postnatel depression 14 weeks on??!!

[December20]

My baby is nearly 14 weeks old, and I thought i was feeling better, but the health visitor came and told me iv got postnatel depression, now i feel crap again, how can she make this judment she doesn't know me at all??!!

why did she say that? what did you talk about? PND can last for years, it doesnt have a time scale.

tbh, my dh spotted that I was ill before I did, and pleaded with me to see the gp. I went and he took one look at me and diagnosed.

Are you sure she didn't simply suggest you may have it? She's not qualified to make that diagnosis but I'm sure she's fairly experienced in spotting the possible signs.

I read somewhere it's possible to get PND up to 18 months after the birth.

Hey don't feel crap bet you doing a great job, did you tell her something to make her think that? Are you getting up everyday, bathing and dressing, or are you tending to stay in your PJ's?

there are some fairly obvious physical signs, once you know what to look for. my mil used to talk about my eyes. apparently I looked hollow.

HV's usually have checklist of signs to look out for and if you have a certain amount they will advise you to see the doc.

I did the questionairre thingy when i had DD 8 years ago but wasn't showing many signs in the first couple of months and because i didn't see HV very often didn't realise that infact that i did have it until 18 months later when my DH pointed out how bad i had gotten and i was in the pits of despair.

In fact looking back i had it after DS2 was born 12 years ago....but didn't realise thats what it was....the HV never did the questionairre back then and it was never mentioned

But please dont feel bad, it's not something you have done it's just one of those things.It can be treated

Do you feel ok in yourself?

Any half decent health visitor should be able to spot post natal depression fairly easily. She is not judging you, though, or your ability to be a good mum. What did she suggest as the next step - did she recommend you see your GP?

PND can develop any time up to a year after birth. I've had it after all of mine, the latest I developed it was 6 months on.

Try not to let this make you feel worse - if you do have PND, then it's far better to deal with it early on than to let it continue unchecked. If this means you get appropriate support then it's a good thing.

take care of yourself, and good luck!

It isn't a judgement, please don't take it as a personal attack. A HV isn't qualified AFAIK to diagnose PND but they do generally have a fair bit of experience in recognising the symptons.

How do you feel in yourself? Have you looked into any of the symptons of PND? has anyone close to you remarked on your mood/wellbeing? My mum noticed there was a problem because my mood went from tearful to hyper and vice versa. My speech was rapid and I chatted bollocks apparently.

My DP could no longer deny I had issues that needed dealing with when I tried to walk out on them when DD was 10 days old as I was convinced she hated me and wasn't even my baby anyway- there must have been a mix up.

This is possibly a bit extreme but there are lots of different signs to look out for.

Here in Scotland (not sure about anywhere else in the UK of course) my HV did a PND "rating scale" called The Edinburgh Post Natal Depression Scale (EPDS) and this can indicate whether you have difficulties here or not.

My DS is now 3 so this was 3 years ago but to my surprise I "failed" and indeed did have PND. Quite a surprise as Im a Psychiatric Nurse! As they say sufferers are generally the last to realise. Has your HV did any rating scales with you, chatted about how you are feeling etc?

Saying "I feel crap again" indicates you are already feeling crap, your HV will only have your best interests at heart and the fact you perceive this as a "judgement" kinds of indicates to me you may have peoblems that need addressing.

Talk to her, ask her why she thinks you have PND? Ask your partner (if you have 1) what he thinks? ask your family?