PND and Insomnia which medication to take?

[SeaShell33]

Hi, first time posting and totally desperate.

I had my daughter just over two weeks ago by cs. Was happy in the hospital but by day 3 stayed to feel down and had intrusive thoughts. 9 days postnatal I had a total breakdown to my parents and husband. All are very supportive.

Saw the doctor 11 days postnatal and was prescribed Sertraline. I had used this 5 years ago experiencing no side effects, also why I picked up that I was becoming depressed again. I took 1 tablet at 12pm and felt totally spaced out, tired but could not sleep. Had heart palpitations and anxiety got even worse. I had already been convinced by my husband and parents to leave the tablets for at least a week as it was very early days so didn’t take another 1. The night I took the first tablet I slept for 30 minutes. The following night I got an hour and a half. I can’t sleep as I’m anxious to every noise LO makes waiting to be woken up. I feel like I’m sleeping next to a balloon with a pin hovering over it.
I have read that some people take Sertraline in the morning to avoid the insomnia. Does anyone else have experience of this?

I also found out today that I’m anemic so have started on iron tablets. I read that an iron deficiency can cause depression and insomnia.

www.pyroenergen.com/articles14/iron-ferritin-deficiency.htm



I am going to go back to the doctors to discuss a different medication but really need some advice on peoples experiences of medication for PND that also helps with insomnia and maybe I’m hoping for too much but one you can drive taking as well.

Hope someone can help me 🙏🏻

[opalescent]

Seashell how are you doing? I’ve only just come across this thread, I hope you are feeling a bit better.

I had pnd diagnosed in July, and my most significant symptom was insomnia. I started taking sertraline, and had a hideous first week of side effects, including worsened anxiety and sleeplessness.

However after 6 days the the side effects subsided and my sleep was suddenly better than it had been in months. It might be worth pushing past the first few days.

Hope you are doing ok, I really empathise with your current situation.

[SeaShell33]

Hi Opalscent

Thank you for your reply
I started taking Sertraline a week ago now. The first two nights were awful, couldn’t sleep until I took a dihydracodine tablet. I then had 4 nights where I managed to fall asleep naturally. Last night though (7th night) I couldn’t sleep and had to take a dihydracodine
I’ve found they are really helping with my anxiety though. I wake up with a panic attack then take my tablet at 6:30 and within 45 minutes I feel much calmer. I get a burr of anxiety in the afternoon around 3ish then some more towards bed time, again centred around will I sleep, will baby wake up
Really hope my sleep will settle again. I’ve got a review with the doctor today as well.

How long have you been on Sertraline and what dose? I’m on 50mg.

[Zaurak]

Stop taking codeine to sleep! Not a good idea.

Postnatal hormone changes coupled with anxiety and the sleep deprivation you get with newborns is a toxic mixture - I sympathise, I ended up with full blown OCD after ds1 was born. He didn’t sleep AT ALL (no more than an hour a time for 18m) and it nearly broke me. It is not an easy thing to deal with.

So. Well done on getting help.

Reset your expectations a bit with sleep- you aren’t going to be getting much sleep with a newborn. Make sure your partner is giving you a solid block of a few hours a day to rest. The first few months you just catnap - I didn’t sleep properly until ds was 18m old.

You also should not be taking any sleeping medication when in charge of an newborn infant and most sleep aids are not suitable for breastfeeding. Are you breastfeeding?
Sertraline didn’t help me at all but Prozac did. As did some proper therapy (not cbt.)

Please don’t take codeine to sleep though.

[Jemimapuddleduk]

Hi Seashell, I really feel for you. I struggled with terrible insomnia leading to severe PND about 4 months after my second baby was born. It nearly broke me. I tried sertraline but it made me feel totally wired. What worked foe me was an older style sedating antidepressant (dosulepin). I could still get up to feed ds but managed to sleep with ease inbetween and it stopped my anxiety which was totally out of control. I had a couple of threads in mental health which are probably there if you advance search them.
I really empathise with what you are going through and wish you all the best. X

[SeaShell33]

Hi Jemima,

Thank you for the advice! I’ve not done and advanced search before, do you have a link to thread?

[Jemimapuddleduk]

I'm not too sure how to link.
If you click on little arrow on top right at thread title above you can see advanced search and then just search by my username.

[BiscayTrafalgarFitzroy]

Hi. Just want to say, I started sertraline for anxiety related insomnia and it was brilliant but it took a couple of weeks to work. Good luck

[SeaShell33]

Thanks Jemima I found it!

Biscay really hope the Sertraline does the same for me too!

[Force12]

Hi Seashell, sorry to hear you are suffering. I had a terrible time with PND and insomnia after my daughter was born in 2015. I think many GPs don't understand PND/anxiety and insomnia. It can be difficult to find the right treatment. But, please be assured that this is a temporary illness that will be cured when you find the right treatment.

Without boring you with my tale of woe, it took me nearly 2 years to find the right treatment. I was fortunate to be seen recently by a nhs Peri natal psychiatry team in the summer and I have finally been prescribed the right combination.

Some anti depressants help you sleep - as Jemima mentions. These include the older style tricyclics, mirtazapine and trazodone.

For me, a combination of citalopram and quetiapine has helped my sleep and anxiety significantly.

It is worth seeing if there is a peri natal psychiatry team where you live. You may even be able to self refer. If not, the GP or health visitor can. For me, they were incredibly helpful and as soon as the meds' kicked in I have made a full recovery.

Anti depressants take several weeks to kick in. I felt better after 2 weeks, good after 6 weeks and 'back to the old me' by 3 months.

I hope that helps - I totally understand what you are going through. It was the worst experience of my life. But, you can and you will get better with the right treatment.

Feel free to PM me
X

[Force12]

Also ear plugs and eye mask really help. You'll still hear your baby cry with ear plugs but you won't be waking with every snuffle

[SeaShell33]

Hi Force,

Thank you for your response! I’ve now been on Setraline for 16 days now taking it at 6:30am. I can certainly feel that the medication has helped tremendously with my anxiety and I’m already feeling much more like my old self. My sleep is also much better, I still have the odd night where I’m struggling to fall asleep and feel anxious but certainly much better than before. I’ve had several nights of 4 hours sleep which right now feels like I’m winning!
Thank you for sharing a positive story about the right ADs xxx

[Force12]

I'm really glad things are improving for you already and I'm sure you'll continue to improve as your medication kicks in further x