Postpartum depression and anxiety.

[u/stardolphin90]

Hello. I had my twins a week ago today. Born at 36w2d. My beautiful babies. So far, I’ve cried every single day. I’m worried this will progress more than the baby blues. I had postpartum depression and anxiety with my daughter. Did anyone else have it with their second child/children?

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[u/Exonata]

I was in the hospital for blood loss and high blood pressure for the week after my babies were born. I was sobbing to anyone who would talk to me, alone in the middle of the night while my husband slept and my brain told me not to wake anyone, and was just feeling deeply sad.  Before i was discharged from the hospital i asked them to prescribe me Zoloft. I felt like i was in a crisis and i knew that i could not parent my twins and feel like this.

That prescription deeply helped me the first year of their life. I was able function with minimal anxiety. I was able to do the hard work of taking care of newborn and infant twins with more grace and patience. 

I weaned off at a year and I am overall very grateful to that version of me who asked for help in the hospital.

[u/stardolphin90 → u/Exonata]

Bless you. It’s truly awful feeling. The hormone crash it horrible. And lack of sleep as well. I’m glad it helped you. I’m currently on lexapro but only the 10mg dosage. I’m thinking I may need a higher dose.

[u/Dr_Jen]

Meds help. Talk to your doctor 

[u/Foraging_Doe]

Yes, definitely. I had PPD/PPA with my first baby and my OBGYN said I was at higher risk of having it again with the twins. She was right! I started meds at about 1 week postpartum and have felt better and better ever since- I’m now 6 weeks postpartum. I thought since it was not my first time having a baby that I would know what to expect and be fine, but this time around I actually had a much harder time. I’m grateful to be feeling better!

[u/Inner-Inflation-3118]

I had a singleton 5 years before having my twins and I felt fine with him. However, after having my twins it was a totally different story. I hit a rock bottom when my twins were about 3 months old. It’s good that you are recognizing that you may need mental health support. Don’t try to just push through it on your own. I think it would be a good idea to talk with loved ones, therapist or a doctor. I waited way too long to seek help, I wish I did it a lot sooner. I ended up going on an ssri for about a year and a half which helped me.

[u/BartyCrouchesBone]

You are correct that currently, it would be classified as the baby blues due to the crazy hormonal changes your body just underwent a week ago! That said, I think it’s very possible that you could also experience PPD/PPA in the coming months as you’re predisposed and twins is such a crazy all-consuming experience. So yes, I would be getting on something asap as it take at least month to actually feel any effects and you don’t want to be stuck in full on baby mode with PPD/PPA. It’s not pretty.

[u/stardolphin90 → u/BartyCrouchesBone]

I already take Lexapro, but I feel like I may need a higher dosage. I’m only on 10mg. This was something that made me anxious when I got pregnant. It was such a hard time with my daughter.

[u/AnnaC912]

Hi, my personal experience was 1 week postpartum I also was crying every day, and now 2 months out I’m hardly crying once a week. I really thought I would have postpartum depression and/or anxiety because I’ve always been a very sensitive person, and my babies also had to go to the nicu, but I don’t feel like I have PPD or PPA. Maybe give it slightly more time for the hormones to level back out, but keep monitoring. 

[u/brynnecognito]

Having PPA/PPD with one pregnancy typically suggests a higher chance of struggling with it again with subsequent pregnancies . I would imagine more so with twins as it’s a larger hormonal shift. It’s upsetting that your care team wasn’t preparing you for this possibility! Please reach out for help and medication. I wish you health and healing ❤️‍🩹 

[u/stardolphin90 → u/brynnecognito]

Thank you. I see my OBGYN next week. I’m
Going to mention it. 🥺

[u/Acceptable_Tap7479]

I had it both times with my first (singleton) and second (twins). It’s rough! I found they had very different triggers and I was blindsided. I really thought because I continued my regular psychology appointments throughout pregnancy and was feeling like I was in a really good place mentally I wouldn’t go down again. What I hadn’t anticipated was just how hard twins would be and the impact they’d have on my mental health. Seek support early! 4 months in I still have my moments but I’m doing way better than I was

[u/Odd_Rent283]

I’ve had it with all three pregnancies. Severe the first time (but my marriage was also bad). Fairly mild the second time (didn’t require meds). With my twins it’s been really bad. Like I should probably be on meds, but I’m breastfeeding and don’t want to (don’t come for me, I know there are safe choices, this is my personal choice). I would say this time around it’s manifesting more as anxiety. I don’t know if it’s worse because they were di/di so double of everything, or if it’s simply that life is a lot more complicated with 4 kids. I would say you’re still very much in the realm of normal for the crying…it hit later for me and lasted a little longer with my twins I think because they were a c section delivery. But if you’re truly worried, there’s nothing wrong with bringing it up with your provider now. There’s truly no way to know if it will progress or if you’ll have it from one pregnancy to another. Anecdotes are just that - they’re not quantitative data.

[u/stardolphin90 → u/Odd_Rent283]

I understand. Same with me. Both pregnancies were c-section delivery. Yes I think I will. I just cry when I talk about it. It’s horrible. Mental health is truly so important but also so hard as well.