Depressed v stressed/exhausted

[OompaLumpa]

I have had some health problems, a couple of chest infections meaning hospital stays, asthma is worse and bad back and together with insomnia means i have not slept well for some time. I am also getting a bit of a hard time at work so i feel very stressed.
My midwife keeps asking me if i am depressed and how do i feel about anti depressants. I dont know if i am depressed. Yes i cry but not all the time and yes i feel crappy but am under a lot of pressure. I have resisted anti depressants so far but i dont know if i should try. I dont want to though i am taking enough medication already.
Any thoughts?

((HUGS)) Maybe it would be helpful to see your GP/mw and get him to sign you off work for a while? It sounds like you need a break to get you back on track. It will be easier to know how you feel about the medication once you are slightly removed from some of pressure maybe?

It sounds like you need to be signed off to recover physically, so then you can address any work stress/depression with a clear head. Doesn't being ill make people feel miserable anyway? (((hugs))) it certainly won't be helping

It could be that you are emotional/stressed due to lack of sleep.

I have severe depression and had my pills removed at 8 weeks and to be honest at 15 + 6 my moods are a lot worse when i am sleep deprived and even with 13 years of depression I could not tell you if you if it is the hormones that are doing this or my depression.

As the people above have said I'd get signed off and see if you feel better in mood if physically you are better.

I would try to avoid the anti depressants if you are pregnant even though they are said not to hurt. I agree about trying to get signed off for a while in order to rest and look after yourself.
Some real TLC and rest may make you feel a whole lot better

First off, just wanted to say sorry to hear you're not doing well, please do get signed off just to get some headspace and time to recover - sounds like you really really need it!

There are all kinds of depression - and yours sounds like it could be reactive depression. As in related to very specific situations you find yourself in. If you were well, not under all this pressure etc - do you think you would start to feel better? I found myself in this position at work when I first found out I was P and I have been signed off since late last year - and am now on ML (started it as early as possible.)

FWIW I have not found midwives particularly helpful about depression, when I tried to speak to them (and I have seen different ones most of the time) they just said "oh, it's common in pregnant ladies" and offered no suggestions for anything I might access, e.g. counselling. Or they would spot that I was signed off, and just make cursory checks that I wasn't about to do anything drastic!

I had a supportive GP however who kept signing me off and it was only with time and me looking after myself, with support from my DP, that made me start to feel better. (Had that not been enough I would of course have gone back to my GP to see what else I could do - but I didn't really want to consider ADs as I have never taken any, and wouldn't want to in pregnancy anyhow unless it was absolutely necessary.)

Put yourself and your health first. Take some time out. Nothing is as important as your well being.

hi ladies thanks for your thoughts. i am signed off work currently due to the chest infections and am back at the hospital every week as my asthma is proving rather unreliable. I am not sure if being signed off is helping. Physically i have no real energy, i'm wheezy and breathless but at least work would keep my mind off it. Besides things at work are really bad and i have been advised by an employer lawyer that i do have a claim and should put in a grievance. I'm not sure if being there and just facing it would help or i should just keep away. Thing is, things always seem worse when you are away from work as in you feel more isolated if that makes sense?

I just would like some energy and to feel "well" but i don't know if that makes me depressed. Midwife is very nice and did offer me counselling but i am seeing quite a lot of professionals already i didn't think another would help.

They also want to talk to me about having a c-section (planned) due to my health issues and i guess that is weighing on my mind too.

In an ideal world i would like to get on a plane and fly somewhere sunny and just read by a pool for a couple of days but i'm not fit to fly so that is not going to happen!