Drugs for PND, any good? What to expect etc.

[snugglejunkie]

I'm seriously considering going to my gp as I'm really struggling with my 7mo DS. A combination of factors really - major one is sleep deprivation but also my periods have returned and bf is going down due to weaning, so obviously some hormonal factors.

I'm just a bit hesitant as I would like to keep bfing for as long as poss for the immune benefits for DS, partic when he starts nursery at 10/11mo and feel that the gp is likely to slap me on some form of drug - unsure if it would be able to continue bfing.

Also what do they generally prescribe for PND? I would say that anxiety is a main feature for me - can't switch off even when (rare occasions!) that DS sleeps. Anyone any positive (or negative) experiences of medication?

I am aware of the non-parmaceutical methods for treating depression - getting out the house, getting as much help as poss, eating well, talking to people etc - and I am trying to do as much of these things as I can, but still feel like I'm crumbling underneath.

Any experiences or advice greatly appreciated.

Hi, couldnt leave your thread unanswered.

I went onto Cipramil when my son was aged 3 years. I struggled and struggled and thought things would sort them selves out for a long time.
They didnt
it affected my relationships with every one around me.
I felt i was "down" due to chronic exhaustion (my son didnt sleep through the night til he was nearly 5 years old)
Hormones, expectaions of those around me and myself etc etc etc.
So i went to GP.

i was on the tablets for about 14 months.
After about 2 weeks it was like some one had put the lights and colour back into my days.
I felt like me again, felt great.

So weaned myself off them and that was about 3 years ago. never been on any thing before or since, totally alien to me to take tablets.
They worked well for me, and i didnt know how bad i was till i started to get better iyswim.

go and have a chat, its not like you can feel any worse is it?

There are anti depressants you can take whilst breast feeding e.g. sertraline. Also it may be that your GP can refer you for counselling such as CBT. Going to your GP is just a starting point and you can see what your options are. Have you tried talking to your health visitor? They can also be helpful and have more time to chat than GPs.

I've had exactly this prob, DS is 6 months and doctor/HV had been trying for a few months to eprsuade me to go on ADs, but I'd resisted as I was breastfeeding.

I started amytriptalline about a month ago, but taking about a fifth of the recommended depression dose - it was the only way the doc could persuade me to take them. Plus I take it after DS's last feed at night (10pm) so he doesn't have another feed until 4am at the earliest - so there'll be less in my bloodstream by then. Also as DS is being weaned, he's only having 4/5 feeds as opposed to the 8/9 he was having, so less is going over. Less of the very tiny amount that it would be anyway!
The aim is that if I need to increase the dose, I'll do so as DS drops more feeds. But even the small amount has helped my get into deeper sleep, so I feel a lot better. Before I'd just lay there waiting for DS to cry, feeling that it was pointless to go to sleep if I was going to be up again in half an hour!!

I've also got my name down for CBT as I had it before (about 5 years ago) and it really helped but I think I need a refresher course to help me cope.

Hope this helps x

Thanks very much for your responses - made me cry (possibly a further indication that I should go to my GP)

So gald to hear it worked for you tightwad - sounds very similar to me and gives me some hope.

I have my HV coming to see me on Monday arcadia, though I'm not massively holding out much hope about that - I really want specific advice re: DS's sleep habits, but I only ever get generic stuff and a bunch of leaflets

Zam72 The one night DS actually slept well (2 awakenings and up at 5.45) I couldn't settle at all - DH does his bit, but has own business and works 6days a weeek and there isn't anyone I can leave DS with (modern families spread all over the country). I use some of the priciples of CBT on myself already to get through the day, I just think I need a bit more! Glad to hear you are on the up, hope it continues.

fiona did you find the amytriptiline has helped?

Ooops - just read your post again fionaSH and you have already answered!! Gah, fuzzy headed!

tell us a bit more about how you feel. i had sleep deprivation. but i don't think i was depressed. there is a difference. have you done the on-line test ? what does your dh, dh and best friend think ? all of mine thougth i was struggling but not depressed.
maybe we can help you deal with some of the issues aswell as getting help from gp/hv.

I've been saying it's sleep dep for a while, but when I mentioned how I was worried I was slipping into pnd, my friend was relieved I'd mentioned it as she'd been worrying and wanted to bring it up, but didn't know how to do so delicately - bless her. However I do feel like if DS was sleeping better (I could take one or two wakes) and napped with a sort of reliability, then I would be able to cope much better. DH is undecided I think - he doesn't want me to be depressed obviously, but I think he is a bit concerned.

The thing that worries me is that I feel a bit like I'm shuting down certain emotions to try to cope. I'm numbing myself to DS's cry - though obviously I respond. I try to play with him - raspberries, row the boat, read to him and similar, but I feel distant to it and going through the motions and I'm worried he'll be able to tell somehow - like my smile doesn't reach my eyes sort of thing. I am randomly bursting into to tears, maybe, 3-4 times a day? When I hear DS's muffled cry when I'm lying in bed, I get all over pins & needles and my head feels like it's in a vice. Argh. Would sleep cure it all? I don't know - it might. Maybe it's just gone on too long (haven't slept for a longer stretch than 2.5hrs since 3rd trimester) and it's now changed me at a chemical level?

Oh, what online test oblomov?

I meant the edinburgh for starters. the gp should do this anyway, bet you've had it before. but it does suggest whther it is pnd or other.
test
do you ffel like this is a never ending tunnel. can you see the ned, if you ... had more help/had more sleep etc. harming ?

interesting that friend commented. mind you, are they qualified to ask ? my mum and my best friend didn't think I was, but one person on my PN thread suggested I was. But actually I wasn't. I scored very low on the test.
i cried. and i got angry. but i had logical reasons for feeling like thta. I was struggling. oh yes, it was all a bit to much. but fop tangible reasons. sick baby. no sleep. diabetes gone mad. not from thinking that irrational thoughts of harm was going to copme to my baby. i laughed and cried. my emotions were up and down. but i feel this is normal, not pnd.
but that is just ME.
do the test. give it some thought. what are the REAL probl;ems here ? what help do you REALLY need.
or if it is hormonal, mental, seratonin, then AD's could really help you.
They gave me AD's. useless. my new Gp said get off them and that I clearly wasn't depressed. but for many many MN'ers they are literally a lifesaver.

what is your gut feeling ?

Had the Edinburgh done (as did everyone)in the first few weeks after DS was born - I laughed it out of the room, was totally blissed out. Tired, yes - but blissed out with our lovely new little man. Excited about everything & looking forward to first smiles, trips out with other mum friends, breastfeeding, weaning etc etc. I can't imagine how I felt like that now. It's all just a drag, a grey blur.
Just redid it - got 22. Off to gp methinks. Bit concerned though, that any subsequent questions I have about DS's sleeping and napping and crying will be fobbed off as me over-reacting iyswim. Ho-hum.

Thanks for responding. Thread helping me to work a few things out in my head.

I have had sertraline before. It apparently has no effect on milk when taken for short periods of time (my gp said months). It worked really well for me.

I don't know about sertraline and BF-ing, but I took it about 5 years ago for 6 months and it was GREAT. I took it along with doing some CBT and it really helped me to get sorted. Weaned myself off it and kept using what I'd learnt through CBT. Worked until I had DS 6 months ago and it's thrown me off kilter...