Postnatal Depression Support

[susanmt]

Is there anyone else out there currently suffering from PND?? My son is 4 weeks old and I have a 2 yr old daughter. I am getting treatment for PND but would like to chat to others who are going through it - maybe we could support each other a bit and share the things that give us the good days?
Looking forward to hearing from folk soon
Susan

Judd - I was at the 'tears whilst singing nursery rhymes' stage when ds was 4-6 months old. You've made me realise just how far I've come since then. Thank you.
Ds is now almost 1 year old and I've started to go to mother and baby group because I like it instead of because it's good for me, sometimes I even smile/talk to people. I'm off the tablets and beginning to feel like the old me.
Sent off my 'subscription' to mumsnet as soon as I got the email. IMO mumsnet saved my sanity in the dismal days when lurking here was the nearest thing to a conversation I could manage.
Glad to hear you're still on the up, susanmt :-)

Does anyone know whether you can take prozac or similiar whilst breastfeeding. Baby is 9 months so not feeding very much now. Just wanted to know before I go to the docs and find out its a no-no. You know how difficult it is to get to the docs in the first place armed with children and then when you find out its all been a waste of time, you feel worse! Would appreciate your comments.

My GP wouldn't prescibe anti-depressants for me whilst I was still breastfeeding. I stopped bfing at 7 months and started the anti-depressants soon after.
If you think you may need anti-depressants please go and see your GP, even if they don't prescribe they should be able to give you information on other ways to tackle your depression.
Hope you feel better soon..
BB

Unfortunately JoT, Prozac is one of the few drugs that is a no-no when breastfeeding. My best friend was on prozac for years (it did wonders for her by the way), but had to stop during her pregnancy and the whole time she breastfed (even when she was down to less than once a day). But as bluebear said, go to your gp anyway and see whether they can help you in other ways. Maybe seeing a therapist might help (i know it's not big here in the uk, but i have lots of american friends who swear by their therapists). Also, try to get out of the house without your baby. I know that I really went stircrazy when my son was around 9 mo. I solved the problem by going back to work. Good luck.

You can take Lustral (sertaline) while breastfeeding - I know because I have done it twice now and also took them when I was pregnant. Its a prozac like drug, works in the same way, but safe for this kind of thing.
A NCT BFC should be able to give you the info, I got it from one who had a book called 'Medecine and Mother's Milk' whic told you all about it.
HTH

My friend had severe post natal depression, she was put on Prozac and was breastfeeding and is still doing both 12 months later. She was told that there are no conclusive studies on the effect of prozac on breast milk. She is in the medical profession herself.

SofiaAmes - we have literature that states Prozac can be used in breastfeeding - the benefit outweighs the risk. I will look it out at work tonight.

My friend lives in the usa, so maybe the guidelines are stricter/different there. Her doctor seemed to allow her all sorts of other things while breastfeeding (which i would have avoided myself) like sleeping pills and cold medicines. I suppose as you say it's weighing the benefits and risks. My friend gets depressed, but maybe not to the degree that her doctor thought that it warranted taking prozac while bfing....

I'm cross with my GP now, I struggled on without medication whilst bfing cos he said that he couldn't let me have anything. (He was a locum rather than my regular GP so I can't get hold of him to complain). I didn't give up bfing to get anti-d's but I seriously considered it! Grrrr...

I've read that Seroxat is similar to Prozac but is safe while BF. Is that the case, Mears?

The information we have from our consultant paediatrician is that the evidence so far on use of prozac is not conclusive. One study ( small ) showed that breast fed babies whose mothers took prozac had more colic. Another study indicated that babies may have slower weight gain. Information about the studies had been sent by the drug company. Different mothers will have different levels of the drug in their milk. The advice is that the lowest therapeutic dose should be prescribed. Mothers who wish to breast feed should not be discouraged . I am sure the information regarding seroxat will probably be similar. There was more information in the unit about Prozac because there had been a woman asking about breastfeeding while taking it, so the drug company was contacted.

A useful number that we have is for Wendy Jones, a pharmacist who gives advice on a Drugs in Breastmilk helpline for anyone to call.
The number is 01705 598604.

Hello I'm new to Mumsnet and am interested to know if anyone has had pnd a 2nd time, my ds is 9 wks and also have 3yr dd, suffered badly with dd and now bad feelings are creeping back again, but not had any difficulty with bonding with ds only dd, is this common, feeling v guilty as dd seems to bring out the pnd. Is it something to do with how placid a child is, my ds is model baby, no colic, almost sleeps through etc, but dd was very hard work and still is, I thought it was all my fault that dd behaved like this, she had colic all day for 4 months, tried every thing to sort it, nothing worked, HV spotted PND, scored highly on the test they do.
Am thinking of going to GP but not very easy to talk to and HV is patronising, bit scared of being told that its all in my mind and to get on with it... so far its worse during the week when i'm on my own with the kids, eg was sitting in ds nursery whilst he was sleeping and was crying and feeling awful because was so relieved that my mum had come to take dd out for the afternoon and i could spend time with ds. Am i a bad mother? ( am crying as i post this now) Had prozac las time, but came off it quite quickly as convinced myself i was better but now not so sure. I think am quite good at hiding my pnd so as not to feel pathetic in front of family and friends. What shall i do?

There are several anti-ds that can be taken while bf - seroxat is among them. There are many studies showing the safety of seroxat (paroxetine) and others. Here's a recent paper:
The British Journal of Psychiatry (2001) 179: 163-166
Use of sertraline, paroxetine and fluvoxamine by nursing women.

Prozac - the jury is still out. Hale (Medications and Mothers Milk, useful evidence-based text book that all GPs and other HPs looking after bf women should have but few do) makes a distinction between the neo-nate and the older baby.

For doctors to suggest a woman with pnd can't be treated pharmaceutically if she is bf is just poor medicine, but this response is sadly very common.

Mears - Wendy is not taking calls, last time I heard.

Girly, I had pnd first time but haven't had another yet so don't know if I would again...

Could you change your GP or see another one at the practice if your Gp is unhelpful? There's no shame in getting help if you need it and you might feel better if you do.

Please don't feel pathetic: it's NOT pathetic to have pnd or even to feel like crying when you've got an active child to deal with all the time. Ignore your HV if she's not helpful and get some help. Your GP is very unlikely to tell you to get on with it, especially if you had pnd before. Please don't feel you've got to hide it or struggle on without any support.

And you are not a bad mother for feeling like this. It's a good sign that you are recognising your feelings and able to post here for help. Maybe the next stage is talking to the people around you. What does your DH think? Good luck.

Wickedwaterwitch,

Thanks for your message, having read yours and others posts I am realising that pnd is much more common than i thought.
My dh is great, initially i thought that maybe this time i would not suffer as have been taking vitamins etc and trying to keep positive, but gradually it has been wearing me down and i am recognising the signs again, dh also said the same as he caught me crying in ds's bedroom, which brought it all out into the open, so got an appointment on Wed with female GP (hoping she'll be sympathetic).

It will be easier to talk to GP than family (exc dh) as no one in my family has ever had depression and they are of the type to stick there heads in the sand when it comes to problems or expect you to recover after a few happy pills...

Off soon to have coil fitted this evening, this will really help my mood! Has anyone else had a Mirena before, if so what did you think?

Girly,
I was in tears reading your post. I have 3 kids and was fortunate enough not to suffer with pnd, but my mum did with me and my brother, both over 30 years ago, and she still cries now thinking about how awful it was. I cannot offer you any advice but PLEASE don't think you are a bad mum. It is your family's problem if they do not acknowledge your pnd: they are the ones who are wrong, not you. I am sending you lots of hugs and hope your appointment with the G.P goes well. Let us know how you get on. oxocube xxx
P.S. I think there is another thread about the coil you mentioned - try doing a search. I'm sure someone who posts here had one fitted a few days ago. xxx

As someone who has taken Seroxat and Prozac (see thread on depression) I would never take Seroxat again. It was far easier to get off Prozac than Seroxat.

I didn't have any side effects with prozac but Seroxat was scary to start with, and if you forgot to take it, it soon was apparent!

Girly - big ((HUGS))
I have pnd for the second time - I know how you feel! It is difficult to deal with, and I think it is worse the second time as you have to deal with a toddler and a baby and a tip of a house and everyting else.
I think you are better seeing a GP and going on the tablets if need be - I was glad I went on them again and I am starting to make some progress as far as the depression goes (it was actually me who started this thread when I was feeling really bad), but I am still finding it a lot harder than the last time.
Hope you can get sorted out - feel free to emil me on [email protected] if you want to.

Oh and I had a mirena put in at about 9 weeks and had no problems then or since - there's a whole thread about it somewhere though. The best thing was knowing how low the chances are of getting pg again, which is the last thing I could cope with right now!

Thanks for the support guys its comforting to know there are other people out there who feel the same as i do now. Will let you know how i get on at the docs.

ps Coil fitting was ok, not as bad as i thought, i was really dreading it as last time it hurt like hell, my dd was 4 months the last time i had one fitted, this time my cervix was still a bit open so not difficult to fit (thank god!)

Thanks for all your advice re prozac and bf. It has made very interesting reading. I am going to the docs Wed too but could only get in with a female locum so lets see what she has to say. I am just hoping she will appreciate what I have to say. I am feeling more panic stricken and stressed and very hyped up with the children (have 3) and feel very tearful about not coping very well with it all. I feel most of the time things are out of control and I 'harp' on for no good reason at the kids. I am also obsessive about chores and can't get myself out of the kitchen, its like I am stuck to it with glue and realise I have wiped the same work surface over a million times. I have to make myself leave the room but still worry that everywhere is in a state - no matter how many times people tell me its not worth it. I have shared it all now with dh so feel a lot better but today it all started again at 3.00pm when the whole house was full again and ds didn't stop crying until 7.45pm. I thought I was going mad! Is this just how most mum's feel though, I am a bit confused? I just hope I don't feel exceptionally high on Wed when I go to the docs. This always happens when I make an appointment to go, I instantly feel better having made the move to pick up the phone.

I also had a mirena fitted 2 months ago and I was hoping that together with bf my 'happy' hormones would stay intact but the stesses of normal life seem to have killed them off. I feel a lot jollier talking about it tonight but its because the house is now calm.

Hope Girly is feeling better today too???? I can relate to your feelings completely but I can't advise you, yet. Oh and by the way, take 1 400mg ibuprofen or 2 lower strength an hour before you go (if you are allowed to take it/have taken it before). This helps to relax your cervix apparently and takes any discomfort away too. Mine was fitted without any discomfort but my GP did apply local anaesthetic to the cervix beforehand. This might not be common practice as my friend had hers fitted and wasn't advised about the ibuprofen nor did her GP apply any local anaesthetic (meanie), so ask for some. Sorry, realise by now you will have been. Hope it was ok but the advice can still stand for others.

JoT, um, not sure if this helps or not, but even now, when ds is nearly 5 (and I love him and don't find it hard most of the time and don't have any depression at the moment) I still find myself washing up/wiping surfaces/taking rubbish out/whatever because it's sometimes easier than dealing with him or answering incessant questions. And I realise I'm doing it sometimes and so I stop myself to talk to him but it's displacement activity in my case... and I've only got one

I hope it goes ok with your locum. Good luck.

JoT, we sound like twins, everything you said in your post mirrors my feeling exactly..I am obsessive about the cleaning, but the house is always untidy, always washing up bottles etc and cannot rest until its done, then theres always something else to do, it never stops, the only time i relax is when i'm on the computer..

Good luck on Wed, we'll have to compare notes afterwards, My wonderful dh has taken the morning off work so i do not have to take both kids to the surgery, so will hopefully try and get right to the point with the doc although not too happy about having to take the pills again, which is prob what he will suggest with my history...

Hello, I've just been reading through all the posts and think its so helpful to see the encouraging messages and know that you're not alone ! I look obsessively in my diary to see exactly how old DD is because I have this feeling that one day "it will all be better"....its just that I have no clue when that day will be. Actually I'm feeling quite happy just now, as I've found out that our NCT coffee mornings will continue throughout August - I'd assumed they would finish for the school holidays. Yippee, chit chat and Hob Nobs !!
I take Seroxat and have done, on and off, for 6 years. It works OK for me, but I've found coming off in the past to be really hard and suffered quite a bit with side effects such as sickness, dizziness and a vibrating-coathanger-inbetween-front-teeth feeling ! Last time I combined coming off with going on holiday so that I had something to distract me and will try and do the same this time round (whenever the time comes).
Well, I'll be off as its almost time for Holby City and a Tesco blue stripe frozen cod portion ! (Husband selfishly working away, meaning I have to cook own tea. Pah.)