The health visitor is coming tomorrow. What do I say to her?

[cori]

I think i might have a touch of PND. I am not sure. I feel teary quite often, I take my anger out on DH. I feel I cant cope with household stuff. Cant be bothered to go out most of the time. On the other hand I feel like I am exaggerating these feelings or just making it up and should just push myself more. I dont know. How do I explain to the HV whats going on when I am not sure myself?

tell her your fears....tell her you are concerned you have PND......tearfulness, not coping, not going out are signs....

how old is your LO

i had PND after my first...am glad to say i recovered....with help....

the first step is facing up to the fact it might be a problem, that it is more than baby blues...and you might need some help to address it..

what is your HV like? will she listen to you?

By telling her what you have told us. It does sound like you could have PND. The best thing to do is to ask for some help. Clearly things aren't right. How old is your baby? There are lots of people on here who have had, and still have, PND and I am sure you will get lots of support.

how old is your lo..i would sayit does sound like a touch of PND, be honest with your hv and tell her how you feel, if you dont, they cant help you to get better..i had pnd after ds2, finally admitted it when he was 8 months old, rang the hv and she came out and was lovely.

DS is 6 months old. I have been feeling like this for a couple of months. Feeling tearful is quite new though. ( a couple of weeks) I have been taking St Johns wor ( for about 3 weeks) but doesnt seem to be doing anything.

I dont know about this HV havent thought much of her in the past.
What do they usually suggest?

they would probably suggest seeing the doc for a chat....and possibly they would then prescribe ADs,....maybe some counselling to help you through this..has something happened recently to trigger this or has it been a gradual decline in the way you are feeling?

If you end up on medication you will probably have to stop the St John's Wort. Try bananas and lettuce as a natural remedy.

I think perhaps a gradual decline. But I have also recently come back from visiting sick grandmother in Australia and that trip has raised lots of issues for us as family so that may be a part of it. But if thats the issue its not PND is it. I do know i wasnt feeling right before we went away though.

Should I say, ' I think i might have PND' or just talk about how i feel. I am very good at that TBH

don't think you need to plan it..let it flow.. if you are good at expressing your feelings.. just do that!

sorry meant to say NOT very good at that.

you are doing well on here! don'tworry..say what you have said here....likelihood is you will get a bit teary...but let it come out....she can hoepfully help..and loads of support here too!

Cori. You sound just like I would have described myself. Half the time I thought I just needed to give myself a kickup the backside especially when I was having times of feeling ok.

My HV has been great, has done several visits and advised me to see the doctor,not necessarily to get AD's but just to make contact. They won'tnecessarily throw ad's at you straight away. They (HV/doctor) will chat to you and try to help you find ways to get through it if you don't want to go on AD's. Just be honest with her. I felt better just finally admitting there was a problem. But Iknow what you mean. I still feellike a fraud when I'm having a good day.

Thanks for that Dontlookatme. I do feel perfectly fine at times. But at others like just now, Dh late, dinner getting cold, clothes to put away, baby crying etc , etc . I just break down and it is too much, whihc is ridiculos really.

it is not ridiculous........honestly.. i remember feeling the same after DS..thinking i have everything i want and yet am so empty.....i thought my life looked perfect from the outside, so no excuse for feeling so low.......but it is an illness that needs treating....and i got better and went on to have DD and no problems.....

did you take ADs? Which ones?

awwwww cori just be honest with the HV about how you are feeling; there is no shame in it and it is the most natural thing in the world to feel overwhelmed by a new baby with little sleep, however 'perfect' your situation may or may not look to the outside world.

it is always tough! and your hormones will still be all over the place. i had PND after my dd was born and i expect i'll get it this time too (i'm 20 weeks pregnant and on my own) so am just preparing myself to go easy on myself; don't beat yourself up for how you are feeling. i am sure you are doing much, much better than you think and rest assured that EVERYTHING you are feeling is totally, totally normal.

hopefully you have a nice HV who can open up some avenues of support for you.

hth xx

and i meant to say, in my experience PND can come on at any point .. not necessarily just after the birth .. maybe the trip to Oz just brought to the surface things that were underlying .. sounds like you have had a lot to deal with on top of a new baby!!

Bloody health visitor didnt turn up. Now what? SHould I just bypass her and go straight to GP.

FGS!! call GP..make an appt...say it is urgent!!!

i took seroxat, cirpamil,lustral in varying doses....venlaflaxine worked for me , in conjunction with counselling!

what a PITA>.and you were all prepared for it too!

getting an appointment with a GP is not usually a problem. Cant go tomorrow though, have another appointment to go to.
Just annoyed i had psyched myself up for today,
I just spoke to her yesterday. I saw her write the appointment in her diary.
This is so unprofessional she didnt even bother to call let alone turn up.