Oestrogen patches for treating post natal depression, anyone know anything about this?

[HeinzSight]

Have been doing some searching and came across this.

Does anyone know anything about it?

yes i know about this .i saw the mental health team while pregnant with my 3rd child as i had awful pnd after dd 2 .
the top dog there put me on theses 2 days after the birth and also started on ad's aswell .
neither worked and i still was ill 7 months after the birth so i went back to him and was percribed some other ad's which helped me get better.
imo they didnt work but maybe i would of been worse without them ?? cant say for sure

your pregnant with your fourth arent you?
ask your gp about them its worth a try hey

Apologies for slight hijack, but what are the hormonal links with depression? I have only one ovary, and though I menstruate normally I sometimes wonder whether there might be some lowered hormone that contributes to my depression.

I don't know about Estrogen pathes, but recently I was on estragen tablets for IVF and while taking them at the highest dose my moods have never been so stable.

I'm usually quite volatile and explosive and controlling about my environment but felt much more relaxed on them.

Saying that, I stopped taking them at the weekend and still feel great so who knows?

Don't know about Oestrogen patches but I was prescribed progesterone pessaries for my PND by my GP. He was very much of the opinion that PND was linked to hormonal imbalances (which are to be expected following pregnancy / childbirth anyway), and wanted to tackle this as a first plan of action. I found that they helped enormously - kept me on an even keel, and I certainly noticed within a couple of days when I tried to reduce the dose - was back to being very weepy and not able / wanting to cope with my baby DD. I came off them after about 6 months, coinciding with returning to work.

In answer to your question Spiro, I have polycystic ovarian syndrome, and don't produce enough natural progesterone, so I guess the two could be linked, but don't have any medical evidence to back it up.

The progesterone pessaries (Cyclogest) are also used to treat PMT as far as I know.

Geepers - I also had Cyclogest through my IUI treatment to support a potential / actual pregnancy, but can't comment on how it affected my mood then as it was such a rollercoaster, as I'm sure you understand!

thanks for your messages so far. Yes I'm pregnant with my fourth. The PND was SO bad last time, I really can't bear it again

I'll give my HV a ring and chat to her. SHe saw me go through it last yr, I must admit I think she found it quite upsetting seeing me like that, I've known her for 10 years.

I really want to be referred to a specialist. I knwo this may seem like it's ridiculously early days as I;m only 5 weeks, but if I do need to be referred there may be a waiting list, so want to get in there quick.

you're not being ridiculous !!!
i felt like that too .
it was the midwife who referred me to the mental health team

thank you stressedsanta, I love your name btw!