5 months postpartum and feel awful

[Jamtartforme]

I gave birth to DS in March, I’m EBF and 3 weeks ago cut dairy out completely as he is suspected CMPA.

For a month or so now I have felt truly awful, really tired, aching back/joints, brain fog and just generally feeling unwell.

I think months of broken sleep, breastfeeding, lugging whopper DS (19lb) around, and suddenly cutting a major food group has left me feeling pretty depleted and weak 😕 he went through a major sleep regression for a few weeks which made it much worse although he’s sleeping a bit better now. I find it hard to think of meals which don’t contain dairy and am living off peanut butter on toast which I know isn’t helping.

Did anyone else have this? When did you feel better? And what made you feel better? Thanks

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/dairy-free-recipes there's heaps of dairy free recipes to try.

Your diet and the fatigue is definitely going to contribute to the fogginess.

It sounds like you're doing amazingly well looking after DS. I found once I started weaning at 6 months and putting DS in his own room at night, life was a lot easier.

Do you have any help? Might be worth pumping a decent supply and letting someone have him for the day to give you a good break.

This could be a virus. Has anyone else in the house been unwell.

It could be that you’re not eating that well at the moment. Do you have anyone else at home who could help with cooking?

Ive been 90% dairy free for about a decade now and don’t miss it in meals at all. Once you’ve found the alternatives you like it’s fine.

If you eat meat, Ive also found kosher cook books really good for dairy free meal ideas.

Could be PND - you've been through a lot & you are mentally & physically depleted. You may also have low iron and/or ferritin - def worth a chat with your GP. Meanwhile, be extra kind & compassionate to yourself x

Same - I am nearly 4 months postpartum and feel completely depleted. Haven’t got advice, just solidarity and following for help x

Thanks everyone. I don’t think it’s PND, but now you say it I feel a bit better in the evening when DH takes DS and I finally get an hour to lie down and just rest my mind. Maybe stress related?

@lonelightlilith do you have the same symptoms? 💐

@Jamtartforme yeah exactly the same minus the dairy thing. I just posted over in the PND board cos I thought it must be that. I’m absolutely exhausted and even getting out of bed or walking downstairs kills my joints. I’ve had blood tests done and there’s nothing wrong at first glance.

Depression isn't only about mood - it can show up as apathy, exhaustion, feeling numb/disassociated (amongst other things). But def talk to a health professional x

Hi I know this is an older post but I feel exactly the same and like my eyes are not my own. I'm EBF as well and currently 5 months postnatal. I've recognised since having DS I have health anxiety which I'm getting CBT for but I feel exactly how you said minus doing the dairy free diet. How are you feeling now ? Does it get better ?

@Cwtchybear I really to relate to what you've said. I also feel like my eyes aren't my own, I've struggled to describe it until reading that. I also have developed a health anxiety since giving birth but haven't sought treatment yet. I have low ferritin as mentioned above which I'm taking iron tablets for but was hoping the rest would just sort itself out down the line. Are any of you feeling any better now the months have gone one? Also 5 months PP here.

@HansW93 Hey 😊, I'm not sure how many months postnatal you are but I'm 7 months now and that feeling /dizziness has gone now 😀. It was definitely anxiety that caused it. Anxiety actually caused a load of symptoms, add in lack of sleep I was not in a great place but feel 10 times better now. Time heals definitely. Plus low ferritin will definitely make you feel all those symptoms too. The best thing that helped me was I discovered a woman on Instagram called 'Cherelle Thinks', if you have health anxiety omg you will relate so much to what she says. When I felt the urge to google everything and anything I just watched her YouTube videos instead and it calmed me right down. I've now started 1 to 1 sessions with her as she really understands and has gone through it all with postnatal and health anxiety as well. I hope this helps. I really do understand and the endless looking for answers, especially on Mumsnet/forums etc as you feel alone but you 1000% aren't. Xx

@Cwtchybear thanks so much for getting back to me and I'm so glad to hear your feeling better at 7 months! :) I'm just 5 months so that gives me some hope. I'm definitely going to have a look at Cherelle Thinks, im so bad for googling things and it almost always makes me
feel worse! Thank you for recommending. You're right, I know there's so many of us new mums that feel this way, it's quite nice to relate to someone especially seeing now your feeling better!
again thanks so much for reaching ourt, im off to check out Cherelle Thinks :).

@HansW93 Absolutely no problem at all, I totally get It, I 100% understand that anxiety pressure feeling on your right now and it's bloody horrible. I tried CBT and it was pants and then found Cherelle and she explains why CBT doesn't work for health anxiety and to try ACT therapy as it's much more targeted for that type of anxiety. In regards to that eye/off balance/ weird feeling I would get your eyes check as just a tick box (I did) and then watch Cherelle Thinks - Anxiety and vision changes. It hits the nail on the head. Yeah googling was my worst and exactly like you I felt nervous to even go onto Google to type my concern in because I knew it would take me to a horrendous amount of results and you look for the one that fits. Cherelle explains the 4 pillars you need to stop to feel better with health anxiety is 1). Stop googling ( I went cold turkey and it's helped massively) . 2). Avoidance - like not going to the drs because you're scared of results etc. 3). Reassurance seeking - like asking partners / parents / friends if you're ok or to check your concerns. 4). Self body checking - constantly checking body parts or symptoms like lymph nodes etc.

Honestly shout anytime because I totally get It. X