question about after giving birth

[Pumpkin36]

I had my baby girl 1 week ago. She's 7 days old. I lost a normal amount of blood and iron levels were fine at time of delivery. On the day I was being discharged I was up getting things together and got dizzy. I panicked (as passing out is my worst fear) and hit the couch. After that it happened 3 more times before we left. I'm trying to decide if it's anxiety. Ive been dealing with the same thing EVERY day now since Ive been home. Each time I get up I worry I'm going to get dizzy. Sure enough I do and have to sit on the floor really fast. One of the dizzy spells brought on a terrible panic attack. Now every time I get up I'm worried not only I'll get dizzy and pass out but I also worry about having a panic attack. Let me add my blood pressure was checked at the hospital right after it happened and it was actually a little elevated, so we know it wasn't too low. Do you think this is all in my mind? I'm sick of being scared to go to the bathroom or go up the stairs. I haven't been carrying my baby upstairs or anywhere really worried I'll get dizzy and drop her. Thank goodness for my husband. Can anyone offer advice? Worried I'll never feel normal again. Thanks.

[tinam7]

You may want to check with your doctor but caring for a new baby can be daunting and stressful causing anxiety. In the old days women had more of a chance to recoup in the hospital and relatives might have been there to help at the outset.

You'll feel like yourself again as you get used to this big change in your life. Be sure you are drinking enough, getting enough rest, moving slowly, and be encouraged knowing you will improve each day. Wishing you and baby the best. Wonderful that husband is helping.

[rr2005]

I went through something similar after the birth of my first. I went to the Dr. and discovered my blood pressure and heart rates were erratic during the dizzy spells. It turned out to be anxiety, which I think was brought on by the stress of being a new mother, combined with hormones which won't level out for at least 6 weeks. Of course, the spells make you panic, which makes your anxiety worse and it's a vicious cycle. I'd go ahead and see your Dr, but I'd be willing to bet money anxiety is the problem.

[sixpack]

let's preface this by saying-----  I have 6 kids.  #1 is adopted.  So #2 was my first homegrown.    I've also had two miscariages

so I have pretty much experienced everything with regard to birthin' babies 

after my #2 was born,  I couldn't get over how incredibly difficult it was to walk--- I'd stand up and nearly collapse from exhaustion and dizziness.  It was mind blowing.      That did clear up after a couple of days. 

I mean I was still tired as all get out and holy CRAP I could hardly sit for the huge, HUGE hemmies and stitches I had....  BUT that dizzy and near inablity to walk was gone.

so......  what happens after baby is a body going, "HOLY CRAP what the heck just happened to me?"  Let's face it, this not a uterus only endeavor having a baby.  Our whole body, our hormones, our fight/flight, our nerves, our minds have had an incredible life changing event occur.  Of course, we are going to feel it.  It can take weeks/months to recover....   Now in your case (as opposed to mine) is that this dizziness and exhaustion, ticked off the "uh oh" in your ha thinking.  and now you are likely thinking yourself into the dizziness stuff.   Like a self-fulfilling prophecy....

I say this presuming that, while you are certainly still bleeding, you are not FLOODING pad after pad after pad....  You will likely bleed 4-6wks---sometimes it will be light, sometimes it will be heavy.  AND heavy can happen with light housework or bending over and picking stuff up off the floor.... 

pumpkin---- you are going to have to giver yourself and your body time to recover----remember---weeks.  and if you have a LOUD little one, you can expect to be tired, a lot or most of the time.   AS far as normal,   honey, start looking for a new normal.  after you have kid/s, you aren't ever going to be exactly as you were before.  that isn't a bad thing, it is just part of life.  Having babies is life changing each and every time.....   AND it can't be that bad, right?  I have 6 kids.

while I'm sure a lot of mommas will pipe in, but if you have any questions you can PM me.

congrats on that little peanut.  I am sure she is beautiful and perfect, absolutely perfect   

[Calamy]

When I had my baby I was pretty much flippin out all over the place. I was having extrasystoles before I even left the hospital. Also you are probably sleep deprived and not caring as much for yourself as for baby, if you're a typical mom:) Make sure to stay hydrated and get as much sleep as you can (they told me "sleep when baby sleeps".) I went to the OB ER sooo many times in the month after giving birth that they thought I was a bit nuts. Also your hormones are crashing and you have to expect some weird sensations, too. It will all even itself out, just take care of yourself.

Your iron is probably low as well, so you could ask the doc about taking iron supplements (I had low iron most of my pregnancy and I still have low iron if I don't take it a few times a week.) Low iron (or ferritin and iron stores) will definitely make you feel faint when standing up! But it's easy to fix. Takes a while for the supplements to work, though (weeks). Bringing up iron stores takes months. (Normal ferritin is like, 31+ and mine's at 15. Normal iron is 15 and up to I think over 100 and at one point mine was at 5. It's going to take a while.) Plus you're probably going to bleed for a couple of weeks so there's that, too.

Ask your doc about iron, make sure you drink enough liquids because dehydration will also definitely make you dizzy. (I needed to go on a beta blocker for my blood pressure after I had my daughter but I had established high blood pressure years before, anyway after I gained like 50 lbs in 2 years. Never had it before that.)

Most of the complaints I ran to the OB ER with they had to sit and talk to me about because I was taking some small thing and making it HUGE. It was also a combination of hormones and sleep deprivation. Go easy on yourself. Your body is patching itself back up again so it's in a healing mode. You're going to feel weird stuff but it's most likely all normal since you just had a baby!:) Enjoy your beautiful new babe:)

[momo2]

I feel for you because I just recently dealt with the same thing, my son is 6 months old. I was dizzy for 4 months (among other things) because not one Dr told me it was anxiety. I went to Dr after Dr, had test after test, and nothing. I did have an elevated blood pressure but that was hormonal even though the anxiety didn't help. It wasn't until I accepted it and stopped stressing about it happening that it got better. I still have some dizziness here and there but try to ignore it since I know it's benign. I also had the same fear about carrying my son around. I never passed out so chances are you won't either. A fellow member on here recommended the book Self Help for you Nerves by Claire Weeks. Just started reading it but I wish I got it months ago. If you need support, feel free to message me. I know how lonely and scary it can feel to deal with this. Hope it gets better for you.

[beth0277]

Losing even a "normal amount" of blood can take a toll on your body. My doctor explained it to me after I delivered because I was so weak and dizzy. He said something much more eloquent than what I remember but it was along the lines of there not being the normal amount of blood circulating in your body and when you change positions it can throw things off. It was at least 2-3 weeks before I felt normal after giving birth. I've only done it once, but that was my experience.

[hypomom]

When you go to get up do it slowly. Put your feet down first if they are up, scoot the end of the couch, then slowly get up. Squeeze your thigh muscles and this keep you from getting too dizzy. Eat lots of meats and brocolli and other iron rich foods. Congrats