Help with Post Partum

C.,
im going through the same thing right now.i have a 10 day old nad a 2 year old and the day that they sent me home i cried...and i cried ALL weekend till i finally went to the hosp's ER and they put me on lexapro.(that was on sun.)and bright and early mon. morning i started having panic attacks.i was flipping out ive never had either depression or panic attacks so i didnt know what was going on i went and saw someone on mon. and they taught me breathing tech. to calm myself down.here it is friday and im feeling better.sometimes i do fell kinda down and when that happens my mom and my bf step in and help out but like everyone (including my doc)things will get better and to keep your head up the meds will totally kick in soon enough.if you wanna talk about any of anyhting please feel free to email me i know with me it helps to talk.

i hope to hear from you soon,
A.

Hi, I had really bad PPD with my first son, not with my second son and here I am pregnant with my 3rd son and so scared to go through PPD again, since I was so hoping for a daughter (you are so lucky). I had it really bad with my first son. My advice to you is get as much help with the baby, housework etc. as possible. If you don't have much help from family or friends than hire the help. For the meds, it may take a little while for them to work. However, if you are feeling worse since you've been taking them, then stop using them immediately and call your doctor. I went on meds a couple of years ago and I felt worse with them and decided to handle it the natural way and slowly but surely I got back onto track. You can try diet (salmon, oily fishes, foods with Omega 3s) and excercise. Please let us know how you are doing. PPD sucks big time. Hang in there. This shall pass.

R..

dear C.,

It takes time for the meds to kick in, give it atleast 6 weeks, monitor your diet, and fight it mentally,
Whatever crazy thoughts come into your head, push them out with positive thoughts.

Whatever worrisome thoughts your having share them with your BF, if its Marriage, tell him, if its money tell him, whatever it may be tell him,

Each morning you get up smile, and pretend to be happy to be a mother, and pretend not to feel depressed,and eventually you'll start to believe it aswell.

when your daughter naps , YOU NAP, as for help. And eat plenty. Especially if your breast feeding,

If your still breast feeding I want ot tell you to STOP.

Its been my experience ( 4 pregnancies)
that breast feeding makes your hormones go haywire, and seems to worsen the effects of the depression, the nursing drains you.

PAY attention to when your feeling depressied and anxious.
See if it seems to happen after nursing.

Good LUCk

M

I also haven't had the experience with ppd that you did but my friend did. I think that you should talk with your doctor about changing your medications because different ones work for different people. My friend was experiencing panic attacks and they prescribed her Xanax(sp?) which worked for her. It's too bad that with your extreme feelings that they would make you wait for counseling. What your BF is feeling is completely normal. He wants to be supportive but at the same time may feel abandoned by you. My Husband went through a period of depression and it is hard to be a bystander and not be able to do anything to help.

I send you lots of hugs and I hope that you find what works for you! Just having a baby is stressful and if you are home alone full time with her that can totally add to that stress. Keep on the doctor's until they understand what you need! Good luck C.!

S.

Hi C.,

Please call your OB/GYN ASAP and tell her that you are still not feeling well and ask if the medication that you are on needs to be adjusted. Also tell her that you have been waiting 2.5 months for a therapy session (horrible) and see if she can make a call for you. Remember, use her pull - she works for you.

When I had PPD, my therapist told me to never forget that, "Men don't understand PPD - it's something that they just cannot physically or emotionally understand." They tend to find PPD as annoying and instead of being supportive, get annoyed with it. If you can remeber that, then you can dismiss his poor responses to your needs and accept it (as hard as that may be). Sorry that's how it tends to be. You and he both thought that having a baby would be lots of work but it would also be super rewarding - not depressing. And I agree with the other poster who said to bring him to your therapy session - it will help a LOT for him to have your feelings explained to him.

I had tons of anxiety as well. I felt that I would not be able to care for my daughter cause I had so much pain (psychologically) - and that caused me to be anxious. Tell your OB/GYN that you have anxiety - you may need a different pill. She may reccommend Xanax - but it's addictive - so be careful. Better to try a pill that is both an anti-depressant and anti-anxiety.

And if you still have to wait two weeks - hang in there. You can do it. If you feel crappy in the am, remember that the afternoon is coming - or the opposite. 2 weeks will be here before you know it.

Feel free to write me a personal note if you'd like to chat more. And remember, you WILL get better. You won't feel like this forever. PPD fades away.

Hi C.,

Don't blame yourself for what you are going through. PPD can be very scary and as women our hormones fluctuate so rapidly after childbirth it can trigger it in some women. This is not something that you can snap out of. Be sure to take your boyfriend to your appt. at the mental health clinic. I used to do education for a mental health clinic and once family members understood the illness they were able to be much more supportive. The good news is that it is very treatable. Once you are seen by a psychiatrist they will evaluate you more closely and change, adjust medications as needed and or prescribe continued therapy. I dont' know how long you have been on Zoloft, but it may be that they need to change, adjust meds or you haven't been on it long enough to see the results. Only after a thorough exam can they determine that at the clinic. Also, anxiety tends to get worse if your not getting enough sleep and rest. Hopefully you are getting enough sleep. I hope you begin to feel better soon. If it is PPD I used to prescribe exercise and daily bouts of sunshine and lot's of support. Try not to isolate yourself, which i'm sure is hard when your feeling panicky. Hopefully you have some awesome girlfriends, or family members you can talk to. Hope your feeling better soon. D.

How long have you been on the medication. Most of these are cumulative, meaning they have to build up in your system before they work. So if you have only been on them a week or 2, not long enough. They say that it takes a month before you see the effects of these meds. Make sure you take it every day, and maybe talk to your doctor's about dosage.

hi C., i havent had experience with it to the degree you are, but i just wanted to send hugs and tell you that yes, it is very normal for your hormones to do crazy things to you. although, in my opinion, not as crazy as having you wait 3 months for an appointment!! what were they thinking? i guess 2 weeks more isnt so bad, but if you are really feeling bad, please insist on seeing someone sooner. and zoloft works great for some, and not so great for others. it did bad things to my dad, it might not be right for you. or maybe just a matter of tweaking the dosage. talk to someone, there is help out there. i wish you the best, D.

HI C., I think I spoke to you initially and I am glad you are feeling better. I was on antidepressants and still am, it took me a while to feel better but the dose was 3x the normal dose I was taking before I was pregnant. You may need a higher dose if you are only on 50mg that is very low. There is a natural powder called calm it containa alot of magnesium in it, see if you can get it at a heath food store that might help with the panic issues or you could trial a little ativan. I hope these sugessions help. DO you go to support group for new mothers?
sincerely,
C.
ps. look at the psi website.