the traumatic birth. There's no timeline for getting over it. My youngest DS is 2 in October and I still get panicky when I think of his birth.

You've been through a lot and you're a hell of a lot stronger than you realise.

Have you eaten/drank well today? Can you get yourself an early night?

Also, contact PALS at the hospital you give birth at and ask for a birth reflections/debrief appointment. I had one and it really helped

Listen, if he was stupid enough to show up you call 999 immediately. That's not going to help him in his court journey is it?

Just do as you are doing and speak to your gp.

I suffer from general anxiety disorder and have been on citalapram for 10years. Every now and then I still suffer from random anxiety /panic attacks which this sounds like it could be, sometimes they come from nowhere. Speak to your gp, that's what they're there for. Don't worry about, over the last 10years I've lost count if the amount of times I've gone to see them, even if it's just for them to talk me down. Sending lots of love. A lot of people on here suffer from anxiety and have traumatic birth stories (Inc me) so you know you can always talk to us if you feel the need to, I for one am more than happy for you to pm me if you want to chat xxx

I would recommend trying to get some therapy for your anxiety. You have been through so much and you could potentially have PTSD after both the domestic abuse and the traumatic birth.
That would mean the traumatic memories are 'stuck' and unprocessed, so the feelings of being unsafe or in danger (which you felt during the traumatic incidents) are also still stuck. That could be why you have the sense your ex is going to come round - the feeling of danger is stuck in your brain.
That could also be what's causing the dizziness etc.
The symptoms are:

• nightmares, flashbacks or intrusive memories, causing physical anxiety symptoms
• avoiding things that remind you of what happened, eg certain places/situations or talking about it, or thinking about it
• feeling jumpy, easily startled or hypervigilant

You did really well to get out! Well done.

If you're in England you could see if your GP can refer you a Psychological therapy service called IAPT (or you might be able to self-refer).

Even if you don't have PTSD it would probably be good to talk about what you've been through. The IAPT service should also fasttrack you if you have a baby under 1.

Good luck!

Thank you everyone. I feel so, so rough. Can anyone advise the best way to get some counselling/CBT?

Your GP should be able to refer you x

Going to try and get in with gp next week. I feel so ill.

My son keeps me going. He's asleep on me now. He's so, so beautiful. God I love him.

Bless you. Have you tried

https://resperate.health/sleep/sleeping-easy-4-7-8/

9 months isn't long after a traumatic birth. You have been through several life changing traumatic events.

Listen to your instincts. If the cause is a mental health issue that's not being adequately treated, that still counts as a physical health issue. MH problems often have very real, physical, visceral symptoms.

Go to your GP and explain how you feel. Have an idea in your head of what you want them to do. Eg. rule out xyz, look at meds, urgent referral for talking therapy. Push for a Clin Psych if you can. Write a list to help you make sure you say all you want to say.

Don't be fobbed off OP. There is no should or shouldn't about feeling the way you do.

FWIW I had a traumatic birth and struggled to trust both myself and health professionals afterwards. The best way I found to deal with this was to be honest that that was the case, and that minimising my concerns would only add to my anxiety.

Do you have a friend, health visitor or other peraon who could come along and advocate for you?

You deserve to feel well and be taken seriously. All power to you. It will get better.

Doctor's booked for Thursday. Thanks everyone x

Do ask for a thyroid check as well -it can often be affected by pg and often goes into slight overdrive for first year or so.

Hope you feel better soon X I agree you must be exhausted and depleted, quite possible you're anaemic or lacking some vitamins and minerals at the very least so definitely ask for blood test. Being hypervigilant is pretty normal as a new parent but you must be even more on edge as a result of what's happened. You must be very strong and courageous.