I’m one week postpartum and am having a difficult recovery. I was slightly anemic during pregnancy and lost a lot of blood during delivery, but not enough for a transfusion. I have been told to take iron supplements to treat the anemia but have been having symptoms that have sent me to the hospital. I have trouble breathing when I lay down and can feel my heart like it’s beating out of my chest! I went to the ER and they did a bunch of tests, including a CT scan to ensure that there are no blood clots (there aren’t), and then basically just sent me home and told me to follow up with my family doctor.

So, although they’ve said there isn’t really anything wrong, I’m sitting here at 2 am, unable to sleep because I’m worried. I keep thinking I’ll lay down and won’t wake up. I just spent the past two days in the ER for 6+ hours each time and am running on only about 3-4 hours of sleep, but I still can’t calm myself enough to go to sleep.

How do I move past this? Has anyone had a similar experience and what made you feel better? What kind of treatment did you get?