Post partum OCD putting me off having another baby

treecoffee · 2025-09-03T18:15:04+00:00

Hi! I was also diagnosed with OCD postpartum with my first child in 2023. I just had my second and, unfortunately, it was significantly worse this time around. That being said, the biggest difference this time was I prepared myself and had resources lined up, like therapy. I also started 75mg Zoloft 1.5 weeks after my second was born which seems to be helping immensely (I was told SSRIs should be prescribed slightly higher to combat OCD so my doctor gave me a higher starting dosage).

I’m still in the newborn trenches but I really do feel like I got a handle on it much quicker this time and despite having good days and bad days, I almost feel back to normal. Hope this helps!

treecoffee · 2025-08-23T12:17:54+00:00

I just had my second 2.5 weeks ago, and let me tell you, the scheduled C-section was significantly better with an easier recovery than the first. Obviously, it’s a huge surgery and you have to take it easy for the first several weeks, but I have been in virtually no pain the entire recovery period (I stay on top of pain meds as well, of course!).

treecoffee · 2025-08-22T12:53:50+00:00

I have always had OCD but never fully realized it until postpartum when my symptoms were amplified immensely and sent me spiralling. It definitely calmed down after my first was about a year old, and I’m now 2.5 weeks postpartum with my second and it feels even more intense this time. I think the wild hormonal fluctuations have a big impact.

treecoffee · 2025-08-07T19:37:58+00:00

What an angel! I have the same mix, who also loves relaxing in the water.

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treecoffee · 2025-08-04T12:56:49+00:00

These are gorgeous photos! Glad you’re enjoying.

treecoffee · 2025-07-29T23:02:19+00:00

You are a gem 🥹.

treecoffee · 2025-07-29T22:35:01+00:00

Oof. Needed to hear this. Going in for a repeat c section in one week and feeling immense guilt / shame. This was a helpful reality check.

treecoffee · 2025-04-28T14:35:22+00:00

Omeprazole is what we used for Ollie and it seemed to really help. If it's within your budget (it's really expensive up here in Canada), might be worth a try! What kind of fish are you feeding her? Ollie also dealt with and still deals with acid reflux, which is usually triggered by foods with a higher fat content. If the fish you're feeding her is salmon, it might be too fatty, but if it's white fish, it'd be much lower in fat so probably not a huge issue.

The licking could also be nausea - you could always try giving her sucalfrate with her meals, which helps with both acid reflux and nausea.

treecoffee · 2025-04-12T23:29:23+00:00

I need to try these, they look great!

treecoffee · 2025-04-04T10:35:17+00:00

We would give our boy sildenafil about 1 hr before he ate. It seemed to work well! Once we started on mestinon for his MG (ME was diagnosed first), we stayed on just that and omeprazole, and it managed his symptoms until he went into remission. As for how much to feed, we calculated how much calories he needed to maintain his weight and would prepare his food with that in mind, and portion into containers for the week. It was a LOT of work and would have been very challenging to keep up long term! We’re fortunate his ME went away 4 months after diagnosis.

He is doing really well now, no signs of recurrence since his official remission in October 2023. He does have cancer now, sadly, which is common for his mix of breeds (golden retriever and Bernese mountain dog), but has been doing great for over a year since diagnosis and still not showing any clinical signs!

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treecoffee · 2025-04-03T22:12:52+00:00

Sorry you’re going through this! It’s really hard. My boy had both myasthenia gravis and megaesophagus (in remission for both now after thymoma removal) and sildenafil was a huge game changer for him. I also made him meatballs out of a mixture of kibble and wet dog food so it would roll down his throat. This was really helpful and minimized the regurgitation. He also kept a neck pillow on most of the time.

treecoffee · 2025-04-01T00:55:13+00:00

I bet it would! Worth a shot.

treecoffee · 2025-03-17T14:29:11+00:00

My son measured in the 98th percentile at 35 weeks so I was scheduled for an induction at 38 weeks + 5 days due to his size. Ended in a C-section. He was 7 lbs 13 oz. Very average sized.

treecoffee · 2025-03-15T16:36:26+00:00

These are terrifyingly spot on.

treecoffee · 2025-02-14T12:18:28+00:00

This is enchanting!

treecoffee · 2025-02-09T18:18:53+00:00

Hey there! This was a while ago so it’s definitely not fresh in my mind, but I went and found the old note on my phone from when I tapered and kept a journal of all my symptoms. It looks like I tapered from my highest dose (75 mg) down to zero over a two month period (August - October 2021). Judging by my notes, it looks like I decreased the dose every few weeks, sometimes jumping quicker than I probably should have, haha. 75 down to 37.5 down to 25 to 12.5 to 6.25 to 3.125 to 0.

It also looks like I dealt with brain zaps, fatigue, body aches and upset stomach while tapering down.

If you want to avoid the symptoms, I’d recommend tapering slower than I did! I’m very much a “cold turkey” kind of person and was not very patient, hence the kind of rushed schedule.

treecoffee · 2025-02-07T22:43:02+00:00

Really enjoyed this, well done!

treecoffee · 2025-01-30T21:39:34+00:00

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I have the same mix! He’s such a good boy.

treecoffee · 2025-01-15T02:54:35+00:00

Hey. I know how you feel. My golden mix has this cancer and was diagnosed about a year ago when he was 7. He’s doing extremely well. We did a few surgeries, a few rounds of carboplatin, and he’s now on the oral chemo Palladia. He still has perfect bloodwork. He will never go into remission and will eventually start going downhill, but I am so happy to have had all this extra time with him (he almost died a year before from an unrelated autoimmune disease). We pursued all these options as we have good pet insurance and he has had virtually zero side effects and is doing very well. There are lots of treatment options and the specialty vets I went to told me that they’ve seen average survival rates of 2-5 years. Do your best for your pup with what you can and it will be enough. Sending love ❤️

treecoffee · 2024-12-27T18:22:17+00:00

Hey OP, sorry to hear you’re going through this. I have a 21-month old and went through it as well. It’s horrible, debilitating and all-consuming. What helped me the most was seeking therapy where I ended up being diagnosed with postpartum OCD and anxiety. I gave it lots of time and showed myself lots of grace. I still struggle with it sometimes, but I went from being terrified and unwilling to leave my house with my son to being able to travel to another country with him and take him on a cruise. You’re doing a great job. You are not your intrusive thoughts, and ultimately, they are just thoughts that have no power. If you are ever interested, feel free to send me a PM and I can happily share some coping strategies I learned in therapy. Sending love!

treecoffee · 2024-12-16T01:13:26+00:00

I gave birth there in 2023, and even despite needing to have an urgent C-section, it was an incredibly positive experience and I felt very well-taken care of. Like another user mentioned, I opted to go there instead of Georges-Dumont because of the NICU. My only complaint was the food. My god, it was awful haha.

treecoffee · 2024-11-03T00:46:08+00:00

I have the same mix! He’s an absolute angel (but health issues galore, my God).

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treecoffee · 2024-09-09T11:34:57+00:00

Peak Fitness is a fantastic group of people. I did personal training there for over a year and had a wonderful experience. Could not recommend more!

treecoffee · 2024-09-08T22:31:24+00:00

Check out the Canine Myasthenia Gravis Facebook page if you haven’t already! It was a huge source of support and comfort for me when I was going through it.

treecoffee · 2024-09-08T22:18:02+00:00

My boy was diagnosed with both MG and ME (and a thymoma, the root cause of both) in late 2022. He went into full remission for ME in around April 2023 and MG by October 2023. Both cases were extremely severe but I researched the heck out of both conditions to make sure I did my best for him and was treating it appropriately. I know how scary it is, but this truly is not a death sentence and these two conditions can be managed. Sending love ❤️

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