NSBR - Post Natal Depression / Post Partum Depression?

[JanMary]

I have just finished reading a book by a friend on Post Natal Depression, and I wondered if anyone else suffered from this?

I did after my 3rd child, which was such a shock, having been fine with my other 2. It can be such an isolating illness, and a difficult one to talk about.If you have suffered or are in the middle of it right now, I would love to hear from you.

I blogged a bit more about the book here

I hope it is ok to post this here.

[epiphany]

I had PND after my daughter was born (11 years ago). It was awful. I couldn't function normally...it was an effort to get out of bed in the morning, let alone do anything round the home. I couldn't even answer the phone on my bad days. Because I'd had a c-section, I was eligible for home help (they come round & do your cleaning for you for 6 weeks) & it was the home helper who alerted the Plunket Nurse (a health nurse who comes round to weigh baby & check everything is ok) - I'd turn up to Dr & Plunket visits seemingly normal & no one realised anything was wrong.

I think my lowest point was the night I threw steak knives at my then partner (now ex) & tried to OD. I was taken to hospital & admitted under the mental health act (so they could assess me as the first time I went there, I just walked out again). I was put on antidepressants & they helped enormously.

I suffered from PND for nearly 2 years. During that time I tried to commit suicide several times & was dealing with an enormous amount of emotional stuff as well as the PND...it really was terrible. But the medication helped a lot.

Unfortunately, I'm convinced it effected the bonding between my daughter & I. I love her to bits - don't get me wrong...but I was never as close to her as I am with my son.

Interestingly, my aunt has a theory that breastfeeding has links to PND...that those with trouble establishing breastfeeding are more likely to suffer some form of PND. I don't know whether it's true or not but I did have trouble with my daughter (she was breast & bottle fed & I had trouble establishing breastfeeding at the beginning)...no trouble whatsoever with my son (& no PND...yay!) - but then, he was born 10 years later & I am in a much better place in my life than I was back then.

[epiphany]

Ok...I've just re read my post. I'm not loopy...honest

[missys_bits]

Originally Posted by epiphany

Ok...I've just re read my post. I'm not loopy...honest

I dont think you sound loopy at all. Being able to talk about the bad times makes it possible for us to reach out to others who may be having similar experiences and help them see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

[mikelinz]

I'm a midwife and i had PND after my third child (first was twins). I remember that every day felt grey like a big cloud hung over me. I had a great birth, i was successfully breastfeeding after completely failing the first time round. Everything was so good in my life and i felt numb. My doc kept refusing to give me medication and eventually... 7 months or more later it gradually went away.
It was the breastfeeding that maintained that bonding with my daughter. otherwise i dont think i would have bothered picking her up. It is 18 years ago now. And i feel so sad for both me and my daughter because we missed out on so much fun and excitement.
So i talk to antenatal ladies all the time about PND and seeking help and how guilty it makes u feel and how hard it is to admit that u have it.
Lindsay

[Lena Brandenburg]

I suffered from PPD after both deliveries, but never anything too serious or for too long. Both times mine set in a little later than you'd think.

With my son, I had a traumatic birth experience/long hospital stay (9 days and they almost let him go home without me). I went home fine and everything went well. Until I went to work when he was 3 months old. By the time he was six months, I was so depressed. I would go to work to a depressing job (I worked on death row typing psych evals) and then I'd come home....feed him, bathe him, eat dinner and we'd both go to bed at 7 p.m. DH worked the night shift at the time 6p-6a. I honestly did nothing but sleep! I'd sleep until morning and do it again. I knew I needed help so I got put on Prozac for 2 months. Then I quit my job to be a SAHM and things got so much better....I was able to go off the Prozac too

With Naomi, they tried to give me antidepressants while I was still in the hospital having her! I refused. My room was right next to the nurses station and I could hear them whispering about me...they were saying, "She didn't eat lunch." "I know, she didn't eat breakfast either!" "She needs another box of tissues, she hasn't stopped crying." etc etc etc. It's funny now because they didn't know what to do! They sent in social workers, counselors, even the head of nursing. They extended my stay from 4 to 6 days to ensure that I had an inpatient visit with a psychiatrist before they'd release me. And honestly? Geeze, it was just hormones, not PPD! I think if I hadn't been refusing the Zoloft they probably wouldn't have been so concerned but I wasn't going on anything I didn't have to, either.

I ended up needing some antidepressants when Naomi was about 5 months old...I stopped wanting to go to my doctor's appointments and stopped wanting to leave the house. It was VERY similar to my PPD with my first child. So I knew what to do...I went on Wellbutrin for about 3 months to get me "over the hump" so to speak.

So for ME, I know that what I need to do is recognize the symptoms, and I need something for a few months to get through the worst of it...and then my life can return to normal.

I think the important part is just that you listen to YOUR body and know what is normal and what is not. Accept the help you need and be strong enough to know you don't just need to be tanked up on pills either. PPD is so real and so scary and people should really talk about this more!

[mrswresh]

I did too. It was mild compared to others but hard none the less.

I would just feel sad and cry for no reason. I had a heavy heart and would worry constantly that something would happen to the baby.

I had it with both of my sons. With my first son I did not realize it until about 6 weeks after birth. When I did I went to the doctors and started anti-depressants and it helped 100%.

When I was pregnant with my second son I was concerned it would happen again. I talked to my doctor about my concerns and decided that two weeks before my scheduled c-section I would start taking the medication so it was already "kicked in" when I gave birth.

I am so glad I did. I did not have any of the symptoms of Post Partum after the delivery of my second son.

I stayed on the medication for 3-4 months and did not have any difficulty quiting when I felt like it was time.

There is such a stigma for women to take the meds or to just get over it so it is not talked about the way it should be. PPD is very real and there is no shame in getting the help you need to feel better. No new mother should deny herself the happiness of the first weeks of a new baby because she is too scared or ashamed to seek help.

[maggie965]

Originally Posted by JanMary

I have just finished reading a book by a friend on Post Natal Depression, and I wondered if anyone else suffered from this?

I did after my 3rd child, which was such a shock, having been fine with my other 2. It can be such an isolating illness, and a difficult one to talk about.If you have suffered or are in the middle of it right now, I would love to hear from you.

I blogged a bit more about the book here

I hope it is ok to post this here.

I did after my daughter, and probably after my son who is older. I had to take medication for a bit but I'm find now.

[{Laura}]

I had PPD so bad with my 1st that all I did was sleep and take nominal care of her. I think that DH thought I was doing a good job, that is why he never said anything. But After I got PG with #2, the depression turned to anger and then to rage. DD was 15 months old then and I was yelling all the time. That is when I realized I needed help! I went on Zoloft while I was still PG with DS and the rest of my pregnancy was a breeze! Things got so much better and I stayed on the meds even while BF DS. Then I realized I was just surviving my life and not actually living it. So After talking to my Dr, I weaned off and everything has been great. That was 3 years ago and now everything is great! I wish now that I had been willing to get help when DD was a baby so that we might not be having the problems we are with her today!

[Gina.Maria]

I was fine with my first (I don't know how because it was the most stressful period of my life) and fine with my third (last) but I experienced a very bleak time with my second when she decided to give up breastfeeding at 6 months. I'd been floating along happily and then I just felt destroyed all of a sudden. It took about 6 months to get over it but it was never as severe as suicidal thoughts or fits of anger - just interminable sadness that didn't have any logical source. I wish, now, that I'd talked to someone about it and gotten some help because it's six months that is just a blur and I can never get that back. I think the dramatic shift in hormones that occurred with the sudden cessation of breastfeeding had a lot to do with my problem. With my son, he breastfed for almost two years and we stopped when we were both ready.