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Mental health

Has anyone ever got better after having depression?

19 replies

findingthepath · 23/02/2011 22:25

Hi

Ihad PND and noe depression. It started 2 years ago but i have only been on meds since last june.

I'm feeling a lot better now and feel like myself again. But today the HV said that it takes about a year for the meds to work well.

I'm on 150mg of steraline a day as i'm breastfeeding still.

I just want to know if i will ever get better

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samdlb · 23/02/2011 23:25

iv had depression on and off for 14 year but havnt been on meds for 5 year it gets easier to deal with and av some control without the meds if u look for the signs and best ways of dealing with it but some people do get better and stay better

reallytired · 24/02/2011 11:38

Yes, I have got better. Ie. completely off medication and leading a happy life, except for a bit of mild anxiety.

You are on quite a high dose of sertaline and if you are still feeling low then prehaps you see your GP and try something else. Sertaline is not the only medication you can take breastfeeding. If your GP feels unhappy to prescribe anything else then ask for a referal to the community mental health team.

"I'm feeling a lot better now and feel like myself again. But today the HV said that it takes about a year for the meds to work well."

No you should feel an improvement a lot faster than that. You may need to still on medication for six months after you feel better.

I'm sorry to disagree with your health visitor.

Alibabaandthe40nappies · 24/02/2011 11:44

I had PND and I'm better.

If you are feeling better then your medication is working - I think that all your HV is saying is that you need to stay on them for longer, although frankly I would be discussing it with your GP rather than your HV.

I took Sertaline for a year (also BFing), and I started to lower my dose after about 10 months IIRC and saw my GP regularly the whole time so that I wasn't reducing too fast etc.

I'm 35 weeks pregnant with DC2, and this time I will be much more alert to the possibility of PND, as will DH and others around me. I wouldn't hesitate to take ADs again, as for me they were fantastic and transformed my life.

madmouse · 24/02/2011 12:24

Look at it this way - if you hurt your back in an accident you can recover from that, but in times of high stress you may find your back aching a bit.

You can get better from a depressive episode and lead a normally and happy life, it doesn't mean you will never feel down again.

poodlerockin · 24/02/2011 13:10

I've had severe depression and thought I would never get better either :( To be point where I thought there was no point in living as I would be ill forever. I think it's quite common to think like that when you're ill.

I did get better but it was very gradual, to the point where I can't actually tell you when I became completely well again. It takes time, and quite often it feels like you're taking one step forward two steps back. I don't think many people just wake up one morning and feel completely well again, but I do believe the large majority of people do get better over time if they receive the appropriate treatment.

findingthepath · 24/02/2011 13:19

Thanks everyone for your replies

I think i was just throwen by the fact i had to stay on the meds for a year or more. I think they are working and i do feel so much better on them.

I just have a big self dout as its in my head and i cant see it getting better and i read some other posts that said if you feel fine than you are not really.

I dont think i'm explaining myself very well, sorry. Its like i thout i needed to kill my self and it seemed locial but it was not and now i think i dont need the meds but i really do.

I have lost trust in myself

I just want to be better.

(sorry if none of this makes sence, also i'm dyslexic so sorry for the spelling)

Thank you all again for your posts

OP posts:

Alibabaandthe40nappies · 24/02/2011 14:20

I understand completely how you feel.

The important thing is not to rush to come off them, and not to come off them too quickly. You need to give the medication time to fix the chemical imbalance properly.

I had some counselling alongside taking ADs which I found really helpful - maybe ask your GP if there is any available in your area?

TheMonster · 24/02/2011 14:23

Me! I have! DS is now 4. I had serious PND after he was born and gave up work as well because of it. I was in a right state for the best part of three years. I am now back working full-time (and loving it) and I have a good relationship with DS (most of the time!). I'm still on the anti-depressants but a much lower dose that I was on.
There is light at the end of the tunnel.

smokingnuns · 25/02/2011 09:55

Me too! I had PND after my ds, now 21, was born. I was very ill and it is not an exaggeration to say that ADs saved my life. ADs kick-start feelgood chemicals that your body has stopped making. I took them for a few years - can't remember how long, sorry - and came off them very gradually over 18 months. Your HV probably meant to say that you musn't come off them too soon (and DEFINITELY not too quickly! Sorry to shout ) as it is very common that people feel well and think they don't need the ADs any more, so stop - argh! I agree with your HV that a year is a good benchmark before you start, very slowly, coming off them if you have felt consistently well during that time.

The good news is that ADs do indeed kickstart the chemicals that have been lacking and they start to run on their own - a year is a good time to ensure they are established iyswim. You will get well, find the path , as so many of us have. I don't take ADs now and haven't since, though I would in a heartbeat if things became unmanageable again. That's not to say I haven't had some difficult times, but that is just an average life imo, nothing to do with my past experience of PND.

findingthepath · 25/02/2011 19:34

Thank you everyone for your posts

Its good to know there is light at the end of the tunnel even if it might be a long way off before i see it

Its also reassuring that after i finish the meds that i will still feel good.

I will stop giving my self a hard time now and take it slow and build my self up again.

Thank you

PS if there are anymore happy endings please keep them coming

OP posts:

countrylover · 26/02/2011 20:05

I have had PND twice and both times I have got better. The first time took about two and a half years and this time I'm nearly two years in and I feel completely better again. Both times I thought I'd be in the fog forever and that I'd never get well again but I know that's just all part of the depression.

I did get better although obviously there will always be a 'hangover'. Prior to having PND I was rarely anxious and certainly never ever depressed or even low. Now I do suffer from anxiety from time to time but it is manageable.

I hope that helps. I know when I had PND I didn't believe people when they told me I would get better but believe me YOU WILL!

earwicga · 26/02/2011 23:43

There is no minimum time or maximum time. A GP told me once that it takes as long as it takes. Your HV is talking out her arse if she is giving you a time scale.

The good news is you will feel better, and you will come out of this a stronger person.

NanaNina · 27/02/2011 12:47

Earwig - I don't think it's helpful to make the comment that you did about the HV's advice - she is qualified and will have seen many cases of PND - I think she was in any event maybe referring to the length of time the OP needed to be taking meds.

giraffesisonadiet · 27/02/2011 12:52

Yes, I am better :)

Bexamundo · 05/03/2011 08:40

I've had depression, 3 separate episodes. The first was the worst and I improved after 6 months with counselling and citalopram. Now I can recognise the signs when I'm getting bad again e.g atm I have been struggling with anxiety which I am having counselling for so it didn't get to.the point where I'm depressed again. I have 2 close friends who had pnd and are fully recovered now.
It will take you as long as it takes. Medication usually takes 6 weeks to get into your system but recovery time is variable. You'd done the hardest part - recognising the problem. You'll get there, just don't rush it! Take care.

melvinscomment · 05/03/2011 13:01

@ findingthepath :- Re your question "Has anyone ever got better after having depression?" I would say yes, most people do, as the event or events which caused the depression drift into the past, which I think will apply to post natal depression and post traumatic stress disorder, where the traumatic event(s) could be anything relatively stressful.

As regards reallytired's suggestion "If your GP feels unhappy to prescribe anything else then ask for a referal to the community mental health team." I would definitely proceed with caution on that. As well as CPNs, who may conceivably do something useful, social workers who section people also work for the CMHT! I think one should only ask to be referred to the CMHT if one thinks one needs specialist psychiatric treatment. If one isn't happy with what one's GP is prescribing I think it would be a lot better to change one's GP!

melvinscomment · 05/03/2011 13:13

Come to think of it, I don't think a CPN is likely to do much more than ask one how one is and whether or not one has taken one's meds, as prescribed. So that makes it even less of a good idea to ask to be referred to the CMHT!

FairyBex · 05/03/2011 13:21

I got better too :)

I had pnd with my son and had the same ADs as you as I was BF too. My doc said that once I started to feel better I needed to stay on them for 6 months then look to come off them slowly.

Watching video of how I was then seems so foreign to how I am now so stick with it. It does and will get better.

findingthepath · 05/03/2011 19:12

Thanks bex

I really needed to hear that tonight.

I'm having a bad day and i just want to run away or hide in my room and mumsnet.

Ishouted at my 2 year old and now i feel like i cant cope and i dont desver to be a mum

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