Ante/Perinatal depression & Sertraline

[firsttimemum032020]

Hi all, first time nervous poster. Please only respond with helpful stories. I am currently 19 weeks pregnant. I have always lived with anxiety but very much wanted to get pregnant. The moment I got the BFP I got into a bit of a hole. Felt incredibly nervous, scared, wondering if we have done the right thing. Since thing, I haven't been able to get excited, I feel very detached and disconnected to normal life, feel scared, horrible intrusive thoughts and just basically, living the worst I have ever felt at such a 'positive' time. I have been putting off medication for a long time but after nearly 3 months feeling this way, I have started Sertraline. I am currently on day 6 and feel no different and my intrusive thoughts are worse. I have heard this can happen and things will improve. I just want to feel better and not feel like I 'am going mad' or turning into a bad person.

Does anyone have any support or similar stories? I really hope Sertraline helps and I am also attending counselling privately.

Sertraline can get it a lil worse before it kicks in usually around 2 weeks. If no better go to gp who can up dose xx

Thank you. I’m really struggling. Horrible intrusive thoughts and just keep breaking down. Hopefully they kick in x

Honestly it will get better. I am 7 weeks PG so less experience of that than you but have been on sertraline for over a year and honestly it helped so much. Was doing ok generally but PG has thrown me a bit - very much planned and hoped for but hormones are all over the place!
Things will definitely improve. I hope your counselling helps.

Sorry to hear you are feeling bad at this time in your life.

Drugs for depression generally take a while to work and to get the dose right. You need to bring a lot of patience with you. That's just where doctors are with these meds right now. Sadly not all drugs work the same way for all people. While one may work for patient x it may have no effects on patient y. So you may have to go off one and onto another before you get one that works for you.

In the mean time have you thought about a psychologist as well? A psychiatrist will only perscribe meds. A psychologist cannot perscribe meds but works by talking about your feelings. In my opinon both are a must.

Ask you doctor if talking to a psychologist might also be a good option for you.

Depression is totally treatable! I'm a survivor so I know what I'm talking about. Sometimes having a baby can bring back childhood memories. Good ones and sometimes not so good ones. You may not even be aware (yet) what those memories are. A pyschologist can help explore if there is anything there that needs to be discussed. Sometimes our past can only be confided in a trusted person who is not a friend or part of the family circle. I had things that I never ever thought I would tell another living person in my life. I was just to ashamed. The amazing thing is that simply just talking about those events causes them to go "poof" and disappear or at least more manageable to live everyday life with.

You will not be like this forever, it is absolutely fixable so that you can move on to enjoy the next exciting chapter in your life.

Hugs,
J.

Antidepressants changed my life, I don't know where I'd be without them. Hang in there, it does get better.

Thank you all so much. Yes, since getting pregnant I’ve been having ‘flashbacks’ of past experiences. Like going to school, family dinners, attending uni, times which I thought were okay at the time but now causing me distress and I’ve never thought of them before. I will ask GP about psychiatrist but just counsellor is very very good. She is a psychotherapist and very calming for me and I can feel honest with her. It was my GP that prescribed me the meds. I stupidly let myself get to this stage. The intrusive thoughts just get worse and worse where you feel uncomfortable in your own skin.

I have suffered really bad with anxiety and depression for quite a few years but not currently on medication. It is really hard hun and I totally sympathize with you. I know sertraline is really good as my MIL and husband are both on it for anxiety and depression and its changed theres lives so much. Remember as well that pregnancy hormones can play a big roll. My husband started on 50mg and is now on 100mg. It took a good 3+ weeks before he felt any different but its helped him so much.
I really hope it helps you or another medication may. Definitely seek some counselling I found that helped me a lot with processing what I was feeling and thinking. Pregnancy and a new baby is massive so dont be hard on yourself.
Big hugs and dont be a stranger. We are here to support you.

Thank you, that’s very kind.

Could it be ptsd? I have that and emdr worked so well. I also had sertraline in pregnancy and had to go back a few times to alter dose but its changed my life now for the better xx

No , don’t think so. I have nothing to have ptsd for with the exception of anxiety. I’ve had a hard time at work since starting this job and I think it’s contributed massively to my decline as I Kept pushing myself to go in. I’ve taken some time off now. I’ve started on 50mg and been nearly a week. No physical side effects.

Your GP may not want to referr you to a psychiatrist as obviously his qualifications allow him to perscribe those meds. So don't get hung up on that. Seems like he knows what he's doing. Just be aware that the first drug may not help, and that's perfectly ok. You may be one of the lucky ones and hit the jack-pot first time. Hurrah!

When you go to your psychotherapist, think "how healthy do I want to get?", then consider how truthful you are with them and how much you open up. Back when Siegmund Freund pionieered all of this, his first patient called it "sweeping chimneys" - in her words. Sometimes it is as simple as that. Talking of past times and sweeping out soot that doesn't belong there.

You can do it! You will improve. I am so impressed with the progress you have made so far. Reaching out for help is the all important first step. Just be patient with yourself and recognize that you are a "work in progress" as the street signs say.

Love,
J.

Update - Monday and Tuesday were terrible with feeling worse. Yesterday and today had moments of feeling better but this afternoon, feels a bit back to square one. I’m managing to go out and trying to be creative though. Day 9 of 50mg.... don’t even care if I have to up dose, just want them to work.

Hi there, did your husband get any bad side effects again when he upped the dose? I’m hoping if I have to then I won’t because it’s already in system.

He had no side effects of going up a dose. Stay strong hun, my husband struggled the first couple weeks while the dose started working but hes so much better now and has now lessened his dose and still doing great. Keep us posted we are here to support you. Maybe try a relaxing bath and some music to try to take your mind off things. A lot easier said than done I know but keep going. Dont give up.

Thank you. I know it’s very early days so I have to remember that the small moments of day that are good are a win. The intrusive thoughts are what makes it horrible! Unsure how long they’d keep me on 50 before going up.

Omg this was me on my first pregnancy. I found it so overwhelming and scared about everything. Literally cried everyday. Even though I was happy and we tried for a long time to get pregnant. Like the other poster said, it takes about 2 weeks to kick in. However, if you don't feel any differently after a couple of weeks, please go back to your doctor. They'll make sure that you're looked after. I'm here anytime you need to talk. Things will get better, I promise

Really? I’ve been like this for about 3 months and kept fighting against it. Worried about everything and intrusive thoughts. Worried I won’t be happy at next scan. Did you find sertraline really beneficial? Day 9 and not much difference...

I have been on sertraline since March for PND I would agree that it takes a couple of weeks, that's talking therapy is needed too and that 50mg might not be enough (after a few weeks GP upped to 100mg and things really started improving for me) keep talking to people

Thanks. I go to counselling too and really does help. I have GP a wee on Monday which will nearly 3 weeks of taking them, she may up dose.

They had to up my dose from 20mg to 50mg after the two weeks, then I started to feel better. It's horrendous. I was unwell after having my daughter too, but that went after 6-8 weeks. Hang in there, it's going to be okay xx

I found sertraline definitely made things worse before getting better but when it worked it really worked! Hang in there, it took me about 3 weeks before they worked at all x

@LarryPO I’m hoping that I can stay on Sertraline and try and stay well for a long time :) day 10 and praying they help me soon.

@Anoushka1986 hi there, thank you. I really hope they start to work. Only on day 10 just now. Can’t imagine getting back to my normal self but really need to.

GP has upped dose from 50 to 100 after 2 and a half weeks? X

@firsttimemum032020 that's exactly what happened with my dose, and nearly a year on I am now dropping back down as things have improved so much for me