Health anxiety

Just wondering if anyone else suffers with this? And if you have any advice on how to deal with it. I’ve had it since pregnancy, and it got a lot worse once I gave birth, especially in the newborn phase. It’s gotten a bit better recently but sometimes pops up (like today) and I really struggle to deal with it and end up panicking and have worst possible scenarios stuck in my head I have spoken to my GP about this already, she told me it was severe anxiety & mild depression. Prescribed me sertraline but she couldn’t guarantee no side effects to breastfeeding, so I haven’t used it as (obviously) I just assume the worst

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I was on sertraline for years - before and during pregnancy and for the year that I nursed. It helped me immensely and did not hurt my baby in any way ♥️

I’ve had health anxiety for 3 years now, stemmed from when I caught sepsis & had to have a life saving surgery and has amplified since having my daughter. I constantly find myself on google, looking at symptoms and convincing myself I have the worst. I’ve tried therapy as tablets didn’t work for me 😅

Hey sorry you’re feeling this way. I have severe health anxiety and I’m on the medication, I’m currently 39 weeks pregnant and I’ve been on it for about two months. The results have been brilliant and I feel so much better and I plan to continue throughout breastfeeding. The risks are extremely low for your baby and the benefits outweigh them massively. Sertraline is the safest medication to take when breastfeeding only a tiny amount will go to your baby. It’s not great the gp didn’t go into more detail, especially with health anxiety. I’ve seen the perinatal mental health team and they have massively reassured me about taking it. I’m also doing cbt through the nhs and would also recommend that, they should prioritise you as a new mum, I managed to get my sessions after a couple of weeks of being referred because I’m pregnant. Wishing you all the best, you will be ok ❤️

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