What is PPA?

nessamestreet

I know that I have anxiety and right now I am have nothing for it even though I need something. I have been off meds because well I dont have health insurance and cant affored meds other wise. I know I am having a hard time with this. I find my self yelling and flying off the handle so quickly and add anxiety and panic attacks to it and I am a basket case some days. I dont want to be this way and I am not depressed at all I just lose my temper and yell alot! My baby is a year old there is no way it could be PPD could it? I dont want to think about having any of that but man its taking a toll on me. I never talk about my feelings anywhere so for me to even type this much to people I dont even know is almost making me go into a panic attack so please dont flame me ok!Thanks for all the help girls

Smudges*Mom

Given that your daughter is almost a year old, I don't know if they would consider your anxiety postpartum.

Are there any clinics that provide free or low cost care for those without insurance?  I can not imagine feeling the way you do and not get any help. 

I hope that you are able to work something out so that you can feel better.

*speedracer*

i was in treatment for post partum anxiety til my son was 1.  i think you would definitely benefit from a mom's support group - and they are free.

if there isn't one in your area, you can look for schools with therapy programs that offer counseling sessions on a sliding scale.  you can also ask other people on here who have been treated for anger/anxiety what they do when they have those feelings coming on.

i never had the anger/temper part, but i had a lot of anxiety.  exercise, setting goals to get out of the house, and just talking/blogging about it helped me feel better (in addition to medication).  i also saw a therapist who suggested i do some breathing exercises to calm myself and some questions to ask myself when i had certain repetitive thoughts - to redirect those thoughts.

BenandSuzy

*speedracer*:

i was in treatment for post partum anxiety til my son was 1.  i think you would definitely benefit from a mom's support group - and they are free.

if there isn't one in your area, you can look for schools with therapy programs that offer counseling sessions on a sliding scale.  you can also ask other people on here who have been treated for anger/anxiety what they do when they have those feelings coming on.

i never had the anger/temper part, but i had a lot of anxiety.  exercise, setting goals to get out of the house, and just talking/blogging about it helped me feel better (in addition to medication).  i also saw a therapist who suggested i do some breathing exercises to calm myself and some questions to ask myself when i had certain repetitive thoughts - to redirect those thoughts.

Has it gotten better? My docs have me on Xanax but I don't take it regularly for fear of addiction, but they say I need to be on it to level off so I can work on the feelings. Will you always be on meds? Mine started one night and never left and that was 4 weeks ago. It ois worst in the morning as soon as I open my eyes. It has lessened slightly, but not nearly enough.

MarthaP18

BenandSuzy:

*speedracer*:

i was in treatment for post partum anxiety til my son was 1.  i think you would definitely benefit from a mom's support group - and they are free.

if there isn't one in your area, you can look for schools with therapy programs that offer counseling sessions on a sliding scale.  you can also ask other people on here who have been treated for anger/anxiety what they do when they have those feelings coming on.

i never had the anger/temper part, but i had a lot of anxiety.  exercise, setting goals to get out of the house, and just talking/blogging about it helped me feel better (in addition to medication).  i also saw a therapist who suggested i do some breathing exercises to calm myself and some questions to ask myself when i had certain repetitive thoughts - to redirect those thoughts.

Has it gotten better? My docs have me on Xanax but I don't take it regularly for fear of addiction, but they say I need to be on it to level off so I can work on the feelings. Will you always be on meds? Mine started one night and never left and that was 4 weeks ago. It ois worst in the morning as soon as I open my eyes. It has lessened slightly, but not nearly enough.

I was diagnosed with PPA about 3 weeks ago and prescribed Klonopin. I can only take it at night because it makes me too drowsy to function at work. My anxiety is much worse at night and it's not anxiety over anything baby-related. I know my baby is fine. But even after he's asleep, I can't relax and I have anxiety about every random thing on the planet. It's just general anxiety, not about anything specific. I see my psychiatrist again next week. I don't know how long I'll be on the meds. I don't know if I'm much help, but that's all I've got to offer right now.

*speedracer*

BenandSuzy:

*speedracer*:

i was in treatment for post partum anxiety til my son was 1.  i think you would definitely benefit from a mom's support group - and they are free.

if there isn't one in your area, you can look for schools with therapy programs that offer counseling sessions on a sliding scale.  you can also ask other people on here who have been treated for anger/anxiety what they do when they have those feelings coming on.

i never had the anger/temper part, but i had a lot of anxiety.  exercise, setting goals to get out of the house, and just talking/blogging about it helped me feel better (in addition to medication).  i also saw a therapist who suggested i do some breathing exercises to calm myself and some questions to ask myself when i had certain repetitive thoughts - to redirect those thoughts.

Has it gotten better? My docs have me on Xanax but I don't take it regularly for fear of addiction, but they say I need to be on it to level off so I can work on the feelings. Will you always be on meds? Mine started one night and never left and that was 4 weeks ago. It ois worst in the morning as soon as I open my eyes. It has lessened slightly, but not nearly enough.

i'm not on meds anymore.  i started having PPD symptoms when my son was a few weeks old, and didn't start meds until he was about 6 weeks.  even with that, i still felt like i needed more help.  that's when i started going to the support group, and eventually (when DS was ~6 mos) a counselor.  i went off meds when he was about 1 and have not been on them since.  i'm not as familiar with xanax, but i thought it was for more acute type anxiety, not a maintenance/everyday kind of drug.  does it have addictive properties (i have not heard that)?

if you don't want to take something they have prescribed for you, see if they will change it to something you will take regularly or see if they can help allay your fears of addiction.  

ScissorTailedFlycatcher

If you can call your doctor and do a phone appointment, Walmart has certain meds for $4 a month. That's what I did/am doing.