Has anyone spent time as an in-patient in a mother/baby psychiatric unit?

[supposedlycrazy]

I'm a very regular poster but feel I should name change when I write posts about mental health issues.

I have a young baby and a few weeks ago I went to see my psychiatrist for a review and she felt I was hypomanic and getting worse and needed to go into hospital for a while with baby dd so they can put a lid on it and sort out my meds.

I have been there 2.5 weeks and currently I'm on leave at home.

I feel confused - I didn't know I was getting ill, perhaps because I was so busy. To top it all my CPN visited today and her visit confused me a lot, even though I am feeling a lot better.

I'm diagnosed with bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder. I feel frustrated - like my head doesn't work properly and also a profound sense that I don't want my life to continue to be a mess punctuated by trips into hospital

oh am so sorry to hear you're having such a hard time with all this, having a new baby is hard and confusing enough without all the complications you are coping with too

how did the visit from the CPN confuse you? do you have a regular support team or are you having to explain it all over and over again to new people?

have you explained that the constant change is causing you anxiety too?

Is it possible you could return to the Unit to talk about your concerns with the staff there?

If you are 'on leave' you are still under their care at this stage. They will be able to talk to you about the reasons for your admission

Hi there sc,
I was in hospital with depression over christmas, I was in for a month in the end. When I was there there were so many comings and goings that I really couldn't work out what was going on with me. I think you just have to wait it out until you are feeling better/your meds have been sorted.

I hope you continue to feel better. Can you talk to your CPN again and sort things out. I'm sure that she wouldnt want you to be worrying, shes there to help you.

I have no idea what you are feeling or what you are going through, but, change your name my love, you are not crazy, far from it in fact as you are getting help.

Sorry to hear that thingamajig - I hope you are better now. Yes I will talk with my nurse/psychiatrist when I get back - they have all been lovely and very helpful. I just wanted to know if anyone here had experienced a similar thing - being hospitalised with a young baby.

What happened with my CPN was that she was very negative when she came in and said I looked stressed (which I didn't feel). My mum found her very odd as well. I told her that the psychiatrist at the hospital had recommended that among other things I need psychotherapy to help me develop better coping mechanisms and heal the wounds caused by life experiences. I told my CPN this and she said 'oh that's just words'. I couldn't understand what she was talking about because I thought it was a sensible suggestion.

That sounds a very odd thing for her to say. I have found the psychotherapy ive had since the latest hospitalisation really helpful.

My dd was 11 months when I went in, I had to stop BF her; m and b unit didnt seem to be an option, so I dont know about them. How do they work?

supposedly - agree with lovemyshoes re the name change

and please write down what she says, how it makes you feel and questions you want to ask when you go back to them - don't get muddled up about it because if she's not giving you support that is consistant with the rest of your health care team then its not productive

I understand what you mean......the name change is really just to disguise me - people with mental health problems are sometimes regarded as 'crazy'.

thingamajig - the unit I'm in has 4 places and takes pregnant mums and mums with babies up to 12 months. It is very nice and I can't fault the care that I've had in there. They have nursery nurses who will look after your baby. In my case they initially took dd at night because lack of sleep triggers problems for me. They don't have this service in my city though so I had to travel to Derby.

I think I definitely need psychotherapy - I can't understand the CPN's approach at all...