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Post natal anxiety: warning about taking medication

3 replies

threetwoonezero · 10/07/2018 22:16

I wanted to share my story with anyone who might be prescribed sertraline for post natal anxiety. My second child is now 7 weeks old, my anxiety started around 3 weeks ago and progressively got worse to the point of not sleeping/eating/breast milk drying up etc. My dd is pretty high maintenance and I thought perhaps that was why I was so anxious, and I had a lot of other stress on and wanted a long term solution. I went to the doctors who thought I was doing badly enough to go on medication, being sertraline (over citalopram, another common anti-depressant/anxiety med) since I could take that whilst breastfeeding. I tried for 3 days and I have never known anything like it, I couldnt get past an hours sleep at a time, I felt sick, had cotton mouth, the only thing I could stomach was Complan meal replacement drinks, and my weight was falling off me. I had to come off the drugs and they gave me beta blockers instead which was a bit better, then I noticed on the leaflet that they could also be used for symptoms of hyperthyroidism. I had been tested just before giving birth so it didnt even occur to me (I have been on 100mg thyroxine for the past 2 years). Low and behold test results showed today I had gone hyper thyroid which explained pretty much all my previous symptoms. So last week I was getting an overdose of serotonin and thyroxine. Please be warned, SSRIs are worth persevering with BUT they are not for everyone and you should be sure you are treating the right thing. I hope this stops someone else going through what I did, it was absolutely horrendous and if I had stuck with the sertraline I may well have ended up being sectioned or similar, it was that bad!

OP posts:
emma3456 · 11/07/2018 09:11

Hi Op, that's really scary. How are you doing now? Can I ask, what were your symptoms?

Shineonpink · 11/07/2018 18:43

Funnily enough I was in exactly the same situation a week ago. Started taking it and experienced exactly the same thing. Have stopped and trying to manage my anxiety with meditation and yoga. Thanks for posting!

KatyP1975 · 11/07/2018 21:01

I had an overactive thyroid after having my 3rd baby which was repeatedly misdiagnosed as pnd. Luckily I refused medication!!

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