High anxiety and insomnia . Anybody in same situation and recovered ?

[Nirk]

I am currently 4 months postpartum , I started getting difficulty falling asleep from month 2 .baby sleeps in long stretches, but I have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. Now anxiety is skyrocketing which is making sleep even more difficult. Anybody experienced this ? And recovered ?

Yes I have! Pre baby I had a history of insomnia and anxiety though. I found the sleep regression hit me with the wakes every hour and then even when baby settled into sleeping through the night I couldn't as I was anxious he'd wake/need me.
On the whole I am 'recovered' (2 years pp) but go through period of it again- I have noticed particularly after illness when nighttime sleep is disrupted or routine is thrown off.
I feel I can't take anything either to help (medicine) as I worry so much I wouldn't wake up for my child and my partner is a heavy sleeper.
I really recommend speaking to HV/ Gp as you may need support esp for the anxiety as the insomnia may be a symptom of that - I have in the past and it's really helped at times.
Things that helped me personally (not saying they will help but they did for me)
I took the pressure off sleeping by deciding to 'watch tv' (shows I've watched before 100x) all night. I'd make myself a nest (sometimes on the sofa or sometimes in bed) and often I drifted off after a while.
Loads of fresh air and walking with a podcast, it took my anxiety away for period of time. I would sometimes walk 25000 steps a day (every nap basically was a pushchair power walk!)
Media in general helps me when I'm really anxious- audio books, podcasts, tv films. If I can't fix my anxiety then sometimes distraction helps short term until I'm a bit calmer.
All the boring stuff of eating better, gentle exercise and not going on my phone too much.
I hope you feel better soon- mum guilt layered with anxiety is just no fun. X

My OB asked me to take mirtazapine which is a good sedative at low dose. Tried it for a month and I was falling asleep quickly and no anxiety occurred for a Month . I tried to stop it as I don’t want to stay on AD for long and my insomnia came back and anxiety followed. My doctor asks me to restart the meds again , but I have a fear that it is not the solution and I might have to face the same when stopping it again . I am trying herbal teas and magnesium supplement , but I only get 2-3 hrs of broken sleep with lot of anxiety and racing heart.

Have they checked your iron levels? I only ask because I was severely anaemic and this caused anxiety, palpitations, and restless legs. I had had a post partum hemorrhage but no one explained how anaemic I actually was. I had 2 iron transfusions and felt miles better even just after the first one.

My doctor has not done any labs since delivery. Also I had c section , so I assume iron level would be low. Also is it a good idea to get hormone levels get checked ?

Did you also have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep ?

Yes my sleep was awful. The night before my first iron transfusion I didn't sleep at all, which was horrific!

Not quite the same but I've always struggled a bit with sleep, notorious for not sleeping on a train, plane etc and I remember keeping my dad company on any late night drives home whilst mum and sister were asleep in the car as a child. Fast forward to having a newborn and broken sleep was very tough for me. Once I'd been woken in the night I couldn't get back to sleep easily and the more I didn't sleep the more anxious I got. To this day I still haven't taken a daytime nap, I tried a couple of times and it just didn't happen.

I dealt with it by just taking it day by day and not doing a lot in the daytime when DS was young as I was so tired. Things that did help were going to bed at 8pm, letting DH get up with DS do a pre midnight feed before going to bed and then when DS woke at say 2am I'd had around 5 hrs sleep by then. Most nights I would say I then got between nothing and an additional 2 hrs napping between the 2am, 5am and then 7 am get ups. I coped as I'd had that chunk of sleep earlier on. It didn't last forever and wasn't as critical to go to bed so early once DS was down to 2 gets up in the night as DH just did the first one.

With a now 2 year old and the odd wake up for nightmares or illness etc i always struggle to get back to sleep but i tell myself that just closing eyes is still rest and better than nothing. Sometimes if im feeling really wide awake I'll watch something on tv to take my mind off it. I've stopped panicking about not sleeping because I'm still here 2.5 yrs on and might be tired the next day but have coped with it. A couple of nights I've had no sleep at all when DS was sick but I coped ok the day after.

Not sure if this is helpful, the short version is that I hope you find some comfort in knowing you're not alone, and things get easier.

Did your sleep and anxiety get instantly better after the transfusion?

I felt like I had come out of a fog if that makes sense?

DS is 2.5 now and I've recently started having a few mild symptoms so I've booked an appointment to see if I can get my bloods checked again.

Thank you for sharing. I will ask my OB to check the iron level for me .