depression

[LISALEE]

I should be over the moon, im eight weeks pregant and happy about it but im depressed. Is this normal I just cant get myself out of it.
As well as feeling sick as a dog, tied and emotional Im very down. Help!!!!

Lisalee, There is no rule to say you have to be over the moon all the time. I'm up and down a lot. Little things that normally wouldn't bother me really get to me. It doesn't help when you feel so tired. Half the time I can't tell whether I want to lie down because I'm worn and weary or because I'm too depressed to bother with anything. Hang on in there, it will pass and you are certainly not alone. BTW 8.6 weeks today so we are very close.

I think a lot of women feel the way you do in early pregnancy, but I gather that not too many talk about it because they think they "should" be over the moon. I was very depressed during the first trimester of my 2nd pregnancy, even though the pregnancy was planned and wanted, and, like you, I also felt completely sick all the time, which made everything worse. But on an optimistic note, I think the "good" hormones start to take over sometime in the second trimester and you'll probably feel better in another month or so. If you feel quite desperate, talk to your gp--s/he might be able to help (mine did). It might also be of interest for you to read the "second time around pregnancy blues" thread. (Sorry I don't know how to do a link.) Good luck. . .it WILL get better, even if it doesn't seem like it!

Hello LisaLee - I planned all 3 of my pregnancies and I remember having all kinds of emotions throughout. One day excited and the next finding myself asking I hope I can cope. One minute I felt so sure then I felt overwhelmed by worries. Its all a natural thing given how out of whack your hormones get in the beginning especially.

If this is your first it can be a little harder then if youve been through it a number of times. My dh and I have decided to try for our 4th. I do have concerns about how I'll feel after I get pregnant and after giving birth because I had degrees of depression with all 3 but it did go away eventually. I dont want that to stop me from going ahead with it.

I wish you the best on your pregnancy and having a healthy baby.

LISALEE - am now 12 weeks but was utterly full of depression at 8 weeks - it does make you feel so very guilty doesn't it. Still have down days when full of confusion and dare I say regret, but am feeling better. As my bf says, that is why we are pregnant for 9 months - so we have long enough to get used to the idea. Also, those happy hormones should kick in soon.

LisaLee, check out my website here . Don't be put off by the title, it has a lot of stuff there about ante-natal depression which I was a sufferer of. It is most commonly experienced by women who have had unplanned pregnancies but can also happen to women having planned pregnancies. It goes through the causes and treatments for depression and has case studies of women who have been there and come out the other end.

Please do get checked out by your GP. Your problem could be hormonal, but you may need your blood pressure taking and maybe a check of your thyroid glands wouldn't go amiss, they can become irritated during pregnancy which can make you depressed, if so this is easily treatable. Don't suffer in silence, you are not alone in feeling like this. All I can say is that there is light at the end of the tunnel, you do come through it and the end result is more than worth it!

Hey, I can certainly relate - I am 6 weeks preg and crying all the time, feel lethargic and unmotivated. And my OCD worrying traits have been triggered big time by the pregnancy - second guessing everything I did before I knew I was pregnant and feeling guilty about it. Have now become ambivalent towards having the child whereas the day I found out I was over the moon as it was my first pregnancy at 40! When I realised it's first trimester antenatal depression (ie raging hormones), I felt better about it but am aware that part of me wouldn't even mind that much if I miscarried (yes that's how bad it is, thinking going through a whole pregnancy is not worth the anxiety!). Although that's probably preparation for the fact that I think I may well actually miscarry (due to my age and the fact that I haven't felt the embryo tuggings in the last day or so so wonder if it stopped growing).

When I'm down or tired, I tend to worry more about things (like how the pregnancy is going and why I'm not getting bad morning sickness and just mild nausea etc). I get bad PMS and was a terrible psycho on the pill so I guess I am very sensitive to fluctuating hormones.